Living With Social Anxiety
Relax
Relax
If you can relate to any of this then do not worry you are not alone. Millions of people all around the world suffer from Social Anxiety and low self-esteem at varying levels. The two normally come hand in hand with low self-esteem and depression being the result of living with Social Anxiety and vice versa. Most people take their communication skills for granted. For the average person seemingly normal things like self-expression, conversing with others and making eye contact comes very naturally. For someone suffering from Social Anxiety it can be extremely challenging making attending social events and public speaking and excruciating.
Social Anxiety is extremely frustrating and if you allow it to continue controlling you it can completely destroy your chances of happiness and fulfilment, holding you back in many areas where you would otherwise be enjoying an uninhibited joyous life. It can hold you back in your career as well as your social life, making it difficult to display your full potential in order to follow your dreams and aspirations.
It is in our nature as human beings to yearn for recognition and acceptance, striving to be the best version of ourselves possible during our short existence on earth. We want the very best from life, including all of the perks that come with it! To love and feel loved. To experience companionship, popularity and acceptance. To enjoy close relationships with the opposite sex and strong bonds with friends and family. To have the admiration and respect of others. Taking things in our stride, free of all inhibitions and angst. Being able to express ourselves freely in a calm and confident manor, exhibiting confidence in all situations. Being heard and accounted for, always appreciated and held in high regards by others. Having fun, standing out in a crowd and being the life and soul of a party. The spontaneous, charismatic person who makes everyone laugh at the dinner table. Ultimately possessing the ability of being your true self and feeling comfortable in your own skin.
Unfortunately social anxiety can strip all of these amazing things away from you, leaving you in doubt of your own true potential. Living in constant fear of humiliation and rejection, always imagining that others are analysing, judging and criticizing you. Constantly terrified that you might say or do something embarrassing which you can’t take back. Worrying about attending social events far in advance and using alcohol and drugs to mask the anxiety and give you instant confidence.
The most soul destroying fact about Social Anxiety is being aware that the people you come into contact with in your every day life are perceiving a false version of you. Underneath your seemingly shy, guarded exterior you are a really nice fun person with an amazing personality and so much to give. You are being held back by something that is out of your control. Through sheer frustration you are completely incapable of showing your true self and letting people close enough so that they can experience the true joy which is you. This makes making new friends and increasing your social circle extremely difficult.
The good news
The good news is that it does not have to be this way trust me! The amazing thing about your situation is that you can actually have all of these things with all these seemingly impossible traits. You can finally be the person that you always dreamed you could were it not for Social Anxiety dragging you down. The reality is that the only person holding you back is you. You are already in a good position because you have accepted that you need help and have made a positive step in the right direction by choosing to read this book.
With my guidance I will help you to understand what you are experiencing and begin retraining your mind, eliminating your negative thought patterns and replacing them with positive ones. By completing the simple exercises outlined in this book and making small changes to your everyday life you will in time increase your confidence and self-worth, finally ridding you of the fear and insecurities which have been so cruelly life inhibiting, You will learn to overcome your fears and be yourself in social situations, making it possible for the world to see the incredible person they have been missing out on so far.
At this moment in time you may have very low self-esteem but trust me! You deserve to be free of Social anxiety. You are an amazing person with your own unique personality. You have your own individual thoughts and emotions which should be expressed and shared with others. You deserve a large circle of friends whom you can connect with on a personal level. You have opinions which should be heard and an amazing sense of humour which must shine though.
You deserve to be appreciated and to be capable of expressing yourself fully and freely. Noone should be held back by anything in life. You only get one chance at it and you don’t have to live yours an insecure, nervous, watered down version of yourself.
Social anxiety used to completely control me. I suffered from this crippling mental illness for the best part of my life and at the time thought there was no resolution for me. At my very lowest I felt completely worthless, most of time questioning my own purpose. It felt as though I had nothing to contribute to the world and was living in constant fear. It was taking all of the fun out of life making every day a struggle instead of the joyous experience which it should be. The majority of the time in social environments I was completely out of my comfort zone, an awkward nervous wreck who couldn’t make eye contact with anyone or hold down a conversation.
