How do I Overcome Social Anxiety and Shyness?

 

CLICK HERE to Find Out How to Overcome Your Social Phobia

Can You Overcome Social Anxiety by Yourself?

Is it possible to cure your social anxiety on your own? Without seeing a therapist or a doctor?

The answer is: yes and no.

Yes, people have overcome their social anxiety on their own (like myself).

However, it’s not always the right solution. In this article, I’m going to explain the pros and cons of trying to tackle social anxiety by yourself. I’ll show you when it’s okay to do, and when you should really seek professional help.

The Danger of Asking This Question

Let me ask you something…

WHY do you want to overcome your social anxiety on your own to begin with?

• Is it because you’re afraid of picking up the phone to set an appointment?

• Are you afraid to share your deepest problems, shortcomings and secrets with a stranger?

• Are you scared of how anxious going to see a professional about your problem will make you?

If the answer to these questions is yes, then you’re already heading in the wrong direction.

Now, I can understand your fear.

Back when I had really bad social anxiety, even getting a haircut where I had to make small talk with the hairdresser for 15 minutes was excruciatingly painful and awkward. I couldn’t even imagine talking to someone about my feelings, insecurities and social anxiety for an hour or more.

So I know how scary the IDEA of talking to someone about your social anxiety is. That’s the craziest part of this problem: your social anxiety itself makes it extremely hard to get help for it!

But here is a reality check:

You Will Not Overcome Your Social Anxiety Without Other People

An important part of the process of overcoming SA is doing things you are uncomfortable about. By talking to people and sharing more of yourself over time, you will slowly unwire the “fight or flight” response in your brain. And over time you will feel less anxious around people. You’ll sweat, shake, tremble or blush less.

One thing’s for sure: you can’t do exposure for social anxiety without other people. You will have to get out of your house and interact with those other talking monkeys you see out the window.

Can you talk to other people on your own? Yes, absolutely.

However, a therapist can offer a structured environment to get started with this process more easily. A therapist can also help you stay motivated in facing your fears — you’ll probably take more action than you would on your own to avoid disappointing your therapist. Also, if you take group therapy for social anxiety, then you are getting exposure and practice talking in a more high pressure environment with many people listening.

However, having said all this about exposure, let me add…

You Will Also Not Overcome Your Social Anxiety ONLY Through Exposure

I went to elementary school, high school and university in Canada for years, and my social anxiety only seemed to get worse and worse with time. Even though I was surrounded by people:

My conversation skills didn’t get better (if anything I just became more quiet and awkward),

I had no friends or social life,

My self-esteem just got worse, and I even had periods of depression to add to my SA.

So this much is clear:

Just being around people will not make your social anxiety go away on its own.

You also have to change the way your mind works from the inside out. That’s what finally cured my extreme shyness, quietness and nervousness around people.

How can you do this?

Well, if you go see a therapist, they will teach you the standard “cognitive behavioral therapy” approach to changing your thinking. This usually involves writing down your thoughts when you’re feeling anxious. Then you analyze your thoughts to see which ones are unrealistic by comparing them to common thinking errors. (Like black and white thinking, catastrophizing, etc.)

To be honest, that “standard” approach never really appealed or worked well for me.

Now, don’t get me wrong…

I’m sure it’s 1000% better than doing nothing about your socially anxious mind… but most people (therapists included) only recommend it because they don’t know of any other options. This is the tool they learned in school, and when all they have is a hammer then every problem looks like a nail… including depression, anxiety, sleeping difficulties and alcohol addiction.

Let me save you a few months of dry, boring and repetitive thought journaling in one paragraph:

Social anxiety starts with a negative and distorted self-image. You think there’s something wrong, bad or inferior about you, that you need to hide from other people.

The root fear in social anxiety is a fear of self-exposure. You are afraid that other people will notice the secret thing about you which is unattractive… so you do everything possible to shrink away from the spotlight or avoid people altogether.

Your secret thing could be your ugliness, your lack of friends, your boring and awkward conversation skills, etc.

So the cure to social anxiety really is about fixing your negative and distorted self-image. And I’ve found that people who have social anxiety only have a few main sources of this negative self-image, which can be fixed with a few new insights.

My insight-based approach to helping others overcome social anxiety really gets to the root cause of social anxiety, which is why I receive so much great feedback from my readers every week.

If you believed in your deepest core that who you are is valuable and worthwhile to other people… then your anxiety and fear about getting other people’s acceptance and approval will go away. Imagine it this way: if you were the most good looking, popular, charismatic, well respected and richest person in the world… would you have social anxiety?

