To think my anxiety is caused by this interview?

[sheisadancer]

I have a serious issue with public speaking and being put on the spot. No matter how much I practice my mind goes totally blank and if not totally, I forget about 80 percent of the information I need. It is seriously debilitating.

In day to day life I am mostly fine, however I applied to do some volunteering and now have an interview on Saturday for it. I have studied and prepared for it and will continue to practice but I know there is always an element of winging it in interviews.

I have been feeling increasingly anxious since I've heard I have this interview, last night I ended up have a bottle and a half of wine and was very drunk (bad idea). And today I feel even worse. So sure my mind is going to blank and I'm going to make a total fool of myself.

My anxiety has been through the roof and nothing seems to help it, I have a constant pit in my stomach since hearing about the interview and I'm worried I'll feel this way forever.

I've heard propanalol can help so have been prescribed 40 mg and will take.

But is this anxiety due to the interview? Will I feel better after it? I know it was stupid to drink on top of feeling like this but I needed an escape for a few hours.

Then the more I think about it the more I think I'm not up to this volunteer role as a lot of it is sitting in on meetings and I find that type of environment really nerve wracking. I wish I could just be a normal person.

Anxiety before an interview is normal. It's your body preparing for a challenge. Once the challenge has passed and all the adrenaline has worked its way out of your system it will return to its normal state.

It's pretty much the same process as when you're excited about something.

P.s. You are normal.

I use propranolol for interviews and public speaking. It won't take the anxiety away but it stops all of the side effects of nerves. I'm normally shaky and when I notice, it gets worse and worse to the point where I'm struggling to speak. It's a horribly cycle where I get more nervous because people know I'm nervous. With propranolol I'm terrified internally but it doesn't show on the outside and it's really helped build my confidence.