I felt completely invisible and pointless most of the time. No one appeared to take any interest in me or anything I had to say, or if they did it didn’t last long once they attempted to make conversation with me and I nervously stuttered something under my breath. I was so quiet and lacked any kind of assertiveness, always agreeing with people and trying my best not to offend. Sometimes in group discussions I became completely mute, mostly through fear of saying the wrong thing and being ridiculed. It was safer for me just to keep quiet and observe.
I was incapable of contributing any of my own opinions or humour to the mix. I watched on enviously at everyone around me who appeared so confident and self assured. I looked up at them in awe at the effortless ability to do something which I found impossible. Expressing themselves naturally, stimulating eachother in free-flowing conversation. Even strangers seemed to have an instant connection or bond which I longed for . I would have given anything to be like them.
I felt inferior to other people and that none of my opinions mattered. Loving myself was far from easy. I was my own biggest critic and every time I said the wrong thing or did something embarrassing it chipped away at the little bit of confidence I had left leaving me feeling insecure and worthless. If I thought a random conversation with someone had been uncomfortable I would beat myself up about it for days, sometimes even months afterwards.
It became easier just avoiding social situations and people who I knew would make me nervous, choosing rather just to stay in the company of people that I knew I could trust not to judge me, Family and close friends etc. This made meeting new people very hard. It took me a long time getting to know someone and gaining their trust before opening up to them and being able to show my true self.
The early years of your life are supposed to be the best ones but I missed out on so much due to social anxiety. My earliest memory of Primary school was the teacher constantly telling me that I was a dreamer and I should wake up and pay attention. I was painfully shy and so incredibly nervous and self-conscious that concentrating on anything other than the fear of everything going on around me seemed impossible. I remained paralyzed with worry that the teacher would ask me a question and expect me to talk in front of the class.
The seemly surreal world around me was very scary and intimidating at the time. The other kids all seemed so relaxed and carefree, they were enjoying their adolescence, interacting with one another and learning but having so much fun at the same time. This constant state of fear and confusion negatively affected my school work and I was never fully aware of what was going on. A lot of the time I wouldn’t have a clue what was expected of me and found it incredibly difficult retaining information. On the odd occasion that we had to speak in front of the class I found it traumatising.
At the time and for years later I knew there was something wrong with me but like everyone else I just put it down to being shy. I found it difficult to contribute to any of the lessons and remained mute or said very little. On the odd occasion the teacher did ask me a question and I had to talk in front of the class it was excruciating. My whole body stiffened up and I blushed and nervously rubbed my knees with the palms of my hands. Kids being kids they quickly became aware of this and took every opportunity to laugh and make fun of me.
Being so prone to blushing I would blush at everything. A big problem for me was talking to girls. I grew up in a mainly male dominated household and females appeared quite alien to me. One girl in my class in high school took advantage of this and would smile at me seductively in order to make me blush. It worked every time without fail. My face reddened instantly and I would shift and squirm in my chair.
If you have ever experienced a whole room of people laugh and make fun of you, you will know that it is utterly humiliating and can totally destroy your self-confidence, making you feel terrible, even worthless.
After many years of trial, error and persistence I finally feel that I am free of Social Anxiety. The feeling of freedom and exuberating is overwhelming and I want you too to experience it. It's taken me over twenty years to get where I am now but it has taught me alot about myself and has all been worth while.
I now take life in my stride and don't get too stressed about things. Everyone has room for improvement but I now have a quiet confidence and am actually enjoying life. I smile alot more and love chatting away randomly to strangers and making new friends. Of course I still get anxious about things from time to time and I'm never going to be a natural leader or thrive on being the centre of attention but I have now decided that It just isn't important to me.