“One’s destination is never a place, but rather a new way of seeing things.” -Henry Miller

Conclusion

Is it possible to overcome social anxiety on your own?

Absolutely.

However, seeing a professional who can offer you a structured environment, unconditional acceptance and motivation to face your fears can speed the process up a lot.

Be warned though: many of these professionals will just give you the “standard” approach to changing your socially anxious mind… which sometimes works… But it isn’t nearly as effective as it should be because it’s usually not customized to your unique problems, unique challenges and unique root cause of your social anxiety.

Watch this video – How to Overcome Social Anxiety and Shyness?

I hope you now understand the benefits and downsides to attempting to cure social anxiety on your own. I recommend you check out my site here  if you are looking for the best self-help advice to overcoming this problem.

Even if you do choose to overcome social anxiety without seeing a therapist or doctor in-person, you will still need some type of guidance on your journey to help you change the way your socially anxious mind works.

By Sean W Cooper, the author of The Shyness and Social Anxiety System, is an ex-sufferer from social anxiety and shyness. This program is a compilation of his research and effort in overcoming shyness and anxiety.

Sean W Cooper’s Shyness and Anxiety system is a step by step audio course broken down into modules that are easy to access. It teaches you ways to start overcoming your social anxiety and self-doubt. The system utilises cognitive behavioural therapy which explores how feelings and thoughts can drive behaviour. 

The Shyness and Social Anxiety system is endorsed by professionals and praised by psychologists due to the way it provides the relevant skills to manage issues of shyness and social anxiety.

To find out more, click on How do I Overcome Social Anxiety and Shyness?

Why am I Shy and How to Stop Being Shy and Quiet?

 

CLICK HERE to Find Out How to Overcome Your Social Phobia

Why Am I Shy? The 3 Surprising Reasons…

Here are the 3 biggest reasons:

1. You NEED something from the other person, usually acceptance/approval.

Here’s an easy question: Who is more nervous usually — a job interviewer or the interviewee?

The person being interviewed is much more nervous usually.

Why?

Well, if they feel like they need the job, then they will be trying to create a good impression on the other person to get it. This naturally creates a type of performance anxiety which is why most people are nervous before job interviews.

Similarly, shy people have such a strong need for the acceptance, approval and validation of other people that they often feel like a person being interviewed for a job. In social situations they may sweat nervously, try to only say very interesting things that will impress the other person, and they are relieved to get away.

Let’s go back to the job interview example…

When a person doesn’t NEED the job, they will usually not feel so nervous. For example, if the job is easy to replace like a minimum wage fast food job. Or if the person already has a job that is almost as good as the one he’s being interviewed for.

Or if he’s very well qualified for this type of job and has 12 similar interviews scheduled already. The person still WANTS the job, but they don’t desperately NEED it.

Shy people become tense, censor what they say and are afraid to speak up… because they have a desperate NEED to be liked, accepted and validated by other people. This is usually called “caring too much what other people think.”

When you don’t NEED people to like you, then you will naturally be more relaxed, open and at ease with them. Ironically, this increases the chances that they will actually like you.

So what causes this hole of neediness for the approval of other people?

There’s many possible causes that I don’t have time to explain now, but here’s one example:

A confident kid switches schools and they suddenly find themselves in a new environment without any of their old friends. Suddenly they feel needy to make people like them so they can make some new friends. This leads to shyness that sometimes sticks into adulthood. I hear this story surprisingly often.

Or perhaps a kid is bullied by people at their school, which makes them feel alone and friendless. This also leads to being needy for the acceptance of others which manifests as shy behavior.

“Other people teach us who we are. Their attitudes to us are the mirror in which we learn to see ourselves, but the mirror is distorted. We are, perhaps, rather dimly aware of the immense power of our social environment.” – Alan Watts

Now onto the 2nd reason…

2. You believe the other person is higher value than you.

In my popular article about overcoming shyness around girls, I mentioned something I call “Fat Girl Syndrome”…

Basically, that means that most guys who feel extremely shy, nervous and unsure what to say to a cute girl… will often find it 100x easier to talk normally to a woman they are not attracted to because she is ugly, fat, old, etc.

This is because the shy guy VALUES the really cute girl more because of her looks. (Yes, I know this is not “politically correct,” but it’s how human psychology works.)

So… What makes you see someone as valuable?

The answer isn’t as easy as you might believe. I’ve come to realize that everyone has a hidden inner system of valuing people. This is often based on the other person’s attractiveness, popularity, confidence, dominance, authority, etc.

