Medication for Performance Anxiety (part 2)

[limits_unknown]

Are there any of these medications that are just over the counter? I could use some for sure! I have a concert coming up in a couple months and will have a solo("Hummels Trumpet Concerto Mvt 3"), duet(crap, forgot the name), lots of solos in "After a Gentle Rain". Then I have a brass recital shortly after that.... Anyways, Are there any of this stuff that I can just buy w/o having to go to the doctors?

[ This Message was edited by: limits_unknown on 2002-02-21 19:52 ]

[ This Message was edited by: limits_unknown on 2002-02-21 19:52 ]

[histrumpet]

It may be wise to work harder and improve your playing and forget about taking the drugs. Boost your confidence by becoming a better player, PRACTICE. Drugs, like using other stimulants to boost performance, are a crutch that will let you down one day. By the time you realize it you will have more regrets than accomplishments! DON"T BE STUPID, learn from one who has been there and done that. I won't candy coat it, there is too much to lose here.

[limits_unknown]

Most likely, I'll never use drugs to enhance my performance. I tend to think of it as cheating - unless there's nothing else you can do. My main problem is the gosh darn shaking! I shake big time, even if I dont feel nervous, I sure shake like it. It's prolly pretty funny to watch me play solos...... & that's not a very comforting thought. Do you have any solutions to help supress this stupid shaking predicament?

[trickg]

Some people really do have some extreme performance anxiety issues. I've heard that a lot of orchestral players take something or other, a beta blocker I think, that keeps them from having some of the symptoms that go along with nervousnes such as sweaty palms, cotton mouth, shortness of breath and rapid heart rate. According to one guy that I've talked with, he says that you can work through it better because although your mind is nervous, it's like your body is on cruise control.

I don't think that you can get any of these over the counter though, I'm pretty sure that they have to be prescribed. This guy that I know also has terets (sp?) and has a couple of ticks that he controls with the medication and the meds are a bonus for when he is performing.
_________________
Patrick Gleason
- Jupiter 1600i, ACB 3C, Warburton 4SVW/Titmus RT2
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"95% of the average 'weekend warrior's' problems will be solved by an additional 30 minutes of insightful practice." - PLP

[walter]

[ This Message was edited by: walter on 2002-09-20 07:11 ]

[Strawdoggy]

Limits,

I would have to agree with Bruce on this one. The best thing to do is prepare.

However, I think it is a good idea to hydrate your body FULLY the night before and morning of a performance that is going to make you nervous. Some of the reactions to anxiety are sweaty palms, dry mouth, etc... A fully hydrated body will be able to handle these reactions to stress much better than a somewhat dehydrated body.

I always tell my students to drink TWO glasses of water (whether they are thirsty or not) the night before a big audition to help with this problem. The only negative side effect is that they have to pee in the middle of the night! Don't drink too much water right before the performance - it could make things worse - being nervous and having to take a leak.

Hope this helps.

Steve

[NCTrumpet]

Just for fun.

Just imagine what kind of pressure those young women skaters feel at the olympics. All alone on the ice, thousands of people, and a world television audience. A sixteen-year-old won gold. I bet she could teach a few of us something about performance anxiety. Makes me feel like my own anxiety is hardly worth mentioning. In perspective, playing some of my hardest licks seem far more obtainable than a triple-Lutz/double-whatever combination. Being humbled is such a nice feeling.

JC.

[trickg]

Something else that you might want to think about is how much caffine you consume.

Another friend of mine in preparation for a big audition to Pershings Own, the United States Army Band, weaned himself completely off of caffine about a month and a half prior to the audition date.

Caffine has the side effect that when you do get nervouse, it causes the adrenal gland to pump even more adrenalin into your blood stream than you would normally have, therefore the feelings of anxiety and the symptoms that go with it are going to be worse than if you didn't consume caffine.

