Many people with social anxiety fear that people will notice that we are anxious, and this brings about all kinds of physical sensations. We learn to really fear the physical sensations (blushing, sweating, rapid heart rate, dizziness) that panic and anxiety can bring. If that’s you, you may benefit from exposing yourself to those sensations …
Now that we have covered all of the various types of social situations, you will develop a situational exposure hierarchy. Which types of social situations do you fear the most? Is it one specific theme like public speaking, small talk, or being the center of attention, or is it more general in nature (everything)? Make …
The more you expose yourself to the social situations you fear, the easier they will become. You will eventually learn and internalize that you do not have to fear these situations. Once you get comfortable in these situations, you will want to continue pushing yourself to the point where you can say something stupid on …
Now that you have a good understanding of what to do for exposure practices, let’s look at the various types of social situations you can practice. Many of these situations may seem too difficult for you, but over time, as you grow and push your limits, you will be able to handle these seemingly impossible …
Preparing For Exposure Practices First, do an initial self-assessment. For you to plan the appropriate exposure practices, you must know what kind of situations and sensations you fear. Consider your short term and long term goals. How can you tie in your practices to best meet these goals? Next, develop a social anxiety hierarchy. Lastly, …
If you have tried exposure practices in the past, there may be a couple reasons why it hasn’t worked. 1 – You weren’t armed with the knowledge of how anxiety works/ or you didn’t understand the 3 components of anxiety/ or how to use cognitive therapy to change your anxious thinking patterns. 2 – The …
It’s no surprise that when you are anxious or scared, you do things to try and protect yourself and stay out of harms way. You either avoid the situation completely or do what you can to get out of that situation as soon as possible. It’s human nature. It may seem like avoiding a feared …
Shyness and social anxiety can range from mild to extremely debilitating. It can stop people from developing friendships, working, and even going anywhere in public. Many celebrities/historical figures suffer from social anxiety – Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Michelle Pfieffer, David Bowie, David Letterman, Nicole Kidman, …
Great video from Stanford Graduate School of Business Professor Matt Abrahams How to think fast and talk smart Matt Abrahams talks about studies that have been done that show that 85% of people get anxiety before public speaking. He says the other 15% are probably lying, and I completely agree with him. This is a …
The title of this book screams – “how to manipulate people”. Well, at least it did to me. But after reading it, I can say it’s actually a great book with sound principals that are genuine in nature. Dale’s methods are still used today in business and personal life, even though many are thought to …