Triumph Over Shyness

Social anxiety is a disabling condition affection 10 million Americans who fear being embarrassed in public. The toll on their professional and personal lives is enoromous. People with social anxiety - social phobia - are often too terrified to answer questions in public or too timid to defend their own ideas. And they have difficulty making friends, dating and forming relationships, which puts them at risk for loneliness and depression. In fact, one in twenty persons suffer from this disabling shyness. But there is hope, and this book offers a comprehensive program to help "shy" people change self-defeating patterns of social phobia. Written by two experts in the field of social phobia, this book will ehlp a wide range of those who suffer from social phobia - from those who have trouble engaging in small talk, to those with more servere symptoms such as an inability to eat in public. In addition to offering the latest information on where and how to seek professional help that is now available, the book also presents pointers that those who suffer from shyness can begin to implement immediately to help them overcome their phobia. These strategies include: End mental put-downs, by learning to replace statements like, "I shouldn't have said that, everyone will think I'm an idiot" with positive self-talk, "No harm done, the remark just showed I was just being friendly." Endorsed by the American Association of Anxiety Disorders, one of the world's premiere research organizations dedicated to the study of anxiety, Triumph Over Shyness will offer millions concrete strategies on how to cope with - and how to overcome - the fear and anxiety they feel in social situations, and how to lead fuller, more rewarding lives both professionally and personally.

Contents

• Preface

Understanding shyness and social anxiety

• The most common fear
• The origins of social anxiety
• The company that social anxiety keeps
• Yu've never too young
• choosing the right treatment

Helping yourself overcome shyness and social anxiety

• Three steps to overcoming social anxiety
• Conquering anxious thoughts
• Taming physical symptoms
• Changing your behavior : facing your fears
• Medications
• Helping the shy child

Improving your relationship

• Polishing your people skills
• Broadening your circle of friends
• Spicing up your social life
• Letting love find a way : romance
• The topograhy of progress : peaks, plateaus, and valleys
• Afterword
• Resources
• Index