Many people get nervous and self conscious at times such as on a job interview, going on a date, or maybe even doing a presentation at work.
But with Social Anxiety or Social Phobia it is more than just being shy or occasionally being nervous.
Social Anxiety involves intense fear of Social situations especially where you feel you are being watched by others. And even just thinking about the social situation can send Anxiety suffers into a panic attack/flashback (turning on the fight or flight response to protect you) and cause them to go to great lengths to avoid social situations altogether.
With Social Anxiety once you have had your first ever panic attack you often go on to fear having another one and especially in front of people hence learning to actually fear panic attacks themselves, which makes the person try and avoid having that situation happen and so isolates from people even more.
Social Anxiety interferes with peoples normal routines and causes severe distress on a daily basis such as going to the shops which can cause high levels of anxiety and dread, which i myself know a lot about as i had Social Anxiety/ Social Phobia since as was a teenager & up until my late 30’s.
In short, Social Anxiety is a fear of being judged, performing in public, being watched , and a fear of being embarrassed in front of others. And the Social Anxiety can go on to develop into Social Phobia, especially during prolonged flashbacks.
Common Social Anxiety Triggers-
- Meeting new people
- Making small talk
- Public speaking
- Performing on stage
- Being watched while doing things
- Being teased or criticised
- Taking exams
- Speaking up in a meeting
- Being called up in a class
- Talking with ‘important’ people or authority figures
- Making phone calls
- Eating or drinking in public
- Attending parties or other social situations
A child who grows up with no reliable human source of love, support and protection typically falls into a great deal of social unease. And extensive childhood abuse installs a message that people are dangerous which becomes programmed in their minds.
Trauma during childhood can influence the development of social anxiety, and serve Social Anxiety is often caused by physical, sexual or emotional abuse.
Everybody’s minds are hard wired to look for danger or what might go wrong, which naturally triggers anxiety to keep us alive. This is our automatic maladaptive survival mode.
Your mind does not know or care what you tell it weather it’s good or bad, right or wrong, true or false, helpful or unhelpful, it just lets it in.
Your mind is just doing it’s job. It doesn’t care weather your happy or not, it only cares about keeping you alive.
This is why our minds create stress, fear or anxiety to protect us from harm. So we need to explain to our mind that it has made a mistake, that it didn’t have to protect you by making you fearful, anxious or stressed, and to give your mind better instructions.
Therapy/Coaching with me helps you to stop the panic attacks and social anxiety, or any other form of anxiety and including depression, by fixing the problem on a subconscious level. As the problem was created in the subconscious so the resources to fix the problem will be in the subconscious. Getting to the root cause of the Social Anxiety and fixing it. As the social anxiety is the symptom, not the root cause problem.
I Can Help You-
- Have a higher self esteem & confidence
- Feel relaxed & calm in social situations
- Find it easier to be yourself
- Be comfortable giving presentations & speeches
- Enjoy special occasions such as weddings, parties, graduations
- Be able to go on holidays & enjoy them
- Be able to go to the shops
- Speak up & get your pint across
Types of Anxiety/Some of the types of Anxiety I can help you with-
- Generalised Anxiety
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Social Anxiety Disorder
- Obsessive – Compulsive Disorder
- Specific Phobias (Overwhelming & incapacitating fear of a specific object, place, situation or feeling)
Some Of The Issues Anxiety Can Cause-
- Stress
- Insomnia
- Poor Focus/ Concentration
- Palpitations
- Flushing/ Red Faced
- Sweating
- Panic Attacks
- Fear
- Depression
- Low Self Esteem/ Confidence
- Inability to switch off
- Nervousness
- Feeling of Powerlessness
- Disconnection
- Dissociation
- Anger/Irritability
- Feeling on Edge
- A feeling of dread
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Dry Mouth
- Shortness of Breath
Some Reasons Behind Anxiety-
- Believing your not enough
- Believing that you can not cope with situations
- Re-living a traumatic past experience
- Toxic people in your life
- Emotional Abuse or Physical Abuse
- Believing that ‘what goes up must come down’ ( waiting for it to go wrong as it won’t last forever)
- Fear of failure/rejection as you expect to fail
- Feel incompetent or inadequate
- Believe you are unlovable/ liked
- Self sabotaging