What It Feels Like to Freeze on National Television
It&#x27;s really great that Dr. Habib is talking about this publicly and I think his word &quot;solidarity&quot; is very helpful. If you&#x27;ve ever experienced what he&#x27;s describing it is baffling and excruciating and the very nature of it is you feel that everyone else is on the other side (not against you, necessarily, but out there watching).<p>I&#x27;ve experienced this more than once -- the first time when I was in my 20&#x27;s and on live TV being interviewed about a local community group I was part of. The lights and live camera inexplicably turned my brain to complete mush, despite the fact that the interview was a completely friendly one. I&#x27;ve also had it happen in front of live audiences -- both as a speaker and as a musician.<p>But here&#x27;s the interesting thing. I also love being up in front of an audience. I&#x27;ve performed as a professional musician (and dancer) and also given numerous talks. And, speaking of music, there are artists of the highest caliber who&#x27;ve struggled with debilitating performance anxiety.<p>And it&#x27;s relevant here on HN. I was in a Founders Institute demo day a few years ago when one of my classmates had exactly this kind of meltdown.<p>But there really is a lot you can do to get a handle on performance anxiety. It starts with having plenty of practice in pressure situations. And with not being too hard on yourself if you do screw up.