I am in optometry school now and am beginning to get used to all of the practicals, but I get really nervous with people watching me and my heart races and it makes me screw up sometimes. What do you do to help calm down!?

4/8/2009 11:11:39 AM

I have to give presentations and speeches in front of people a lot and at first I got nervous all the time

The way I got thru it was to pretend everyone else was less important than I was...if I convinced myself I was talking to inferiors, it was easier for me to be myself and not get flustered

For example, if I was in a room of C-level people, I'd pretend they were all interns and that this presentation wasn't really that important...if I kept reminding myself that these were VIPs, I'd be more likely to fuck up

It may not be applicable in your situation, but it works wonders for me

4/8/2009 11:17:25 AM

The people watching/judging me are experienced optometrists so that might not work.

4/8/2009 11:19:55 AM

practice. make sure you are good. then you will be confident.

4/8/2009 11:32:33 AM

Regular sex will make you less anxious/nervous in general.

I highly recommend it, and yes I'm completely serious.

4/8/2009 1:05:41 PM

might want to see a pic first or something...

4/8/2009 1:09:50 PM

i agree with Slave Famous.

think of something you're really good at/comfortable with- and then harness the energy you would normally feel when engaged in that particular activity.

when I did my thesis proposal in front of the whole department i was extremely nervous beforehand but then i decided i would visualize them not as faculty and other grad students, but instead as stupid customers who cannot pronounce the word frappuccino. (i've spent almost 9 years making espresso drinks for people, thus felt really comfortable imagining the people as customers instead of superiors)

my friend who is on a tennis scholarship did the same thing for her proposal- imagined she was about to play a match instead of giving a thesis proposal.

good luck!

4/8/2009 1:23:05 PM

second for sex

4/8/2009 7:02:55 PM

You can always try beta-blockers. Ask for a prescription from your doctor. I'm in vet school and use them when I have to give presentations, they actually help a lot just by slowing my heart rate.

4/8/2009 7:19:08 PM

harness energy. block bad.

4/8/2009 8:06:10 PM

gin

4/8/2009 8:08:13 PM

Grain alcohol. That and cocaine.

4/8/2009 9:04:48 PM

HAHA I second the beta-blockers! I'm in vet school as well, and had to spend a week doing surgery in front of a very important doctor. I'd pop those suckers a half hour before, and my hands and nerves were as steady as could be.

I thought this was just my own little secret...

[Edited on April 8, 2009 at 9:17 PM. Reason : .]

4/8/2009 9:16:58 PM

Quote :

"I am in optometry school now and am beginning to get used to all of the practicals, but I get really nervous with people watching me and my heart races and it makes me screw up sometimes. What do you do to help calm down!?"

we refer to that as "spinning" in EMS

if you feel yourself starting to get that way, just take a deep breath and concentrate on one thing at a time. also, practice what you're doing as much as you can so you can concentrate on the analytical side of the tasks you're performing. If the technicalities are autonomous, that's one less thing to keep track of.

and beta blockers aren't a horrible idea if you can convince a doc to give you a script for some atenolol or something, go for it.

4/8/2009 9:25:20 PM

a snort of whisky or brandy might help, but make sure nobody smells it on your breath.

4/8/2009 9:40:24 PM

i think it also sometimes help if you think about how you feel when other people are giving presentations. think about how many times you have watched other people and not a) paid attention or b) not cared if they messed up.

i think in our heads we always think that everyone is focusing really intently on us and scrutinizing everything we do (even IF you are doing a presentation for a job or a grade) but really, they're probably bored, or at least it helps to tell myself that they probably aren't even paying attention to me.

4/8/2009 9:54:08 PM

^That's pretty much how I handle it too.

4/8/2009 10:05:04 PM

For the practical I had to do today, I had practiced over 20 times for. I knew what I was doing, I could do it in my sleep. I hadn't messed up the past 15 times. I get in there and uhhh, my name is.....Eventually I get over it and I was fine by the end of 35 minutes, but those first few are wow....Its kind of hard to be a doctor with your whole body shaking! I thought about drinking a glass of wine, but don't know if that would help or not.

4/8/2009 11:48:54 PM

working out, the shooting range, cooking, highway driving when traffic is light...

followed by convincing myself that whatever hardship lies ahead of me is completely within my capabilities.

4/9/2009 8:09:00 AM

^^^^^^ Oh yeah, definently had to take one before my very first spay!!

hammster, that's what would happen to me. I would feel confident in my head but no matter what I would still get the shakes before the presentation/surgery/practical. beta blockers did the trick!

4/9/2009 8:10:47 AM

Yoga. Balancing on your head for a few minutes really makes you pay attention to something besides your crazy thoughts.

4/9/2009 8:20:39 PM

Quote :

"practice. make sure you are good. then you will be confident."

Exactly. Works for everything.

The first couple years of med school, I was really nervous every time an attending watched me talk to/examine patients. After a while, you hit a point where the whole process is second nature and it just doesn't bother you anymore.

4/9/2009 8:55:52 PM

Well thats good news. I can't imagine taking my boards in a few years and doing the same stuff, so I hope I get used to other dr.s watching me.

4/9/2009 10:55:16 PM

blue blockers

4/10/2009 1:15:43 AM

I find cigarettes very helpful...I smoke a cigarette before every test, every date and every interview
just throwing that out there

4/10/2009 11:25:04 PM