Hi, My name is Jammy. And for those who don't know me, I started Plastic Free Bohol in 2016 to raise awareness about plastic pollution in Bohol, Philippines. I organize beach clean-up activities to get our community involved, speak with government leaders and business owners to convince them to ban single-use plastics, and give awareness talks when given a chance. The movement has grown over the years, and I couldn't be more proud.
The fight against plastic pollution is hard and what made it even harder for me is having to fight and deal with it with social anxiety. People don't know that I struggle so hard whenever I face a crowd and give an awareness talk or presentation.
I've given a lot of talks since I started plastic Free Bohol and it has been great, but I'm taking a break because my social anxiety is acting up. It's not that I don't want to talk in front of people; it's just that doing so makes me really anxious.
During the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, I received many messages from people, especially students, inviting me to be a speaker at their school event. One time, I said yes to a Zoom interview with some students in Cebu. I thought it went well initially, but then I started going downhill. I had an anxiety attack in the middle of the interview. I always excused and muted myself because I found it hard to breathe. As a result, the discussion was cut short. I thought I would be OK with online talks, but apparently, I'm not. A month after that, I was invited to be a speaker with a school in Bohol. I accepted it, but I had my partner and a close friend. A few months after, I received an invitation with Meta (Facebook) and did an interview with them along with other amazing women who are fighting for the health of our planet. I wanted to say no, but I eventually said yes to the interview because it was a great opportunity since Meta is a huge platform. I prepared for one week for that interview so that I won't mess it up. When the interview day came, I was shaking and was so nervous. Thankfully, it wasn't that obvious in the video. It was such a huge relief when the interview ended, and to tell you honestly, I CRIED...A LOT. Later that day, I decided to stop public speaking or doing interviews for the time being.
It's been hard for me to deal with the anxiety, but I'm trying to take it one step at a time. Taking a break from giving talks doesn't mean that I'm not interested in them - it just means that I need more time to prepare, to make sure that I'm ready for it mentally and emotionally. I'm hoping that by taking some time off, I can get my social anxiety under control and be able to give more talks in the future.  |
| Photo by: Nat Luperte |
While I'm not ready to give another public speech quite yet, I feel much more confident about the whole process. And who knows? Maybe by the time my next talk rolls around, I'll be so excited to share my ideas with an audience that social anxiety won't even cross my mind. In the meantime, I'll keep practicing and working on strengthening my speaking skills- because practice makes perfect! Are you someone who struggles with public speaking? If so, know that you're definitely not alone. It can be a daunting task for sure, but it's definitely doable if you take things one step at a time and stay positive. Good luck!
@darlingoftheorient
Comments
Post a Comment