We are all different with many flaws and individual personality traits but the most important thing is that you love the person you are. As long as you are happy within yourself and comfortable in your own skin and then nothing else matters.
This book is intended to help you understand what you are going through and to learn from my experiences in order to aid with your own personal development. I’d like you to think of me as a friend who has been there where you are and come through the other side a happier and much more confident person.
I genuinely care and want the very best for you because I know full well the of the stress caused and detrimental effect it can have on you. ultimately destroying your life. Noone should have to suffer in this way. You are missing out on so many amazing things in life and I want to help show you the way to happiness.
My own personal condition may have been milder or slightly different compared to yours. Of course I don’t presume to understand the full complexities of your own personal situation however I do understand a lot of what you are going through. I want to use my own knowledge to help you to improve and gain back control allowing you to be the person you were intended to be.
Everyone suffers from various issues at differing levels but the symptoms are fundamentally the same, fear, angst and low self-esteem. I don’t claim to have a cure but even If just one person can relate to anything in this book and it helps them in any area of their lives then I consider this to be a complete triumph.
In order to conquer the root of this fear and change the way you perceive yourself you must be willing to want to make changes and face you’re your problems head on. If the mere thought of this terrifies you then do not worry we will progress towards your goals slowly and steadily taking baby steps, gradually improving with each day, breaking down barriers of inhibition so you can finally be the calm, collective , confident person you always envisioned but never thought possible.
I will help you to understand what you are experiencing and begin retraining your mind, eliminating your negative thought patterns and replacing them with positive ones. By following my advice and making small changes to your everyday life you will gradually change your outlook on things with a much different approach. Together we will improve the way you perceive yourself and the world around you, improving your self -image and self-worth, finally ridding you of the fear and insecurities which have been so cruelly life inhibiting,
Instead of loathing them you will learn to actually enjoy social situations, armed with an abundance of new found self-confidence making it possible for the world to see the incredible person they have been missing out on so far.
I hope that you are excited at the prospect because I am excited for you! The results will open up many doors for you, rewarding you with many opportunities and new exciting challenges.
If you can relate to any of this then do not worry you are not alone. Millions of people all around the world suffer from Social Anxiety and low self-esteem at varying levels. The two normally come hand in hand with low self-esteem and depression being the result of living with Social Anxiety and vice versa. Most people take their communication skills for granted. For the average person seemingly normal things like self-expression, conversing with others and making eye contact comes very naturally. For someone suffering from Social Anxiety it can be extremely challenging making attending social events and public speaking and excruciating.
Social Anxiety is extremely frustrating and if you allow it to continue controlling you it can completely destroy your chances of happiness and fulfilment, holding you back in many areas where you would otherwise be enjoying an uninhibited joyous life. It can hold you back in your career as well as your social life, making it difficult to display your full potential in order to follow your dreams and aspirations.
It is in our nature as human beings to yearn for recognition and acceptance, striving to be the best version of ourselves possible during our short existence on earth. We want the very best from life, including all of the perks that come with it! To love and feel loved. To experience companionship, popularity and acceptance. To enjoy close relationships with the opposite sex and strong bonds with friends and family. To have the admiration and respect of others. Taking things in our stride, free of all inhibitions and angst. Being able to express ourselves freely in a calm and confident manor, exhibiting confidence in all situations. Being heard and accounted for, always appreciated and held in high regards by others. Having fun, standing out in a crowd and being the life and soul of a party. The spontaneous, charismatic person who makes everyone laugh at the dinner table. Ultimately possessing the ability of being your true self and feeling comfortable in your own skin.
Unfortunately social anxiety can strip all of these amazing things away from you, leaving you in doubt of your own true potential. Living in constant fear of humiliation and rejection, always imagining that others are analysing, judging and criticizing you. Constantly terrified that you might say or do something embarrassing which you can’t take back. Worrying about attending social events far in advance and using alcohol and drugs to mask the anxiety and give you instant confidence.
