Overcoming Social Anxiety: How to Be Yourself and How to Stop Being Afraid of Social Interaction

Are you tired of worrying about what other people think about you all the time? Have you been served the wrong sandwich at the diner but you shut up and eat it anyway because you’re too nervous and don’t want to be a bother? Do you sometimes get on a bus or join a party and worry that everyone is talking about you? If you want to be yourself around people but are always afraid that you’ll just mess up and embarrass yourself, then keep reading… My heart was trying to jump out of my chest, I was starting to sweat and it suddenly became very hard to breathe. I just entered my cousin's place and saw all these people in small groups, talking to each other and suddenly, it felt like everyone stopped to look at me. I started thinking about my face. Did I put my makeup on? Did I forget to do my other eyebrow? It's my hair isn't it? I knew I should have just gone to the hair salon and got my hair done professionally. Wait, that woman has the same hairstyle as me. Is there something on my face? Oh no I must have smudged my lipstick when I sneezed earlier! I did check my face in the mirror before getting of the car and I was okay. Okay so I look fine... I think. Wait who are these people? I've never seen this many people at one of their parties before. Haven't I seen that woman on tv before? And that other lady she's talking to I know her! That's Stephanie isn't it? - the most popular girl in school. Are all the popular people in here? Should I even be here? It went on through most of my life. Even now, I still catch myself over analyzing things and situations. - Probably not something you want to hear from an author who teaches how to overcome social anxiety but I guess the difference is that now, I actually don't let it bother me as much anymore. I decided to take up psychology as my major in college in order to understand myself and wrote Overcoming Social Anxiety based on the things I learned not only from school, but also in my own personal experiences. Here’s just a few things you’ll learn in this book: ● Why you shouldn’t just keep avoiding conflict - why you should be telling people what you want. ● What shrinks don’t tell you about the causes of social anxiety ● The secrets of Hollywood stars about dealing with their own feelings of anxiety ● How to gain respect and acceptance, without becoming a people-pleaser ● Harmful myths the mainstream media tells you about social anxiety ● The biggest mistake people make when trying to overcome their fear of rejection ● Why simply “faking it ‘till you make it” does not help you overcome the feeling of awkwardness - what to do instead ● Why you shouldn’t just blindly accept how people treat you According to the Psychological Bulletin; social anxiety arises when individuals are motivated to make a preferred impression on real or imagined audiences, but perceive or imagine unsatisfactory evaluative reactions from subjectively important audiences. I'm not telling you to take up a major in Psychiatrist like I did, because you don't have to. I understand exactly how having social anxiety feels like and I want to help other people understand and overcome this condition. If you're locked in a bathroom right now in the middle of a party reading this like I was back then, worry not. I understand completely. If you feel like you’re missing out on a lot of things because you’re too shy or afraid of embarrassing yourself then you’re already on your way to recovery, you just need some help. You're not crazy. What you have may be a case of Social Anxiety. You're not alone.