Social Anxiety (or Social Phobia)

Social Anxiety, or Social Phobia is the fear of being judged by others, and is also sometimes known as a lack of self confidence.

In his article, Symptoms of Social Anxiety, Paul Douglass writes...

"Social anxiety (also known as social phobia) can be summed up as the fear of being judged by other people.

Someone with social anxiety or social phobia, will worry about how other might see them.

Everyone wants to be seen positively by others, and we all, to one extent or another, care about how others see us.

If you suffer with social anxiety (social phobia) though, this is more than just caring what others think... it can become an outright fear.

It can affect almost any aspect of a social phobic's life, where any kind of interaction with others may occur (not just social interaction as the term 'social anxiety' might suggest).

Someone with social anxiety (social phobia) may actively avoid situations that involve any interaction with other people, so that they don't have to face their fear."

Paul goes on to explain about the fear of being judged...

"People with social anxiety (social phobia) often presume that other people are judging them, even if there actually isn't any evidence to support this.

Let's take the example of someone going out of their house into the front garden. Let's say that the neighbor, who had been in their own garden, goes indoors. In this situation, someone with social anxiety (social phobia) might incorrectly assume that the neighbor had gone indoors because they had gone out into their garden.

They might assume a responsibility for their neighbor's actions... in actual fact, the neighbor had gone indoors because their phone had rung, but to the socially anxious (social phobic) person, they may assume that the neighbor simply doesn't like them.

Of course, someone with stronger social anxiety (social phobia) might not have gone out into their garden at all in this situation, for fear that they might get into a conversation with the neighbor.

People with social anxiety (social phobia) often feel that everything they do is being judged, and so will often try to just 'blend into the background', in the hope that they won't get noticed."

Read Paul Douglass' full article on the Symptoms of Social Anxiety here

What Causes Social Anxiety (Social Phobia)?

Social Anxiety (Social Phobia), in common with many other phobias, is a mechanism put in place by the brain to protect us from something that (for some reason), it has mis-judged the threat of.

In the example of Social Anxiety (Social Phobia), the person may have had an experience in their past where they felt judged, and their mind is over-protecting them from similar situations, in case something similar ever happens again.

Treating a phobia can by surprisingly simple, because all that really needs to happen, is for that 'unresolved emotion', or 'conflict', to be resolved. Once the 'unresolved emotion' is resolved, there's no longer a need for the mind to protect us (or over-protect us) from it, and the Social Anxiety (Social Phobia) can disappear.

Looking for help with Social Anxiety (Social Phobia)?

It's important to remember, that if you suffer from social anxiety (social phobia), then help is available.

The LifeShaping Process

The LifeShaping Process is a superb online (web based) series of sessions created by professional therapists for you to use at home. Online sessions are very popular these days, because you can fit them around your life far more easily than travelling to a therapist for a face-to-face session.

You can get access to the full LifeShaping Process, plus access to all the online help, resources, updates and support for a full year, for less than £1 per week!!

See how the LifeShaping Process could help you overcome a lack of self confidence...

 

Boost Your Self Confidence with Hypnosis

If you're looking to boost your self confidence, then there are some excellent products available... some of which you can use at home, without having to meet a therapist for a one-to-one session.

Using something like an MP3 download could save you a lot of money, and you can use them at home, so it doesn't depend on you living near to a therapist... If you'd like to try a good MP3 download, then we'd recommend you try something like Boost Your Self Confidence with Hypnosis .

Click here to read more about the MP3 hypnosis download, Boost Your Self Confidence with Hypnosis.

Are You Affected by Social Anxiety (Social Phobia)?

Tell Us Your Story - If you are suffering from ther effects of social anxiety (social phobia), be sure to share your story with us.

Looking for help with a problem?... Do get in touch... We're here to help...

If you're looking for help with an anxiety based problem, then we'll do what we can to help you.

There are lots of different ways we may be able to help you to feel better... we'd love to meet you for a chat at one of our practices, or, if you're not near us, there's the LifeShaping Process which is a superb, web based process that you can use at home!

If you're unsure where to start, or would just like to get in touch, just use the contact form below to tell us a bit about yourself, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.