Hi Lenie,
It's very common to get nervous before speaking in public, but if it induces a panic attack for you, and it's going to be part of your work ongoing, then I really would recommend seeing a psychologist to help address it.
In terms of short-term fixes, anxiety is a very real physical reaction with your brain setting off the 'fear' response. I've read an analogy from a psychologist that says it's similar to how we react when we see a scary film, we know the film is not real but the body and brain still react.
The instinct when getting up to speak when nervous is to hurry through and get it over as quickly as possible, this can actually make the panic worse, as it makes your nervousness visible to the audience which then feeds back to you in a loop.
Try starting with acknowledging and accepting that this is uncomfortable for you, and doing the very opposite of what your instincts are telling you to do: speak in a slow and measured tone, take deep breaths, concentrate on the parts of your body that are tense and practice clenching and unclenching those muscles.
I also think there's no harm in choosing someone that you know who will be in the audience and letting them know beforehand that you find public speaking difficult, and use them to make eye contact with during the talk rather than avoiding people altogether. It will help to desensitise you to the fear of being up in front of people.
These are just a few tips to get started, but as I mentioned given how strong your attacks are, I would recommend seeing a psychologist or a face-to-face support group in your state.
We have a list available on our website here:
http://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety/helpful-contacts-and-websites/face-to-face-support-and-treatments
Does anyone else have tips on how to overcome public speaking fears?
best
CB
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