Overcoming nervousness?

Welcome to Fluther, and congratulations on your selection to your school’s spelling bee competition. (As a sixth-grade champion of my own school in the 1964–65 school year I understand how you feel … and I still recall the word that I went out on in a later competition with another school’s team.)

I have also been laughed at on any number of occasions.

Take it from me, the feeling of losing the spelling bee competition – one time! – has lasted far longer than any embarrassment at being laughed at. And the “laughing at” has happened many times. That will probably also happen to you so many times over the rest of your life that feelings of anxiety over its re-occurrence will soon pale into insignificance. (If you’ve not been laughed at before now, then where have you been hiding?) So try to relax about that; being laughed at isn’t so terrifying once you’ve experienced it a few times.

What I can also tell you is that if you don’t try, don’t give it your best shot and don’t compete as hard and intensely as you can you may regret that for the rest of a very long life.

I can’t reasonably tell you “don’t be nervous”, and I don’t expect you to simply take my word for it that “there’s no reason to be terrified” and have that be the end of those feelings. But I can suggest to you that you “be brave”, and that’s a thing that I’m sure you can do. You know what bravery is, right? Bravery is being afraid and still doing what you know you have to do, and what you can do in spite of those feelings.

You have no idea how good you can feel about yourself – and for good reason, too! – until you have faced your fear, put it aside just enough, and do what you need to do regardless. When you win, I’ll show you my trophy if you’ll show me yours. (Of course I still have it!)

Thank you very much! That really put things into perspective for me! ❤

I came in 6th out of 26 in my district spelling bee.
I had anxiety issues about it, too. (don’t we all?) The word I went out on was steroid. She pronounced it as /STEER oid/ and I’ve only heard it as /STEH roid/. When she had said it like that, I got so nervous that I froze and just spelt it out how I thought it’d sound in her pronunciation, and got it wrong.
To ease my nervousness, I never looked at anyone. I just stared (not awkwardly with my eyes bulged open or anything) at something which I knew wouldn’t judge me, such as the back wall or the aisle.

When I played in rock bands I had horrible performance anxiety. I was fine in a relaxed environment with spectators but not in large turnouts. A couple of beers usually took the edge off so it’s easy to see why so many performers are big into drugs. I gave up performing over a decade ago. My sister is a musician and had to quit the symphony because of performance anxiety. She can do weddings just fine but not the big concerts. She said beta blockers helped but ultimately she gave up performing.

Forget pressure, everyone will be feeling the same, go out there & bee the best that you can bee, put a spell on your competitors & make it shine.
(Must stop watching Victorious with my daughter) :)

My 15 yr old just went through this and was very close to a melt down over having to do a theater recital after his epic fail his first time in front of his peers. Wild horses couldn’t drag him back to do his final recital and it took everything as a parent to encourage him to go through with it. He dug deep inside his gut and stepped up to do what he knew he had to do and froze…that there should have been the end of the road, but his teacher gently told him to go re-read his lines for a bit and try again. He did and though he did not ace the recital, he did so with character and determination.

Life is chock full of moments you will not be a willing participant in….and when you are my age you will chuckle at how easy that spelling bee is compared to all the other challenges you will face. Your next word is…irascible (i-ra-sə-bəl)

Well to start off i would just like to say that i am A trained mental health worker so you can rest asured that I know what im talking about.Nervousness is very normal.I feel it every time i meet with a patient. I was in the spelling bee every year from 1st grade to JR. high(7th grade).I have 5 1st place trophies and 1 2nd place trophy.My point is that just go out there and focus on the task at hand.When it is your turn, block out everybody but you and the person who is telling the word to spell. It doesnt matter what other people say.

Have you ever been treated for anxiety, because it sounds to me like you might be struggling with anxiety a little.

Control your breathing when you are nervous you “Over breathe” so to speak once you get that under control it will help with the nerves.