“Carol” an ovarian cancer survivor, and mother of two, describes the intensity of her anxiety. “Cancer shook me to my core. It was just me with the fight of my life vs. with blushing it’s people putting judgment and expectations on me. It’s my bright red burning face larger than life for everyone to see”. The social anxiety-driven blushing made her “a prisoner” as she avoided anything that would “put her in the spotlight”. The interpretation she put on the blushing was that “everyone could see that I was frightened and they would disregard everything I had to say”.

In this candid discussion “Mike” describes the “grey cloud over his head” caused by his daily worry regarding public speaking. His primary fear was that his voice would “quiver or shake”. High on the food chain of a small company he had been in a position to become quite proficient at avoiding anxiety inducing situations. His career as a salesman was threatened the more he avoided “getting in front of potential customers”. With a substantial amount of “expendable income” fine restaurants and “partying” became a way of life. The insidious nature of his relationship with alcohol became a major factor for deteriorating performance at work and negative mental health. Understanding the “physiology of performance” concurrent to self-esteem work is what “Mike” credits for his success.

All too often I encounter patients who have become overly dependent on prescription medication for their social and performance anxiety. A common problem scenario is over-dependence on beta blockers. While this dependence is more psychological than physical, the results can be devastatingly negative. Frequently prescribed for stage fright and performance anxiety, they can be effective in blocking adrenaline surges. The philosophy in The Berent Treatment Method for performance anxiety is that when used occasionally in high risk situations this is productive for healing. But; when over-adapting via beta blocker dependence occurs there is minimal opportunity to learn and implement the adrenaline control technique. This is because the technique is based on adrenalin acceptance and you have to feel that which you want to control. This interview describes productive integration of beta blockers into the treatment process.