Me, I've just learned to deal with it because I don't think that I could deal with not drinking coffee. Also, I'm rarely in a situation where all eyes are on me but I do know that the more you perform, the more you get used to it and the feelings of anxiety seem to lessen.

Whatever course you choose, I hope that it works out well for you and don't be afraid to explore the Rx approach.

_________________
Patrick Gleason

[ This Message was edited by: trickg on 2002-02-22 12:46 ]

[Cozy]

This is developing into an interesting thread. NCtpt: "Just imagine what kind of pressure those young women skaters feel at the olympics. All alone on the ice, thousands of people, and a world television audience. A sixteen-year-old won gold. I bet she could teach a few of us...."
I feel so humbled. Right on! I simply can't picture these top skaters taking a beta blocker before such a physical performance.
Guess some might.
I stick to my formula: No drugs, maybe light exercise to relax, and I like trickg's advice to "wean" off caffeine. Alkaloids such as this can make the embouchure/breathing/fingers jutter...jirter...jumpy.
Strawdoggy: "I always tell my students to drink TWO glasses of water (whether they are thirsty or not) the night before...."
I like S'doggy's idea! When I used, shamefully, say "used," to run lots of 10K's, I found h2o 'n pasta the night before gives energy. Never thought of the water relaxing, but I'll buy that. Some football teams still eat steak and taters before a game, when track & field folks know pasta is better. Shortly before a race, lots of us would pump off pushups, jog, whatever, to juice the body naturally.
An aside: Everyone reacts differently. If pizza, Nehi (yuck! Down the leadpipe?), etc., have proven to work for you -- Do it! Stick with a familiar routine. This applies to my next comment, con or pro:
Walter said, "Drugs are accepted by most people to be a valid part of treating physical disorders; why not emotional ones?"
I don't want to stir the test tube more; just suffice it to say...here I go...that "one's body is a hassle, uh, castle." Treat it well. I do know it's everyone's decision how to do that. I've had so few drugs it's ridiculous. When I was put under for the only time -- surgery following an accident driving to a music performance -- I told the anesthesiologist, "For me, it won't take mu...."

Cozy
http://www.cozychops.com

[walter]

[ This Message was edited by: walter on 2002-09-20 07:11 ]

[tom turner]

Hi Walter,

Man, what a wonderful and courageous post! I have known and loved someone who had bouts of deep depression and both the person and I were literally powerless to do anything about it. It is truly a terrible feeling and your post brought back memories of those (thankfully gone) dark days when I was so powerless to help my loved one.

The person I knew was on medication and counseling, had bouts of suicide (the "quiet" kind where they don't tell anyone they just DO it) . . . man, what a rough time. I believe the depth for her depression was "level four" but, unlike you, I'm surely not expert on expressing this idea or medical term.

Amazingly, a true miracle from God instantly healed her in 1986 and she's needed absolutely no medication or counseling since . . . along with being instantly healed of bullimia at the same instant (she'd had that problem for over twenty years!

I'm so glad you took the courage to post something so personal. I'm sure your words will help others understand they are not alone and will comfort those needing to hear it.

And . . . you aren't alone either! I'll be praying that God will touch you too and remove these bouts forever in your life. He is awesome . . . and He IS able!

Warmest regards,

Tom Turner

[elbobogrande]

