Helen is onto something. A beta-blocker called propanolol is extremely helpful. It's marketed as a blood pressure drug, but many a doctor will prescribe it for this use, which is well supported by the research literature.

I learned of it from a very helpful book called Stagefright, which my classical pianist wife learned of in a class on handling stagefright she had when she was doing her master's. I have used it a few times.

One takes a propanolol pill about an hour before performance time. There is no change in sensation or perception. It doesn't make you any better (or any worse) than your practice has made you be. It is not habit forming. What it does is suppress or maybe the word is eliminate the unfortunate physical side-effects of stagefright, like trembling, shaking, whatever. You still have whatever worries about being "good enough", so there's still the "edge" that some people actually want when they perform. The difference is that you can control your hands, you don't fall down on stage from fright, and so on.

Having made it through the stress situation, the next time in that venue or that stress situation is easier. For that sort of situation, soon you don't need the help of propanolol. If you then are faced with a different type of situation that is a new stress challenge, then you may want to use propanolol for that new, greater challenge. But you're not hooked forever on it.

I can recommend it. It's been a long time now since I last felt any need for it, but faced say with a new location or maybe a much bigger audience than I'd performed for previously, I might very well.

DAve Oesterreich