Anxiety bordering on panic when asked to speak
Hello friends,
I've been sober a long time and sharing my story isn't new to me. We recently moved to new area and I've been asked to speak in the coming week. I am so anxious and scared that I can hardly think. It is ALWAYS like this for me. I didn't sleep well last night and it is sheer torture until it is over. I do manage to do it and ask God to guide my words. It is such a relief when I am finished. I see others doing it with comfort and ease and even enjoyment and lightheartedness. My sponsor said it is my ego.
Yes I agree because I am afraid of how I will be perceived by others, afraid that I won't remember my story, afraid that I'll talk too much about the dark past and not enough about my recovery and working the steps and using the tools.
Would be so grateful to hear how others approach sharing your story with a group of drunks? Do you feel crippling anxiety? And if so, how do you handle it? I am feeling like nurse Jackie in the TV series. She popped a pill (narcotic) before she told her story at her anniversary meeting. That thought has actually crossed my sick mind. Thanks in advance for your experience strength and hope.