FLOODING - confidence can be made up, right?

To overcome my stage fright anxiety, i have accepted an out-of-my-mind task.


I will be participating in a debate tomorrow. Something organized for the final year students in UKM. The problem is, all my life, i had NEVER debated. i mean, i enjoyed watching debates, but being up there, is something i had never imagined. Being up there with stage fright, is another thing. Gee, an auditorium of people staring back at you...

This is like some form of psychotherapy, my consultants call it 'flooding'.. i would have preferred some form of graded exposure, systemic desensitization or something. oh well... wish me luck! i hope i don't screw up.. (please refer to the footnotes in blue, i have included them for the benefit of non-medical related field readers)


Lingesh was so excited about it, with the adrenaline rush and all. I hoped i could share the similar anticipation. Ija and i were just super worried we might screw up. Lingesh, on the other hand, is so good at debate that he could be the first, second and third speaker and yet be 100 times better than all of us put together. Sometimes, i secretly envied debaters who could just speak out confidently, and make people believe in everything they say. Gee, the stress gets even worse, if i screwed up halfway and made the team lose; which i really hope i don't.


Topic: Contraception should be allowed in unmarried sexually active adolescent.
-will be the first speaker for the government...
well, at least it's something i can prepare..


i'm trying to be as positive as i could be. This is a golden opportunity, Lingesh said, an awesome experience. 'How often to you get a group of people who are willing to listen to a few dumb asses crapping? And it'll be fun!' - i hope so too ^^

confidence can be made up, right?


*back to work*


Footnotes:
Flooding = is a behaviour therapy where the patient is exposed to the feared stimulus immediately(all at one time) in its most intensive form
Graded exposure = exposure to the stimulus over several sessions, in which the stimulus is presented progressively in anxiety-provoking forms, from a small stimulus to more intensive stimulus, gradually.

p/s: will be against yee cherng and sob .... and i saw susan yesterday and she was involved in debate too, giving me the 'why me?' look.. haha! while qkk got forum, which i think is relatively more relaxed... if i feel evil, i might ask really hard questions, which QKK strongly forbid me from doing so... =P so, he suggested that we ask pre-prepared questions to which he would have pre-prepared answers to it.. haha! typ on the other hand, senang la, become moderator.. just have to pretend to be super enthusiastic and repeatedly ask, 'so, what do you think?' and 'any questions?'.. i was really looking forward to see im sing in her sexy nurse uniform during role play tomorrow... to bad, she changed roles... siGh, what a waste... hehe.. or else i can post pics... =P
Links: Learning to debate overnight