Overcoming Social Anxiety and Shyness: A Self-help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioural Techniques
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- Create Date：2021-05-07 10:55:33
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Gillian Butler
- ISBN：1472120434
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Summary
Don't let social anxiety and shyness ruin your life
Everyone feels foolish， embarrassed， judged or criticised at times， but this becomes a problem when it undermines your confidence and prevents you from doing what you want to do。 Extreme social anxiety and shyness can be crippling but thy are readily treated using cognative behavioural therapy （CBT）。
In this fully revised and updated edition， Dr Gillian Butler provides a practical， easy to use self-help course which will be invaluable for those suffering from all degrees of social anxiety。
Uses real life examples
Indispensable for those affected by social anxiety or shyness
Contains a complete self-help programme and worksheets
Gilllian Butler is a retired consultant clinical psychologist and fellow of the British Psychological society， who used to practise in the Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare Trust。
Outstanding self-help guides use clinically proven techniques to treat long-standing and disabling conditions， both psychological and physical。
Everyone feels foolish， embarrassed， judged or criticised at times， but this becomes a problem when it undermines your confidence and prevents you from doing what you want to do。 Extreme social anxiety and shyness can be crippling but thy are readily treated using cognative behavioural therapy （CBT）。
In this fully revised and updated edition， Dr Gillian Butler provides a practical， easy to use self-help course which will be invaluable for those suffering from all degrees of social anxiety。
Uses real life examples
Indispensable for those affected by social anxiety or shyness
Contains a complete self-help programme and worksheets
Gilllian Butler is a retired consultant clinical psychologist and fellow of the British Psychological society， who used to practise in the Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare Trust。
Outstanding self-help guides use clinically proven techniques to treat long-standing and disabling conditions， both psychological and physical。
Reviews
Carla Kovacs
，
Upon reading this book I knew I suffered from social anxiety I just didn’t really know much it。 This book really helped me to understand myself and the anxiety I suffer with more， there is a lot of great exercises in this book that really have helped me overcome anxiety in certain situations it even has blank copies of the worksheets。 If you are suffering from social anxiety I recommend you try reading this book。
Consuelo Elorza
，
As a woman with anxiety disorder i totally recommend this book。 It really helped and will continue be a useful help in the process of healing。 Also， it has powerful ideas that become useful tools for all the lifespan。
Dave Stansbury
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Not much help。。。read this years ago。。。
Julio Bonilla
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Being relaxed is an attitude as well as the result of learning…This book really brought me back to learning how to behave outside。 This was after my trauma in Peru， back on January， 1987。 I'd been comatose for 3 weeks， so it was urgent that my dad and I return to San Francisco to get me some real help at UCSF。 Fast-forward to 2012， when I was diagnosed with AD/HD at Kaiser。。。 🏥 I was very shy my freshman year of high school。 Of course， I'd answer back if someone asked me a question that led to c Being relaxed is an attitude as well as the result of learning…This book really brought me back to learning how to behave outside。 This was after my trauma in Peru， back on January， 1987。 I'd been comatose for 3 weeks， so it was urgent that my dad and I return to San Francisco to get me some real help at UCSF。 Fast-forward to 2012， when I was diagnosed with AD/HD at Kaiser。。。 🏥 I was very shy my freshman year of high school。 Of course， I'd answer back if someone asked me a question that led to conversations。Nowadays， I speak confidently， cook breakfast when I can， and gladly help anyone out。 It's fun to learn new tricks！ I help others， just as others helped me in 1987。 。。。more
Max R Downey
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Meh， sinceramente no se que esperaba。 La descripción de la ansiedad social esta bien。 Los consejos para manejarla pueden ser útiles para alguien que no es consciente de que sus pensamientos son irracionales， pero tener esa consciencia no soluciona el problema。 Para la gente que sabe que la única forma de superarla es obligandose a participar de situaciones sociales， pero aun así es incapaz， es inútil。Se podría haber resumido en 5 paginas。 No entiendo por qué los libros de autoayuda siempre ponen Meh， sinceramente no se que esperaba。 La descripción de la ansiedad social esta bien。 Los consejos para manejarla pueden ser útiles para alguien que no es consciente de que sus pensamientos son irracionales， pero tener esa consciencia no soluciona el problema。 Para la gente que sabe que la única forma de superarla es obligandose a participar de situaciones sociales， pero aun así es incapaz， es inútil。Se podría haber resumido en 5 paginas。 No entiendo por qué los libros de autoayuda siempre ponen ejemplos hipotéticos para ilustrar sus puntos， lo encuentro insoportable。 。。。more
