my voice used to tremble when i spoke in class

highschool was a humiliating experience for me.....yeah i got bullied alot to such an extent that i developed a nervous disorder because of it.....they constantly gave me grief.....i became so nervous that whenever the teacher asked me to read from a textbook, my heart would race in anticipation and then when i read my voice trembled....it took me like 5 minutes to read something that would otherwise take a normal person 30 seconds.....it was so humilating

Sorry to hear that mate - I know the feeling, although with me I guess I was lucky in that there was no bullying. I had a similar experience reading in the classroom though - when I was a bit older and doing another course in my 20's. My throat would lock up and I could barely speak - one time I noticed the way the teacher looked at me when he said my name - he could tell how it affected me.

From memory I did that entire course on Serepax (a benzo) and it still used to happen. A horrible experience and very embarassing.

Thinking about this, teachers should take into account who they are asking... If they know a pupil is going to find it a struggle, they should give that pupil extra time, to build their confidence. Do one on one reading chapters from books etc. until that child is in a position where they feel confidenct to speak infront of the class. There should be more thought in my opinion on how to create a level playing field amonst pupils, where each pupil is confident enough to tackle a task given by the teacher! If a child fails, in my opinion it could possibly be seen as a failure of the teacher, afterall a child at the end of the day is just a child, and a teacher should be able to think and plan ahead... Singling a child out infront of a class, is ripe for repercussions outside of the classroom. It can also create disruption in classes. I think teachers should think more, and perhaps more thought given in their training etc. I wonder what does everyone else think.

yeah, the only difference now: I dont have to speak in class anymore.

I know the feeling. Same thing happens to me on conference calls when I have to speak. Of course no one mocks me or anything unlike what might happen in grade school because its a professional environment. But I feel really mortified afterwards nevertheless. Interestingly, speaking in front of groups didn't really bother me in HS. And in college I got a little nervous but was basically OK. It wasn't until after college when I got a professional job that it really started to become extremely anxiety provoking. Perhaps because corporate culture is less laid-back and forgiving.

Hey thank you evereyone for sharing your stories, it takes real courage to post those awkward moments. I wonder how you are all doing now? This Forum is a great place for nurturing and healing. We are all Social Anxiety sufferers, so we're not about to judge each other There's a wealth of understanding here, we should all reach out, share our stories and help and support each other.

I wasn't able to speak in front of the class at all. Luckily my speech teacher in high school was nice enough to let me skip every speech and do enough extra credit work to still pass the class. The fact I'd have speech class in college was probably the biggest factor in quitting. At least as an adult I never have to talk in front of groups.
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I haven't run into this situation in awhile myself. So I am pretty sure I still struggle with this problem if it comes to it. Due to the prolonged lack of exposure to it.

Yeah I can relate, in situations like this though I was recently thinking would role play help, try to flip the flight response of anxiety into the fight response cause its 2 sides of the same coin anyway, but fight is more useful than flight in these type of things.

For instance Imagine you're an english spy in front of a group of Nazi soldiers & you can't let them suspect you or something.

Something else we could do if presenting to groups is a issue, is to make a video which could be uploaded to YouTube for example. Obviously we don't have to upload it, but if we make that video with the "presenting to a group" mind-set it's like exposure therapy, and we can edit it, scrap it and create a new one to our heart's content. Each time we attempt it we become better at it, and we become less anxious as through repetition we desensitize. Who knows we might even want to publish our masterpiece(s) and why shouldn't we. We are unique and we all have something worth sharing, we all have something to learn and something to give. As people we should do more of it...

^ I often think it would be great to practice via recording something / reading something aloud with the intention of sharing it with someone, maybe a practice buddy.

That's a great idea, or a alternative if you can't find a practice buddy might be to record yourself on a mobile phone (the camera app on my phone will also do video) and play it back to yourself. As we practice we become better...

Yes, I have tried that too. But I didn't find it anxiety inducing. Have you tried it?

I have made a few videos, for the purpose of uploading to YouTube. When you watch yourself back it can be quite liberating. For example I never used to like the sound of my own voice, but listening to myself back has actually changed the opinion I held of my voice. I now actually quite like the sound of my own voice, weird aye? I wonder if it's the same for people who don't like looking at the reflection of themselves in the mirror? For me what matters more than anything else is what opinions we hold of ourselves. These opinions we hold are reflected in the way we present ourselves, even down to our facial expressions. Changing negative thoughts to positive ones unleash our full potneital and can often be life/game changers. Hope this helps