Hi all,
I feel that those who state (argue, maybe?) that a phobia like performance is something that can be cured simply by performing over and over are only looking at about half of the issue. In my mind, the problem is a terrible cycle.
Nervousness, caused by lack of confidence, contributes to poor performance. This poor performance then causes even less confidence. This lack of confidence, thereby, contributes to even poorer performance, and you can imagine how that can be devastating to a trumpeter whose life and future career revolves around performing at his peak. I'm not sure if the chicken(nervousness and lack of confidence), or the egg, (poor performance) came first, but either way, it occurs, and despite many techniques and practice, it simply will not go away.
When I started the original thread, my biggest fear was that people would very wrongly assume that all people's nervousness stems from poor preparation and lack of practice. I, and I assume many other performers, get nervous not from lack of preparation, but from prior experience with poor performance and the feelings that come with it.
I must also respectfully disagree with anyone who asserts that this nervousness is an external problem stemming from fear of not being accepted or praised by others, or from a need to impress or gain praise from other people. I guess this need for praise comes into play a little, but above all, I feel that it is very much an internal problem that deals mostly with how I feel about myself after a performance. It is very frustrating to work so long and hard, and not perform as I know I should. Disappointment is probably the worst feeling in the world to me.
After talking with my instructor, my family doctor, and, actually, a psychiatrist, I have decided to try to alleviate this fear medically. After doing so, I now realize that it is a very good decision for me, as I have already tried the prescribed Inderol, and it has helped. Also after the experience of talking with so many knowlegeable people, I am comfortable that it is a very responsible decision that should eventually lead to an increased quality of performance.
I would encourage anyone who feels that his or her performance is severely adversely affected by such a condition to talk with their families, instructors, doctors and counselors in order to make a well-informed, responsible decision whether or not to go a similar route as I did.
Thanks,
John

[ This Message was edited by: elbobogrande on 2002-02-22 20:08 ]

[_bugleboy]

It is my understanding that Japanese Zen teaches a blind archer to hit the bull's eye. Some would say that this is impossible, but I believe it is true. The archers are taught that the whole activity of selecting the arrow, nocking it on the string, pulling back the arrow and releasing it to follow a trajectory that finally will hit the bull's eye, is all just ONE. There are not separate moves that are defined as step 1, step 2, etc. The selecting of the arrow from the quiver is all part of the total activity which includes the arrow hitting the target.

I doubt that these archers have any anxiety about whether their arrow will find it's mark or not. The result was never important. What was important was the regimen they engaged in that trained them to perform a certain activity in a way that would be utterly (over time and repetition) unchanging in the way it is executed. The result of their efforts is an extremely high percentage of success in their archery. But the real goal was never about the bull's eye. The bull's eye becomes an inevitable, inexorable result. The arrow becomes, in effect, a heat seeking missile that can only end its flight in the center of the target.

If sound production on a trumpet is approached with this mind set, wonderful results can be achieved, which include freeing the mind of tension caused by insecurity of wondering if the intended (correct) note will come out of the horn.

CR

[Redhothorn]

The herb "Kava-Kava" will relax you ... I use it as a natural muscle relaxer for those extra-hard days in the gym (powerlifter) ... a real cold tall "draft" will do the same.

[Yoinks]

Beta blockers stop adrenaline from flowing properly and working in conjunction with other muscles properly. It cuts down on your energy being directed towards stage fright, but it also cuts down on your energy for performance. Personally, I would say you need to learn to direct it in the right place. I need that energy to be a good performer on stage.

[Mark Heuer]

I'd suggest "Meditation for Performance Anxiety" vs "Medication for Performance Anxiety".

[ This Message was edited by: Mark Heuer on 2002-02-25 00:31 ]

[pfrank]

This is a great topic- one which I have had to wrestle with in years past as well.

Some people seem to feel the "eyes" of an audience and immagine judgments of all sorts, and some folks just don't, it seems. Some people have allot of "self consciousness" which is a divided consciousness, which can be a GOOD thing if it leads to a voyage of self-discovery.

Playing trumpet is an act of Commitment; you can't doubt your sound will be there. The Zen masters studied this whole aspect of being using the striking of a bell to symbolize the moment of Oneness they were seeking. Trumpet playing is Allot like Zen archery! The divided consciousness is the enemy of at-one-ness.

But we Westerners with our busy lives need something to attach the mind too, to quiet it if it is causing problems. What helps me the most in my own nervousness, is to think and to realize that the members of the audience are folks just like me, and that they are Waiting for an excuse to be shown something special, something to enjoy. That the Love that caused me to start playing music in the first place is the same Love that the audience members have flowing through themselfs. On the other hand, self doubt can lead to an audience rejecting you if you are cut off from them. Like dogs: they can "smell" fear. So be the Cause with an audience (as opposed to the Effect) and love them impersonally, too. Invite them to judge you from a full heart, because if you are yourself in sincerity, you have nothing to fear.