Hazel Griffin
，
From reading this book I have discovered/discovering that it's ok to be me， to be shy and to find ways of working with it。 I have been socially anxious from a child and it's so hard to change habits that you've built up over years and that you didn't even realise you were doing in the first place。 I have just finished reading this book and will now go back over the chapters about helping myself and practice the worksheets。 I highly recommend this book if you struggle with interacting with people From reading this book I have discovered/discovering that it's ok to be me， to be shy and to find ways of working with it。 I have been socially anxious from a child and it's so hard to change habits that you've built up over years and that you didn't even realise you were doing in the first place。 I have just finished reading this book and will now go back over the chapters about helping myself and practice the worksheets。 I highly recommend this book if you struggle with interacting with people， family and loved ones， as I do。 。。。more
Shane
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So， I'm about three-quarters of the way through this guide。 I've not finished it， and I'm not sure if I will for a while。 I tend to consume it when I'm feeling quite low。 This book is split into two parts: the root causes of social anxiety — what perpetuates it。 You can skip over this part if you want to， but it isn't recommended。 It's quite long， but worth it！ The next is how to combat it。 The book provides advice， worksheets， and examples。 I found this guide helpful。 It allowed me to recognise So， I'm about three-quarters of the way through this guide。 I've not finished it， and I'm not sure if I will for a while。 I tend to consume it when I'm feeling quite low。 This book is split into two parts: the root causes of social anxiety — what perpetuates it。 You can skip over this part if you want to， but it isn't recommended。 It's quite long， but worth it！ The next is how to combat it。 The book provides advice， worksheets， and examples。 I found this guide helpful。 It allowed me to recognise my safety behaviours and fight them。 It gave me the confidence to start taking small steps towards being more outgoing。 Whenever I feel anxious or worthless， I think back to the advice of this book and try to fight it off; it works。 This book does give you a plan to improve yourself slowly， but it won't replace an actual qualified therapist。 I'm still going to see a CBT therapist after reading this book。 I'd also like to add that I didn't do the worksheets because， well， I'm lazy and I'm able to effectively analyse interactions without writing them down and rating them。 I'd strongly recommend doing them if you have severe social anxiety， though。 。。。more
Liusmiler323
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I like these kinds of practical book。 Helpful for myself。 Can also help others。 In one word， all the suggestions in this book say: find the truth， and help ourselves with love。
Nam Quoc
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It is the most comprehensive book when it comes to social phobia。 It teaches you step-by-step guide to overcome the said fear in a very practical way。 I highly recommend it for anyone who suffers from social anxiety and shyness。
Sukanya Arora
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Being a clinician， I can totally vouch for this one。 It’s totally a wonder to me that a self-help book can decipher scientific， psychological techniques with such simplicity and applicability。 Recommend it to anyone and everyone who feel that their life is diminished by the weight of the fear of social situations。 I have read the Overcoming Depression， and this one from the Overcoming series。 I wish to pick up the ‘Overcoming Body Dysmorphic Disorder or Body Image Problems’ Totally competent， sc Being a clinician， I can totally vouch for this one。 It’s totally a wonder to me that a self-help book can decipher scientific， psychological techniques with such simplicity and applicability。 Recommend it to anyone and everyone who feel that their life is diminished by the weight of the fear of social situations。 I have read the Overcoming Depression， and this one from the Overcoming series。 I wish to pick up the ‘Overcoming Body Dysmorphic Disorder or Body Image Problems’ Totally competent， scientific， evidence based， realistic and applicable。Thank You for writing this。 。。。more
Alexandru Somesan
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Being curious about psychology， but also a slightly socially anxious person， I decided to give this book a try。 I loved how the author's approach is based on cognitive-behavioral therapy - which is basically about the continuous interaction between thoughts， feelings， and behavior。 Some key points of the book:- Learn to recognize your patterns of anxiety （when it happens， how it manifests etc。） and set your expectations accordingly （e。g。 "My public speech will not be perfect"）;- Understand and w Being curious about psychology， but also a slightly socially anxious person， I decided to give this book a try。 I loved how the author's approach is based on cognitive-behavioral therapy - which is basically about the continuous interaction between thoughts， feelings， and behavior。 Some key points of the book:- Learn to recognize your patterns of anxiety （when it happens， how it manifests etc。） and set your expectations accordingly （e。g。 "My public speech will not be perfect"）;- Understand and work around your biases （e。g。 exaggerating， over-generalizing， predicting the future as a certainty， mindreading， focusing on the negative side of things）;- Try to do things differently through small experiments， because old patterns keep the problem going;- Face up your fears one bit at a time （systematic desensitization）;- Write down your thoughts and experiences （specify the situation， expected thoughts & feelings， alternatives to be tried out， actual results）;- Celebrate small wins with rewards to enforce the behaviors。I didn't enjoy the repetitions and anecdotes， typical for a "self-help" book， but overall I gained insights and ideas to put into practice， so I'm happy to have read this book。 。。。more
