Hello Coffee Powered
Thank you for your post and welcome to Beyond Blue.
Anxiety is quite debilitating. I'm certain many people who write in here have experienced this at some time or other and found a way past it. I'm sorry that you are stuck in this situation which I expect impacts on your life quite severely.
I have done this on a number of occasions and it has been most unpleasant. I think it is a form of panic, at least for me. I'm not sure how to overcome this. For me it's a case of managing when it happens. As you say, breathing is part of the process and it's a good start. I need then to focus every part of myself on what I am going to do next. It doesn't always work.
So what's the next step? It seems you need someone to give you a hand with this. Why not go and have a chat with your GP about it? Or have you already tried this? A different suggestion is to join a drama group. That way you can put on a different personality and this frees you to be someone else. Freezing usually doesn't happen in these circumstances and the character you are portraying doesn't have this problem.
In a similar vein, if you need to give a presentation you can imagine you are someone else, practice giving the talk as someone else and present as someone else. These sorts of mind game are a real help to overcome nervousness and anxiety. But you do need to practice beforehand and decide how you are going to talk. Faster here, slower there, softly, shout, silence. Practice until you can go through the whole thing without a mistake. Then you give your presentation with far less worry.
You may prefer to join a club such as Toastmasters or any other speaking organisation. I suggest Toastmasters as they are very good at teaching people how to talk in public. Freezing there is no big deal as everyone has done this at some time and there will be a sympathetic audience. Plus you will get constructive feedback on your performance. I would recommend this for all anxiety situations.
Hope you can respond.
Mary
