Dr. David Burns

Matt, I heard you get very anxious sometimes.

Matt, I heard you get very anxious sometimes.

Okay, go. Go ahead.

Okay, go. Go ahead.

Yeah. The attempt to control it and thinking it's some awful thing that you shouldn't be having. Yeah.

Yeah. The attempt to control it and thinking it's some awful thing that you shouldn't be having. Yeah.

Self-disclosure.

Self-disclosure.

Yeah, yeah. I had to give a talk on anxiety at Harvard once. and on cognitive therapy. And I decided to do it on public speaking anxiety, And I imagined that it would be like a seminar with maybe eight psychiatric residents and a couple of faculty or something like that. And when I got there, I found out it wasn't anything like that at all.

Yeah, yeah. I had to give a talk on anxiety at Harvard once. and on cognitive therapy. And I decided to do it on public speaking anxiety, And I imagined that it would be like a seminar with maybe eight psychiatric residents and a couple of faculty or something like that. And when I got there, I found out it wasn't anything like that at all.

It was a full-day continuing education program with eight speakers. And I was the last speaker of the day. Right. And the other speakers were these hot dog Harvard Medical School researchers talking about their genetic research. It was all basic cellular technology stuff. And I said, oh, my God, I'm in the wrong spot. There were 1,000 psychiatrists in the audience.

It was a full-day continuing education program with eight speakers. And I was the last speaker of the day. Right. And the other speakers were these hot dog Harvard Medical School researchers talking about their genetic research. It was all basic cellular technology stuff. And I said, oh, my God, I'm in the wrong spot. There were 1,000 psychiatrists in the audience.

And I started getting more and more nervous and telling myself, oh, I wish I wasn't here. This is the worst day of my life. And I felt so inferior to those other speakers who were these internationally renowned scientists and scientists. And then I got up, by the time I went up to speak to the podium, my mouth was so dry that I couldn't make any sounds come out of it.

And I started getting more and more nervous and telling myself, oh, I wish I wasn't here. This is the worst day of my life. And I felt so inferior to those other speakers who were these internationally renowned scientists and scientists. And then I got up, by the time I went up to speak to the podium, my mouth was so dry that I couldn't make any sounds come out of it.

And I was looking out at these 1,000 psychiatrists staring at me. And... And then I just, on the spur of the moment, said, my talk today is on using cognitive therapy for anxiety, and I'm going to be focusing on public speaking anxiety.

And I was looking out at these 1,000 psychiatrists staring at me. And... And then I just, on the spur of the moment, said, my talk today is on using cognitive therapy for anxiety, and I'm going to be focusing on public speaking anxiety.

And I said, but to get started, I'd like to know, have any of you had intense public speaking anxiety where you got so nervous at the start of a talk that you felt that you wouldn't even be able to make any sounds, and your mouth got dry, and you're just really in a state of panic? Hold your hand up if you've ever had that experience. And I swear that 75% of the hands went up like that.

And I said, but to get started, I'd like to know, have any of you had intense public speaking anxiety where you got so nervous at the start of a talk that you felt that you wouldn't even be able to make any sounds, and your mouth got dry, and you're just really in a state of panic? Hold your hand up if you've ever had that experience. And I swear that 75% of the hands went up like that.

And they said, well, that's how I'm feeling right now because we've had all these fantastic speakers, and I'm just going to show you some kind of humble cognitive therapy techniques. And they laughed, and they really liked it, and it turned into a really nice experience. But again, it's sharing... where you're at, rather than hiding it in shame.

And they said, well, that's how I'm feeling right now because we've had all these fantastic speakers, and I'm just going to show you some kind of humble cognitive therapy techniques. And they laughed, and they really liked it, and it turned into a really nice experience. But again, it's sharing... where you're at, rather than hiding it in shame.