Anyone know any pill to eliminate nervous "tics" during speech?

Question

I have to speak in front of my class at university, and I have nervous tics during my speechs, I do not what to do when this happen, it is very shameful. Anyone here know any pill to eliminate or reduce nervous tics? I would like to receive your advice. Thanks
Fabricio

Answer 1

There isn't anything available without a prescription in the US. Drugs that might help are ones that reduce anxiety (such as Xanax) or muscle relaxants (Flexeril, Soma), or even anticonvulsants (Klonopin, Ativan). All of these meds have side effects that can be worse than the problem you are trying to solve, and finding one that actually helps is trial-and-error.

As an alternative to the medication route, there are a couple of things you can do. The number 1 thing to reduce anxiety when giving a speech is to practice it so many times that nothing can possibly go wrong. For me, that means I actually need to have the speech written about 4-5 days ahead of time, so i can run through the speech about 20 times or more before I give it. This also provides an opportunity to fine-tune the speech. This might seem ridiculous, but i actually do this - I don't have a choice if i want to give a good presentation.

Another thing that helps is to intentionally slow down and take deep, long, relaxed breathes - this causes your pulse rate and cortisol levels to drop, which is what anxiety meds try to do. You have to practice this too ahead of time, but it really works. The only other thing I can think of that might help with relaxation is stretching any tight muscles daily prior to the speech. Good Luck.!