By Can you guess what concern these three individuals have in common?
A 63 year-old man who is terrified about speaking at his daughter’s wedding.
A 32-year-old woman who’s afraid of getting sick when she flies.
A 26-year-old dental student who gets scared whenever his professors watch him doing procedures.
Each one of them is afraid of being observed,… Continue reading
By “I recall standing in front of my class and seeing all the faces of my classmates as they listened to me talk. The words flowed easily until the dreaded stumble and stutter. I suddenly felt everything shift and change. My voice became less strong, the words did not flow as easily and I could see the faces change. They became characterized by judgment,… Continue reading
By When we experience high levels of anxiety in social situations, or have urges to avoid or escape, it is typically because we are worrying that other people will criticize or judge us. A feeling of intimidation and vulnerability may persist due to thoughts such as “What if they notice that I’m nervous ?, What if they think I’m weird?, What if they ask… Continue reading
By A New Future
Even referencing the future as ‘post-COVID’ feels a bit misplaced. It insinuates that in the future we will be ‘over’ or ‘past’ the COVID pandemic. By now most of us can acknowledge that COVID will leave an everlasting impression on society as we know it. We are accepting (with some parallels to pre and post 9/11) that there is no going… Continue reading
By A Brief Commentary on the COVID-19 Pandemic
Around the world we are all witnessing an event that most people have never experienced before. The COVID-19 pandemic has tested humanity’s resolve and resiliency by having to change and alter how we live our lives each day. Whether it is a stay-at-home order, wearing a mask, or school being cancelled, this… Continue reading
By To kick off the new year I’m going to examine situations where we are being judged or there is a strong possibility that we will be judged by others. We can call these performance situations. One of the core fears of Social Anxiety Disorder is being judged by other people to varying degrees and levels. We will look at what are key concepts and… Continue reading
By Everyone has moments of fear over their performance on things like college exams and projects or they worry whether they’ll please their boss or colleagues. For those who suffer from social anxiety, however, concerns like these may not only impact their ability to learn, they may also lead them to make different education or career choices than they… Continue reading
By What is Your Comfort Zone?
We often go about our day without awareness of why we do certain things. We often create habits that ensure risk is minimized by keeping things familiar and somewhat predictable. Although this pattern might lead to less uncertainty, it also prevents people from creating new experiences and learning new things.
If people… Continue reading
By People are inherently social. We band together in social groups at work or in school, we pair up in relationships and bond with friends over sports games. We even go out of our way to join online games or social media groups themed around a common interest. This bonding is deeply ingrained in our psyche – it’s the connection that allows us to help… Continue reading
By One of the most challenging aspects of social anxiety are the thoughts that come with the experience. People struggling with social anxiety experience a barrage of negative self-judgments and the fear that others view them in that same negative light. Over time, these self-judgments lead to avoidant behaviors such as disengagement in social… Continue reading
By The fear of public speaking is the most common phobia ahead of death, spiders, or heights. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that public speaking anxiety, or glossophobia, affects about 40%* of the population. The underlying fear is judgment or negative evaluation by others. Public speaking anxiety is considered a social anxiety… Continue reading