Dear Mr. Chappell:

I get very nervous performing and I have been considering taking beta-blockers to go onstage and perform. What is your opinion of this?

— Prescriber

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Dear Prescriber:

I disfavor using drugs to remedy stage fright, especially if other means are available. I’d like to suggest a couple of things for you to try.

You may notice that your hands shake when you get nervous (especially obvious to a pianist who is playing at the time). This is the body’s natural way of discharging the nervousness. It doesn’t mean that you are nervous, it means that you are becoming less nervous; it actually is a means to REDUCE your tension, so it’s a good sign. Therefore, take control of the process: purposely shake your hands back and forth. You could even make your whole body shiver in order to diminish your nervousness.

Part of having an experience is your reaction to it, which becomes a secondary experience. First you feel afraid, and then you feel like you don’t want to be afraid but you are, which tells you that you can’t help yourself from feeling afraid, which tells you that you are out of control. Break this loop by taking control of the fear: be afraid on purpose. In the privacy of your dressing room, pretend to be even more afraid than you really are. Shake your hands, hyperventilate, widen your eyes, and make sounds. Now you are the one who is driving your fear and it won’t be driving you. When you settle back to normal, you will most likely be much less anxious.

How did I overcome stage fright? By walking onstage pretending that I was at home in the greatest place in the world. After awhile, I ended up believing it.

— J.C.