The most soul destroying fact about Social Anxiety is being aware that the people you come into contact with in your every day life are perceiving a false version of you. Underneath your seemingly shy, guarded exterior you are a really nice fun person with an amazing personality and so much to give. You are being held back by something that is out of your control. Through sheer frustration you are completely incapable of showing your true self and letting people close enough so that they can experience the true joy which is you. This makes making new friends and increasing your social circle extremely difficult.
The good news
The good news is that it does not have to be this way trust me! The amazing thing about your situation is that you can actually have all of these things with all these seemingly impossible traits. You can finally be the person that you always dreamed you could were it not for Social Anxiety dragging you down. The reality is that the only person holding you back is you. You are already in a good position because you have accepted that you need help and have made a positive step in the right direction by choosing to read this book.
With my guidance I will help you to understand what you are experiencing and begin retraining your mind, eliminating your negative thought patterns and replacing them with positive ones. By completing the simple exercises outlined in this book and making small changes to your everyday life you will in time increase your confidence and self-worth, finally ridding you of the fear and insecurities which have been so cruelly life inhibiting, You will learn to overcome your fears and be yourself in social situations, making it possible for the world to see the incredible person they have been missing out on so far.
At this moment in time you may have very low self-esteem but trust me! You deserve to be free of Social anxiety. You are an amazing person with your own unique personality. You have your own individual thoughts and emotions which should be expressed and shared with others. You deserve a large circle of friends whom you can connect with on a personal level. You have opinions which should be heard and an amazing sense of humour which must shine though.
You deserve to be appreciated and to be capable of expressing yourself fully and freely. Noone should be held back by anything in life. You only get one chance at it and you don’t have to live yours an insecure, nervous, watered down version of yourself.
Social anxiety used to completely control me. I suffered from this crippling mental illness for the best part of my life and at the time thought there was no resolution for me. At my very lowest I felt completely worthless, most of time questioning my own purpose. It felt as though I had nothing to contribute to the world and was living in constant fear. It was taking all of the fun out of life making every day a struggle instead of the joyous experience which it should be. The majority of the time in social environments I was completely out of my comfort zone, an awkward nervous wreck who couldn’t make eye contact with anyone or hold down a conversation.
I felt completely invisible and pointless most of the time. No one appeared to take any interest in me or anything I had to say, or if they did it didn’t last long once they attempted to make conversation with me and I nervously stuttered something under my breath. I was so quiet and lacked any kind of assertiveness, always agreeing with people and trying my best not to offend. Sometimes in group discussions I became completely mute, mostly through fear of saying the wrong thing and being ridiculed. It was safer for me just to keep quiet and observe.
I was incapable of contributing any of my own opinions or humour to the mix. I watched on enviously at everyone around me who appeared so confident and self assured. I looked up at them in awe at the effortless ability to do something which I found impossible. Expressing themselves naturally, stimulating eachother in free-flowing conversation. Even strangers seemed to have an instant connection or bond which I longed for . I would have given anything to be like them.
I felt inferior to other people and that none of my opinions mattered. Loving myself was far from easy. I was my own biggest critic and every time I said the wrong thing or did something embarrassing it chipped away at the little bit of confidence I had left leaving me feeling insecure and worthless. If I thought a random conversation with someone had been uncomfortable I would beat myself up about it for days, sometimes even months afterwards.
It became easier just avoiding social situations and people who I knew would make me nervous, choosing rather just to stay in the company of people that I knew I could trust not to judge me, Family and close friends etc. This made meeting new people very hard. It took me a long time getting to know someone and gaining their trust before opening up to them and being able to show my true self.
The early years of your life are supposed to be the best ones but I missed out on so much due to social anxiety. My earliest memory of Primary school was the teacher constantly telling me that I was a dreamer and I should wake up and pay attention. I was painfully shy and so incredibly nervous and self-conscious that concentrating on anything other than the fear of everything going on around me seemed impossible. I remained paralyzed with worry that the teacher would ask me a question and expect me to talk in front of the class.
