Fear is a normal response to the stress of speaking or performing in front of people. It's a phobia when that fear is so extreme that you limit your life, career or relationships to avoid it, or you experience extreme anxiety or panic.
A personal story: When giving a presentation to an executive, my panic was so severe I could not focus on his face and the whole room seemed to be filled with fog. It was common for me to have an upset stomach before speaking to small groups. I had nightmares about discovering I was naked in front of people. When changing careers to one that required more public speaking, I spend days in bed in a fetal position, crying myself to sleep. I believe I had glossophobia (among other phobias) I'll tell you the rest of the story under "Self Help" below.
There is no force more powerful to most of us than what other people think. It drives most of our purchases of clothing, car, housing. Many of us choose friends, career and even spouses based, not on what we want but how it makes us look to others. In my opinion, this exaggeration of the importance of others is at the root of glossophobia. What will people think if I say something stupid or stumble over a word or my clothes are messed up? The fear grows the more we run from it until it's a full-blown phobia.
There are anxiety medications that can help manage the symptoms of this phobia. Please see to it that your doctor includes therapy to manage the anxiety with natural methods and eventually get off of the drugs.
I'll use the conclusion to my personal story (above) to give you an example of how to manage and overcome your phobia. About a week after the career change I decided to get out of bed and face this thing (it was less fearful a thought than facing my wife who allowed me to give up a secure career to try this one in sales). I started by practicing smiling and greeting strangers for a couple weeks. Then I began actually going out to meet new people...one a day...5...10, etc. Then I started calling, setting up appointments. Then I started speaking to small groups of 10 or so...20-30...50, etc. This took a few years to develop. Since then, I've spoken before groups of over 1,000, sung, even had the leading role in a musical play, once. Incase you're wondering...every time I need to speak or sing, I still experience fear and have to remind myself that my life isn't being threatened. By now I've made so many stupid mistakes in front of people I realize they're very sympathetic and forgiving. It all started with that frightened little man crying himself to sleep.
You can beat this, too.
Mental Health conditions can be limiting and very painful. There are no guaranteed cures or quick fixes, whether medicine, nutrition, herbs or anything else. Complete healing is possible...including mind, body and spirit...from God. If you want God's help with this for any problem, go to healing from God.
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