Ana-Maria Petre
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Not bad， but could have said the same things in much fewer words。
MS
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I really did get some important insights from this book。 Now all I have to do is to actually use the techniques mentioned in the book :D
Elham
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Reading this book， gave me a very nice understanding of social anxiety。 There were some anxieties in me， that I hadn’t noticed before。 But while reading the book， I figured that Oh I have that too！ And I understood how ridicules some of them are。 I even didn’t know they exist， but then I could totally analyze them and see how some of them are funny。 Another good thing about this book was knowing that I’m not the only person experiencing these anxieties。 It was really hopeful knowing that there a Reading this book， gave me a very nice understanding of social anxiety。 There were some anxieties in me， that I hadn’t noticed before。 But while reading the book， I figured that Oh I have that too！ And I understood how ridicules some of them are。 I even didn’t know they exist， but then I could totally analyze them and see how some of them are funny。 Another good thing about this book was knowing that I’m not the only person experiencing these anxieties。 It was really hopeful knowing that there are many people suffering from the very same things I suffer from。 So I can say the book was a nice one。 I recommend reading it to people who are shy。 。。。more
Dina Megahed
，
With this book， I've experienced the pain of refreshing the wounds and the comfort of seeing them getting ready to heal。It was really helpful。 With this book， I've experienced the pain of refreshing the wounds and the comfort of seeing them getting ready to heal。It was really helpful。 。。。more
Warda
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I've struggled with social anxiety for the longest of times。 My therapist recommended this book to me to read alongside my CBT sessions and to use as a general guide for my life。It's weird， because I've never been able to speak about this。 Mainly due to the fact that I never knew I had social anxiety till the end of last year。 And due to my sessions， I've seen such a vast improvement within myself。All to say that， if you're struggling with your mental health， it is okay and that the best thing y I've struggled with social anxiety for the longest of times。 My therapist recommended this book to me to read alongside my CBT sessions and to use as a general guide for my life。It's weird， because I've never been able to speak about this。 Mainly due to the fact that I never knew I had social anxiety till the end of last year。 And due to my sessions， I've seen such a vast improvement within myself。All to say that， if you're struggling with your mental health， it is okay and that the best thing you can do is to seek assistance for it。 No matter how much your brain and your own self （let's be real， we are our biggest enemy！） tries to convince you that it is a minute problem， speak to your doctor。 You'll feel better for it， I promise。 。。。more
Gulnur
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Definitely very useful in terms of gaining an understanding in depth of social anxiety， personally， I found it a bit tricky to read。
Jan-Maat
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Somewhere round about page two hundred I found this was getting too difficult to read and I was obliged to turn to rereading Kafka's The Trial instead for some light relief。 Now I am not sure if it was just one particular thing that I found painful or the abrasive effect of two hundred pages catching at me。This book is part of a series - although a completely freestanding book - that apparently some Doctor's practises in the UK are providing / or recommending （view spoiler）[ I'm not sure which， Somewhere round about page two hundred I found this was getting too difficult to read and I was obliged to turn to rereading Kafka's The Trial instead for some light relief。 Now I am not sure if it was just one particular thing that I found painful or the abrasive effect of two hundred pages catching at me。This book is part of a series - although a completely freestanding book - that apparently some Doctor's practises in the UK are providing / or recommending （view spoiler）[ I'm not sure which， please don't travel to Britain in the hope of finding that Doctors' provide a parallel library system （hide spoiler）] to patients， and just as that suggests that the Doctor alone can't resolve your problems - such work will expand beyond the duration of your consultation， so too Gillian Butler in her book makes clear that the book also is not sufficient， your 'cure' must expand beyond the scope of the book， she recommends journaling， worksheets， mini-experiments and flashcards （I have never liked flashcards in any circumstances， far too brash and two-dimensional for my taste）。 