The seemly surreal world around me was very scary and intimidating at the time. The other kids all seemed so relaxed and carefree, they were enjoying their adolescence, interacting with one another and learning but having so much fun at the same time. This constant state of fear and confusion negatively affected my school work and I was never fully aware of what was going on. A lot of the time I wouldn’t have a clue what was expected of me and found it incredibly difficult retaining information. On the odd occasion that we had to speak in front of the class I found it traumatising.
At the time and for years later I knew there was something wrong with me but like everyone else I just put it down to being shy. I found it difficult to contribute to any of the lessons and remained mute or said very little. On the odd occasion the teacher did ask me a question and I had to talk in front of the class it was excruciating. My whole body stiffened up and I blushed and nervously rubbed my knees with the palms of my hands. Kids being kids they quickly became aware of this and took every opportunity to laugh and make fun of me.
Being so prone to blushing I would blush at everything. A big problem for me was talking to girls. I grew up in a mainly male dominated household and females appeared quite alien to me. One girl in my class in high school took advantage of this and would smile at me seductively in order to make me blush. It worked every time without fail. My face reddened instantly and I would shift and squirm in my chair.
If you have ever experienced a whole room of people laugh and make fun of you, you will know that it is utterly humiliating and can totally destroy your self-confidence, making you feel terrible, even worthless.
After many years of trial, error and persistence I finally feel that I am free of Social Anxiety. The feeling of freedom and exuberating is overwhelming and I want you too to experience it. It's taken me over twenty years to get where I am now but it has taught me alot about myself and has all been worth while.
I now take life in my stride and don't get too stressed about things. Everyone has room for improvement but I now have a quiet confidence and am actually enjoying life. I smile alot more and love chatting away randomly to strangers and making new friends. Of course I still get anxious about things from time to time and I'm never going to be a natural leader or thrive on being the centre of attention but I have now decided that It just isn't important to me.
We are all different with many flaws and individual personality traits but the most important thing is that you love the person you are. As long as you are happy within yourself and comfortable in your own skin and then nothing else matters.
This book is intended to help you understand what you are going through and to learn from my experiences in order to aid with your own personal development. I’d like you to think of me as a friend who has been there where you are and come through the other side a happier and much more confident person.
I genuinely care and want the very best for you because I know full well the of the stress caused and detrimental effect it can have on you. ultimately destroying your life. Noone should have to suffer in this way. You are missing out on so many amazing things in life and I want to help show you the way to happiness.
My own personal condition may have been milder or slightly different compared to yours. Of course I don’t presume to understand the full complexities of your own personal situation however I do understand a lot of what you are going through. I want to use my own knowledge to help you to improve and gain back control allowing you to be the person you were intended to be.
Everyone suffers from various issues at differing levels but the symptoms are fundamentally the same, fear, angst and low self-esteem. I don’t claim to have a cure but even If just one person can relate to anything in this book and it helps them in any area of their lives then I consider this to be a complete triumph.
In order to conquer the root of this fear and change the way you perceive yourself you must be willing to want to make changes and face you’re your problems head on. If the mere thought of this terrifies you then do not worry we will progress towards your goals slowly and steadily taking baby steps, gradually improving with each day, breaking down barriers of inhibition so you can finally be the calm, collective , confident person you always envisioned but never thought possible.
I will help you to understand what you are experiencing and begin retraining your mind, eliminating your negative thought patterns and replacing them with positive ones. By following my advice and making small changes to your everyday life you will gradually change your outlook on things with a much different approach. Together we will improve the way you perceive yourself and the world around you, improving your self -image and self-worth, finally ridding you of the fear and insecurities which have been so cruelly life inhibiting,
Instead of loathing them you will learn to actually enjoy social situations, armed with an abundance of new found self-confidence making it possible for the world to see the incredible person they have been missing out on so far.
I hope that you are excited at the prospect because I am excited for you! The results will open up many doors for you, rewarding you with many opportunities and new exciting challenges.