Reframing the meaning of the signs of stress can help people deal with stage fright

Updated on: Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Learning to rethink the way we view our shaky hands, pounding heart, and sweaty palms can help people deal with stage fright and perform better both mentally and physically, a new study has found.

Before a stressful speaking task, simply encouraging people to reframe the meaning of these signs of stress as natural and helpful is a surprisingly effective way of handling stage fright, found the study published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science.

"The problem is that we think all stress is bad," said Jeremy Jamieson, the lead author on the study and an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Rochester.

"We see headlines about 'Killer Stress' and talk about being 'stressed out,'" Jamieson said.

Before speaking in public, people often interpret stress sensations, like butterflies in the stomach, as a warning that something bad is about to happen, he said.

"But those feelings just mean that our body is preparing to address a demanding situation," said Jamieson.

"The body is marshaling resources, pumping more blood to our major muscle groups and delivering more oxygen to our brains," he said.

Our body's reaction to social stress is the same flight or fight response we produce when confronting physical danger. These physiological responses help us perform, whether we're facing a bear in the forest or a critical audience.

For many people, especially those suffering from social anxiety disorder, the natural uneasiness experienced before giving a speech can quickly tip over into panic.

"If we think we can't cope with stress, we will experience threat. When threatened, the body enacts changes to concentrate blood in the core and restricts flow to the arms, legs, and brain," he said.

Such calming techniques, researchers said, may be helpful in situations that do not require peak performance. But when gearing up for a high-stakes exam, a job interview, or a speaking engagement, reframing how we think about stress may be a better strategy.

Jamieson and co-authors Matthew Nock, of Harvard University and Wendy Berry Mendes of the University of California in San Francisco, turned to the Trier Social Stress Test.

Developed in 1993 by Clemens Kirschbaum and colleagues, this experiment relies on fear of public peaking and has become one of the most reliable laboratory methods for eliciting threat responses.

Reframing the meaning of the signs of stress can help people deal with stage fright

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