Maybe she has a point， you'll have to judge for yourself， how seriously and with how much work you want to address yourself。I found the title difficult from the first， starting with the word 'overcoming'， which felt already too confrontational， how about 'coming to a peaceful accommodation with social anxiety and shyness'？ This not entirely a facile point as from early on Butler tells us that if you do have social anxiety and/or shyness - the two she feels may be somewhat different but overlap to some extent - then you very probably believe that you are deficient and not good enough in some way and the implicit subtext of the book itself is that such a belief is correct and true: if you are anxious or shy in social situations there is something wrong with you， namely your social anxiety or shyness。 Part of the problem is beating yourself up over your own anxiety or your own perceived shortcomings due to your shyness， this book one might say adds to this by pointing out that your established ways of self castigation are inefficient and what you need are a better tool set courtesy of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy （CBT） to seriously remodel yourself。 This struck me as at least mildly problematic - （yes you do have a problem - and the problem is you！） however this didn't trouble the author and she's the one with the clinical experience。。。it is only late on that she introduces the idea of accepting yourself and in the optional extra chapters （on aggression and passivity as reactions to anxiety， the lasting impacts of bullying， and relaxation and Mindfulness） （those three I felt were the most interesting in the book） introduced the notion of relaxation， which if I may be ever so 'umble （in my finest Uriah Heep grovel）， might be a good starting point for coming to terms with anxiety。 It is written in an an easy style with grey highlights boxes reminiscent of a text book， and looks to be similarly skimmable， although I did end up reading the whole thing （the phrase glutton for punishment springs to mind）。Anyway to reduce as much as possible the potential sprawl of this rambling review， I was reminded how weird most of us are - and if you're not weird， that is a bit weird in itself。 Some people would rather die she writes than do any public speaking - now unaccustomed as I am， I find public speaking fairly enjoyable but this she say is normal enough for an introverted person， which makes me laugh a little at the thought of how horrible it must be to be an extrovert and be consumed by anxiety at an opportunity to engage in Shandyian digressions upon a captive audience， but I digress， however having to make a telephone call can really eat me up （which makes little sense - after all that too is speaking publicly） and I've engaged in all kinds of evasions - phoning people early or late when I am confident the dog and bone won't be answered and relying on answerphone as an acceptable substitute to talking to someone via a remote device。 Naturally I can give a fallacious for my telephoneangst that doesn't involve my great-grandmother and Alexander Graham Bell， long ago in the previous millenium I was working as a Ground Handler （a variety of travel agent， specifically an underpaid one with short lunch breaks and few prospects） and I was told one weekend I was on emergency duty and given a mobile phone - a demi-brick one with a rubbery antenna， this I duly put down on my bedroom window sill， eventually it rang， I answered to hear a voice saying "I'm gonna kill you"， then I turned the phone off。 You may assume from the evidence they had the wrong number， but maybe in forty， forty-five or thirty-five years time I will breath my last and then only you who have read this review will know that the mysterious caller has indeed accomplished a dastardly crime of devilish subtly executed with uncanny sophistication。 Naturally on Monday I was challenged about the phone being turned off， I had no reception I lied （view spoiler）[ and that， children， is how you got out of being on emergency call out duty in the olden days （hide spoiler）]。 Reading this book I learnt that telling jokes， even bad and rambling ones， is one way some people use to cope with anxiety。 Slightly more technical bitin which I check through the pages of the book that I have marked with slips of paper and try to recall what struck me as note worthy when I read it。"What you think affects how you feel。 This is the basis for Cognitive behavioural therapy" （p。61） "Experience of relationships as we grow up provides the framework for our thinking about how we relate to others， and bad experiences can leave long-lasting impressions" （p。84） though particular stresses during life and biological factors may play parts too however"It is not necessary to know everything about what caused the problem in order to work out what to do to alleviate it" （p。85）paradoxical effects of social anxiety:feeling you are the centre of attention at the same time as feeling so inferior and inadequate that you believe no one is interested in you。Wanting to be invisible and not to be disregarded。Wanting to do things 'right' ， be 'acceptable' and have your individuality recognised。 （p。165）Patterns of biased thinking， beware of: making predictions， mind-reading， catastrophising， emotional reasoning （how I feel is how I look = feeling unacceptable means you are unacceptable）Social anxiety goes with expecting to be criticised。。。It goes with berating yourself for not having 'done better'， as if all the responsibility for how things went lay with youThe advice here is to change your perspective to what is really happening rather than what you think is happening （p。183）It is easier to find alternatives if you use the kind of compassionate， understanding and encouraging approach you would adopt if you were helping someone else （p。207）safety behaviours and avoidance are understandable reactions to feeling anxious， but in the long run they keep the problem going rather than resolving it （p。210） the degree of confidence that you feel is not a fixed quantity， but depends on what you are doing。 This means you should beware of thinking of yourself as unconfident as a person （p。246）Passivity and aggression as reactions to anxiety。Anxiety and nervous tension， use up a lot of energy : it is tiring being anxious。 。。。more
Taylor
，
Social anxiety and shyness is different for everyone， and Gillian covers many different causes and triggers that you might experience。 Things you might never have thought of， like your own safety behaviors and inward attention are very helpful at getting a handle on your personal situation。 With step-by-step guidance， you'll learn to change your thinking patterns， do things differently， reduce self-consciousness， and build self-confidence。Finding an ebook version took some work。 Amazon seems to Social anxiety and shyness is different for everyone， and Gillian covers many different causes and triggers that you might experience。 Things you might never have thought of， like your own safety behaviors and inward attention are very helpful at getting a handle on your personal situation。 With step-by-step guidance， you'll learn to change your thinking patterns， do things differently， reduce self-consciousness， and build self-confidence。Finding an ebook version took some work。 Amazon seems to have the 1st edition only in paperback for $30， and the 2nd edition only in paperback for $17。 The rest of Gillian's books are also bizarrely priced， from $0。74-$62。 If you search for the title of this book and "epub" you should find some other digital buying options。Exposure therapy and mediation are good common strategies。 I highly recommend the Waking Up app to learn more about both。 。。。more
Ina Klaussen
，
En fin bok med praktiske hjelpemidler for å overkomme sosial prestasjonsangst。
Kasandra Mavrigiannaki
，
Although I skimmed through quite a bit of a bit because it wasn't entirely relevant to me， there is some really useful information and tactics to use。 Although I skimmed through quite a bit of a bit because it wasn't entirely relevant to me， there is some really useful information and tactics to use。 。。。more
Tian Liang
，
Pretty good book in general。 I loved the tips shared between the pages on how to deal with shyness and social anxiety， and loved the fact that they distinguished between it and social anxiety。 However， one thing that I have to disagree is the point-of-view that bullies have high self-esteem。 Very much on the contrary， bullies are people with high self-esteem。 They feel really good about themselves！ And they are charismatic， they are confident， and they're cool。 I mean， in social psychology studi Pretty good book in general。 I loved the tips shared between the pages on how to deal with shyness and social anxiety， and loved the fact that they distinguished between it and social anxiety。 However， one thing that I have to disagree is the point-of-view that bullies have high self-esteem。 Very much on the contrary， bullies are people with high self-esteem。 They feel really good about themselves！ And they are charismatic， they are confident， and they're cool。 I mean， in social psychology studies， we see the kids identified by the parents as awesome people were most of the time， bullies。 It really is a pity there isn't much research being done in this area to explore the correlations between bullying and social anxiety :（ But overall， great read。 。。。more
Jess
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Alan
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I found the author's writing style extremely difficult to follow。 The book is full of long， rambling sentences that start on one point and finish on another entirely different one。 The punctuation was terrible。 Reading this book was an infuriating experience， especially as I believe the underlying material is quite good。 If only it was structured and edited properly！ I found the author's writing style extremely difficult to follow。 The book is full of long， rambling sentences that start on one point and finish on another entirely different one。 The punctuation was terrible。 Reading this book was an infuriating experience， especially as I believe the underlying material is quite good。 If only it was structured and edited properly！ 。。。more
Sam Bloom
，