If you feel like someone else is “higher value” than you, then you will start to shy, quiet, nervous or awkward around them. For example, if you’re a guy this may happen around very attractive women. If you’re a girl, it may happen around guys you like or have a crush on. It’s likely to happen around authority figures like a boss, teacher, etc.

Now think about the people who you feel little or no shyness around. Maybe they’re unattractive or weird. Maybe they’re even more shy or insecure than you. Maybe they’re even less popular. Maybe they’re younger than you or very old. These are the people that you secretly feel are equal or “lower value” than you. Around them you probably act a lot more confident and expressive, and you don’t feel nearly as self-conscious or unsure of what to say.

So pay attention around WHO you act more shy around to see who you secretly value. Your actions will reveal your unconscious belief system to you.

Usually a high value person can GIVE you something. Maybe it’s your boss who can give you his approval or a raise. Maybe it’s someone you find attractive who could possibly give you a relationship or sex. Maybe it’s a popular or well-connected person who could increase your social circle or reputation or “coolness.”

A low value person can’t really “give” you much, which is why you don’t feel as shy with them.

The only 2 real solutions to this problem are:

• Increase how much you value yourself. (I call this your self-esteem.)

• Or knock other people off the pedestal. (Most shy people feel inferior and assume that everyone else has a much more interesting, cool and active life than the average person actually does.)

Now the 3rd cause of shyness…

3. You feel uncomfortable with yourself.

Shyness and insecurity, the two seem to always go together. Feeling insecure about yourself will make you avoid attention & connection because you don’t want people to see the thing you are insecure or uncomfortable about.

For years I was extremely insecure about my slightly crooked front teeth. Many shy people have insecurities about their physical appearance and believe they are ugly. (Usually they pick one small bad thing about their appearance and then obsess over it non-stop as if this is the ONE thing everybody else will notice and remember about them.)

Let me tell you, I’ve been there. It’s a miserable place to be, insecurity eats away at your confidence until you have none left. But there are also other types of insecurities:

Some shy people feel like they are simply dull, boring and uninteresting.

Or they feel stupid because of their awkward conversation skills.

Or they are losers with no friends and an unattractive lifestyle.

These can all make you feel like other people wouldn’t accept you if they TRULY knew you. So you hide your true self. Maybe you try to be the type of person you think others want you to be. Maybe you never share your REAL thoughts, interests, passions or hobbies with people.

Being uncomfortable with yourself makes you scared to share yourself with people or form deeper connections. And telling someone to “be yourself” or “just be happy with who you are” is easier said than done.

“Being lonely is hard, but what’s harder is when you’re surrounded by people and still feel lonely.” -Unknown

Conclusion

Shyness can stop you from living life fully. Whether you want a girlfriend, a better social life, more confidence at work, etc… shyness can freeze you.

The biggest thing you need to remember from this article is that shyness is NOT a permanent personality trait. YOU are not shy, you just become shy in some situations depending on where you are and who you’re with.

So WHY do you become shy sometimes?

It may happen when you NEED the other person’s acceptance or approval, similar to how a job interviewee becomes nervous when they NEED the job.

Or it may have to do with how much you value the other person compared to yourself. If you value the other person a lot (maybe because they’re very attractive)… or you don’t value yourself much (low self-esteem)… then you will become shy, quiet or awkward.

The last reason is when you feel uncomfortable with yourself. When you feel insecure about your appearance, personality or lifestyle… then you will shy away from attention because you don’t want other people to notice the secret thing you feel ashamed about.

Watch this video – How to Stop Being Shy (Communicate with Confidence)

I hope this article has given you some insight into how your shyness works. 

If you’d like to learn my BEST tips,

CLICK HERE to Find Out How to Overcome Your Social Phobia

By Sean W Cooper, the author of The Shyness and Social Anxiety System, is an ex-sufferer from social anxiety and shyness. This program is a compilation of his research and effort in overcoming shyness and anxiety.

Sean W Cooper’s Shyness and Anxiety system is a step by step audio course broken down into modules that are easy to access. It teaches you ways to start overcoming your social anxiety and self-doubt. The system utilises cognitive behavioural therapy which explores how feelings and thoughts can drive behaviour. 

The Shyness and Social Anxiety system is endorsed by professionals and praised by psychologists due to the way it provides the relevant skills to manage issues of shyness and social anxiety.To find out more, click on Overcome Social Anxiety – How to Stop Being Shy?