For me, any amount aclohol before a show is out of the question because it drys up my mouth, and can lead to overblowing, then 'by-by' to my upper range. Kava has been banned as an over-the-counter product in Germany because it has been shown to cause possible liver dammage. On ocasion, like full moon preformance in front of music industry "heavies," (it's All hype) I have been known to use the herb Valarian, as it is a very mild relaxer and doesn't mess with the bodies' hormonal balance.

Another thing I have noticed, is that I am always More nervous when I am playing someone elce's music or difficult passages I wrote which MUST be played "perfectly". If I'm improvising some and being creative while having FUN, then I'm not nervous at all. That Wasn't possible when playing for juries or auditions in my school days, and I'm very glad that I no longer have to do that (or march in parades in the snow either...) because the hype surrounding professors is harder to see through with all their kingly airs and all... The real world, I have found, is much more friendly and flexable that the academic world. With some exceptions, of course.
Thanks, and good luck.
_________________
"Truth is not in the heights but at the bottom of all things."
Paul Twitchell

[RooTheHorn]

Is it possible that our differing approaches to performance anxiety stem partly from the styles of playing we practice?

Yoinks says "I need that energy [adrenaline] to be a good performer on stage". In my experience I have found this to be true. I [try to] play jazz, and at my last gig, I found that the energy I got from being nervous in front of people took my playing to places I could never have got to before. The adrenaline seemed to stimulate me to discover phrases that I could never have seen when not in that state. It seemed to have a freeing effect on my playing,

However, I can imagine that for a classical player, the situation may be different, for he does not want a freeing effect in his playing, he wants to play exactly as he has rehearsed, and in my experience at least, adrenaline is not conducive to success in such a task, perhaps even counterproductive.

Exact recital of --------------------------------- Spontaneous
rehearsed piece <------<------- : ------->------> creativity

-----------------------------==>>effect of nervousness==>>
-----------------------------<<==effect of relaxation<<==

I suggest that nerves/adrenaline tend to heighten the emotional state of the player, and therefore can be used to great effect by the jazz player, whose aim is, after all, to express his emotions. Whereas, the classical player, whose aim is to replicate, may find the adrenaline distracting.

So, this may be a reason why we have different views on performance anxiety, because it affects our playing differently depending on our style. I understand that at best this is only part of the truth, what do people think?



[ This Message was edited by: RooTheHorn on 2002-02-26 17:20 ]

[trjeam]

I have never performed a song like the Hummel. But I have been put on the spot light allot since I have been playing trumpet. When I first started I use to be afraid to even just play at a concert with the section. Then as the years went by the trumpet section got featured more I had more solos I was asked to play at different places. This was around 7th grade. I remeber that once they sent me to another school to play taps for a entire school of like 700 kids in one place. I didn't mess up but then they asked me if I knew the National Anthem and I was so nervous that I just said yeah. I had 10 minutes to remember and go play it perfectly infront of a entire school (elementary school) anyways after figuring out the song I just said to my self. I have practiced this millions of times by my self and I know this perfectly I know that I can do it. All of the sudden I had this booost in confidence and just went out their and did my thing.

It's really important to believe in your self. I have had the opportunity to be able to play for my church every Sunday and do different solo stuff infront of other churches with huge ammount of people. And as time has gone by I have developed confidence in my self and have gotten more confidence.


In short words Have confidence belive in your self. Do your best.
_________________
Jorge Ayala Jr: Trumpeter/Producer
http://www.facebook.com/JorgeAyalaJr
http://www.twitter.com/JorgeAyalaMusic

[walter]

[ This Message was edited by: walter on 2002-09-20 07:16 ]