Social Phobia / Social Anxiety

What is Social Phobia?

Often misdiagnosed as agoraphobia, according to reasearch done in America social phobia (also called social anxiety) is actually the third most common disorder after depression and alcoholism.

In public places, such as work, meetings, or shopping, people with social phobia feel that everyone is watching, staring, and judging them (even though rationally they know this isn't true). The socially anxious person can't relax or enjoy themselves in public. In fact, they can never fully relax when other people are around. It always feels like others are evaluating them, being critical of them, or "judging" them in some way.

The person with social anxiety knows that people don't do this openly, of course, but they still feel the self-consciousness and judgment while they are in the other person's presence. It's sometimes impossible to let go, relax, and focus on anything else except the anxiety and fear. Because the anxiety is so very painful, it's much easier just to stay away from social situations and avoid other people altogether.

phobias

Physical Symptoms of social anxiety may include:

Breathing difficulties
Sweating
Blushing
Nausea/Vomiting
Pounding heart
Hyperventilation
Sleeping difficutlties
Rashes
Digestive problems
Diarrhoea
Tremblimg
Loss of libido

 

PLEASE NOTE: If you are suffering from any of the above symptoms we would strongly advise for you to discuss this with your doctor as anxiety can mimic other physical conditions.

How does this start?

Social phobias can start from a lack of self confidence which then builds until the person is unable to go out; or from a particular trauma or event which stays with us, and makes us feel as if we are being judged in all social situations.

How can hypnotherapy/ NLP help?

The good news is that people suffering from social phobia can be treated relatively easily. Treatment is based on finding out the first time time these feelings happened and why they happened. Work is done on building self confidence and disregarding how others see you. You can turn into a fully functioning person with a wonderful future ahead of you. The transformation can be nothing short of astounding, and our therapists are constantly inspired by how people with this disorder change so completely and find the courage to face the world again.

Our therapists

Emma James MANLP, MATLT, MAHYP, Dip FTST, IIHTT is a leading personal therapist, a certified master practioner in NLP, Hypnosis and Time Line Therapy. For more details click here.

Rue Dobson Dip Psy/Phil Dip Couns Dip Clin Hyp MBACP MBSCH has been studying pyschology for over 17 years. He is qualified in person centered counselling and clinical hypnotherapy. For more details click here.

Brian McHugh Certified NLP Master Practitioner has been using his NLP and coaching skills to help people make the positive changes that they know will improve their quality of life. For more details click here.