Public speaking in Grenoble: stage fright through the lens of Chinese medicine

Racing heart, tight throat, clammy hands: **stage fright** before **public speaking** is a well-known companion. In **Grenoble**, **traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)** offers a complementary view: behind the fear it reads the **Kidneys**, the **Liver** and **Gallbladder**, the **Heart** and its **Shen**, and the **Lung** that carries the voice.

Where does stage fright come from, according to TCM?

The **Nei Jing** directly links **fear** to the activity of the **Kidneys**. Other passages also associate it with the **Liver and Gallbladder**: they explain that **the Liver stores Blood** and that **a deficiency of Liver Blood produces fear**. Stage fright has no single root: it can come from a Kidney emptiness, insufficient Liver Blood, or accumulated tension. It is this fine reading that makes the support individual.

Why do we speak of courage and the Gallbladder?

The **Gallbladder** carries a precise emotional function: it is associated with **Zhong Zheng**, uprightness, and therefore with **courage** and **firmness in decisions**. In China, someone with strong Gallbladder Qi is said to be courageous. TCM also observes that **many anxiety disorders involve the Heart and Gallbladder**. Supporting these two organs means supporting the ability to assert oneself without freezing.

What role do the Heart and the Shen play?

The **Heart houses the Shen**, the mind. To keep its emotional stability it needs **abundant, nourished Xue**. When empty Heat settles and Blood no longer anchors the Shen well, we see **palpitations, anxiety, emotional instability** and difficulty sleeping — exactly what someone dreading public speaking feels. Nourishing Heart Blood and soothing the Shen are therefore part of the work.

And the Lung, and the voice?

The **Lung** governs Qi and voice. **Sadness** and grief **consume Lung Qi**: clinically this shows in laryngitis or aphonia during mourning periods. It is a different oppression from that of Liver Qi repression. For public speaking this reminds us of the importance of the **breath**: **abdominal breathing** that lets Lung Qi descend and settle. A voice that shakes is often a breath that has climbed too high; bringing it back down to the belly steadies both tone and nerve. The voice is not just an organ; it is a movement of energy.

How should one prepare concretely?

The approach combines classic points — **Yintang** to calm the mind, **MC6 Neiguan** to release chest oppression, **VG20 Baihui** to quiet agitation — with work on breath, sleep and diet. Stimulants (coffee, strong tea, refined sugar) that sustain **internal Heat** are avoided. And little by little one learns to **inhabit one's body** in the moment: feeling one's footing, letting the breath descend, relaxing the shoulders. TCM, like many traditions, holds that calm is cultivated by practice, not by decree — a few minutes a day beat a heroic effort the night before.

In short

**Stage fright** and fear of speaking, in TCM, read as an interplay between **Kidneys**, **Liver**, **Gallbladder**, **Heart** and **Lung**. Supporting **courage**, nourishing **Blood** and the **Shen**, letting the breath descend: this is the gentle support offered in **Grenoble**, **complementary** to any medical or psychological care.

Ghislaine Morin's website in Grenoble : www.sophrologue-grenoble.fr/medecine-chinoise-a-grenoble-38000-38100