From Public Speaking Anxiety to Speaking Mentor - with Dr. Doreen Downing

💬 message Denise Some of us are here to teach the very thing we once feared the most. That's the powerful truth at the heart of this week's Thrive After 45™ episode. I sat down with Dr. Doreen Downing, a clinical psychologist who spent decades helping people, all while secretly struggling with intense public speaking anxiety. It wasn't just nerves...it was a crippling fear that she couldn't "knuckle her way through" or overcome by memorizing scripts.Instead of letting her fear win, Doreen chose to do the deep inner work. What she discovered became her life's signature contribution...the Find Your Voice method. It's a powerful mix of psychology, mindfulness, and her own experience, created to help people stop performing and start expressing their truth in boardrooms, on stages, or at home. She’s mentored thousands of people over 45 years and was first licensed as a psychotherapist in 1980.We chat about how to move from pretending to performing and get to your quiet inner truth. Doreen's work is not about helping people be better speakers, but about helping them be more of who they are. She shares that what's in your way is actually the way. She also opens up about what most people get wrong about fear...that it's too big to approach...and how we can start listening to what our fear is trying to teach us.Doreen's book, "The 7 Secrets to Finding Your Voice," teaches a process of how to be still, be present, and eventually, be yourself. It’s a journey that takes you from the past, where your fears were born, to a courageous confidence in the present moment. Find out more about Doreen and her work:Website:  https://doreendowning.comGet Her 7 Step Guide to Fearless Speaking:   https://doreen7steps.com Thank you for spending time with me today on the Thrive After 45™ podcast! If this episode spoke to you, be sure to hit that follow button so you never miss one.November 2026, I will be hosting a live, in-person experience called IGNITE: The Inner Uprising™.It is a two-day immersive gathering for women in midlife — women who feel the quiet pull toward something more truthful, more embodied, more fully their own.IGNITE is an extension of these conversations.It’s where reflection becomes embodiment.Where insight becomes integration.Where women who have held so much for others gather to stand fully in their own sovereignty.If something in today’s conversation stirred you — if your body leaned in — that is NOT accidental.The waitlist is now open.If IGNITE feels like something your future self would thank you for, I invite you to add your name here. https://ignite2026.lovable.appThere is a place for us to gather.If you loved this episode, I’d be so grateful if you left a review - it helps more amazing women like you find this show!Your journey doesn’t stop here - let’s keep the conversation going! Connect with me at denisedrinkwalter.com, and follow ...