Here are some of my thoughts on hypnotherapy for stage fright.
There is a difference between experiencing stage fright and preferring not to step on stage.
A person who prefers not to step on stage has no real interest in doing so, but they could if they had to.
Stage fright, on the other hand, means that even if a person is interested in stepping on stage, they find it difficult.
Creatives who experience anxiety around performing fall into the second category.
As a musician, actor, or even for some visual artists, there’s a desire to present, perform, or to share your work with others.
This, of course, involves being in front of other people.
Stage fright contradicts this desire in a weird way because, on some level, it’s as if there’s a part of you that’s telling you why getting on stage wouldn’t be a good idea.
Maybe it’s a fear of judgement or a need to be perfect.
A ruthless inner judge, or feeling like an impostor.
Or something else that you’re unable to name, apart from the constant worry you experience before it’s time to perform.
You wouldn’t be stepping on stage if you didn’t have something to offer.
You’ve experienced it before: the excitement and enjoyment that channeling creativity provides for you and others.
Those moments where something clicks and it happens—you get lost in the moment and you remember what this is all about and for.
The irony is that it’s usually people who care about their craft that become their own harshest critics.
But it’s not necessarily when they find themselves rehearsing or practicing and they’re in the flow.
It’s when it comes time to step on stage or in front of a camera and there’s a real audience.
In my work, hypnotherapy for stage fright is a combination of using trance—a state you are probably already quite familiar with, if you’re a performer—and changework (the ‘therapy’).
We focus on bringing the way your body responds back into alignment with your desire to step on stage and feel calm.