Arguably the worst titled and cover of a book I've read。 However whats contained is some of the most valuable and thought out material。 It's well laid out， providing the theory behind shyness and social anxiety before going into practical steps。 Reading this book won't make you the life and soul of a party or turn you into some great oral speaker。 But if followed right it will dismantle these cognitions/thoughts that for some are so detrimental and undermining。 It's scary to think that such thou Arguably the worst titled and cover of a book I've read。 However whats contained is some of the most valuable and thought out material。 It's well laid out， providing the theory behind shyness and social anxiety before going into practical steps。 Reading this book won't make you the life and soul of a party or turn you into some great oral speaker。 But if followed right it will dismantle these cognitions/thoughts that for some are so detrimental and undermining。 It's scary to think that such thoughts are so ingrained that they're normal and to have a positive view of yourself is so alien。I'd recommend this book to nearly everyone， especially the introverted types。 。。。more
Natasha
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Good book。 While not very captivating， even for a self-help book， it was still useful and informative！
Anser
，
The book was not bad at all。The beginning was really interesting and I did underline a lot of passages and parts in the beginning。Then it started to become more serious。It seems it can be helpful when following the worksheets and filling in information。
Stine Fleming
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I've read the Danish version， in that translation the style was very American and the examples seemed very American， but the gist of the matter was clear and the tools were very helpful， once you start aktually using them on a regular basis。 I definitly reccommend it to people struggling with anxieties concerning how you percieve others percieving you :-） I've read the Danish version， in that translation the style was very American and the examples seemed very American， but the gist of the matter was clear and the tools were very helpful， once you start aktually using them on a regular basis。 I definitly reccommend it to people struggling with anxieties concerning how you percieve others percieving you :-） 。。。more
Leonard Gaya
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Who has never felt awkward， out of place or otherwise inhibited when relating to other people？ I， for one， plead guilty！ The aim of this book， which （as stated in the sub-title） is a self-help manual， is to shed some light on this rather widespread psychological phenomenon that， generally speaking， we refer to a “shyness”。It is in fact a form of anxiety disorder， meaning: a feeling of distress that is out of proportions considering the actual situation we are in。 Each individual is sensitive to Who has never felt awkward， out of place or otherwise inhibited when relating to other people？ I， for one， plead guilty！ The aim of this book， which （as stated in the sub-title） is a self-help manual， is to shed some light on this rather widespread psychological phenomenon that， generally speaking， we refer to a “shyness”。It is in fact a form of anxiety disorder， meaning: a feeling of distress that is out of proportions considering the actual situation we are in。 Each individual is sensitive to different types of situations: having to talk to a “large” audience （stage fright）， having to start a conversation with a stranger （for instance， if we consider the person as exceptionally bright， talented， sexually attractive， menacing， etc。）， you name it。 The fear associated with these types of situations are linked with thoughts like: “What I’m saying is stupid”， “I will make a fool of myself”， “I’ll be so embarrassed I’ll wish the Earth will swallow me”， “people will see how I’m sweating， blushing， etc。”。 In certain acute cases， this sort of social anxiety or phobia can be excruciating and crippling; the consequences are sadly obvious: inability to perform at work， failure to find a romantic/sexual partner， isolation， alcoholism， drug abuse， suicide… This is not a trivial issue！This book is based on CBT （cognitive behavioural therapy） research performed by Beck and Clark: Cognitive Therapy of Anxiety Disorders: Science and Practice。 The model goes like this。 In a “trigger situation” （see examples above） the person feels anxious; there can be many reasons for that feeling to kick in: for instance， an unpleasant situation that is， fully consciously or not， brought back to memory。 The bout of anxiety translates in a series of assumptions or predictions （“He/She/They’ll think I’m stupid”）， based on underlying， toxic and in general erroneous beliefs （“I must make a good impression”， “I am stupid”， “people are judgmental”， “people don’t like me”…）。 As a result， three phenomena take place that fuel each other: 1） self-consciousness: the person focuses his/her attention on herself （“I am stuttering， blushing， shaking…”）; 2） symptoms of anxiety: tension， suffocation， etc。; 3） safety behaviours: keeping silent or over-talking， leaving the room， changing the subject， hiding， swooning…All these mental patterns and processes — thoughts， behaviours， self-consciousness — tend to reinforce each other in a vicious circle。 What this book offers is a way to raise one’s awareness of these things and break the social anxiety “system”。 The exercises in the appendices provide a series of experiments and worksheets that allow questioning the underlying thought， beliefs and behaviours that keep the anxiety going， and ultimately get rid of them。 I found this book very enlightening and helpful。 。。。more
Ruby
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