First, thank you for sharing this so openly — what you describe hits at something deeper than just “nerves.” It touches the real sensory and relational shifts that happen in virtual spaces, which can disrupt your internal regulation system. Let me break it down a bit: In person, your nervous system picks up on subtle cues — breath sounds, body presence, microexpressions — not just from them, but also from yourself. You feel yourself *existing* in a room. You’re anchored in space, you can sense your feet, the shape of the conversation, the rise and fall of interaction. On video, that system shrinks. Your attention collapses inward onto the screen, onto the camera, onto the “performance” of speaking — and your body starts to disappear from your own awareness. This detachment magnifies the mental freeze, the twitching, the throat closing, the feeling of being disembodied and mechanical. So here’s a targeted approach: Re-anchor yourself physically before and during the call. Before the interview, stand up and feel the weight in your feet. Stretch your arms wide, open your chest, feel the space around you. Let your body *reclaim* the room you’re in — remind yourself you are not just a face on a screen. Keep your visual field wide. Instead of laser-focusing on the little square of your own video or the interviewer’s face, occasionally soften your gaze to the edges of your screen, or the background. Let your eyes “breathe.” This prevents visual fixation, which locks up the whole system. Let yourself be rhythmic, not perfect. In freeze states, we forget rhythm: we hold breath, we push through words, we lose inflection. Before speaking, give yourself a micro-moment to reconnect to breath or even lightly gesture with your hand offscreen — anything that brings back fluidity. Don’t aim to *prove* you’re worthy — aim to *inhabit* yourself. The interviewer doesn’t just need the perfect words; they respond to your felt presence. But you can’t force presence through pressure. You build it from the inside by claiming your own ground, your own space, your own continuity while you speak. You’re not doomed by past interviews — you simply need to shift what system you’re using: → Not “mind only.” → Not “perfect output.” → But body + rhythm + awareness, reactivated under digital conditions.