How to Build a Fear Ladder for Social Situations
Facing feared situations gradually is the most powerful way to shrink social anxiety, but doing it well requires a plan, not just willpower and good intent...
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Articles
Practical, honest guides to quieting the fear of being judged and building real connection.
Fear of Judgment at Work: Meetings, Feedback, and Speaking Up
For many people the most unavoidable arena for the fear of judgment is work. Meetings where you are expected to speak, feedback that feels like a verdict,...
How to End a Conversation Gracefully
Anxious people often struggle to end conversations, trapped by the fear of seeming rude, and so they linger awkwardly or flee abruptly, both of which feel...
The Spotlight Effect: Why You Feel Like Everyone Is Watching
You trip slightly on the mat walking into a coffee shop, and for the next twenty minutes a hot wave of embarrassment runs through you. You are certain ever...
Self-Help Versus Professional Help: How to Choose
When you are working on social anxiety, a natural question arises: can I do this on my own, or do I need professional help? The honest answer is that it de...
How to Stop Replaying Awkward Moments in Your Head
Everyone has a private collection of cringe: the misspoken word, the joke that landed wrong, the moment you waved at someone who was waving at the person b...
How to Turn an Acquaintance Into a Friend
Many people are surrounded by acquaintances and starved of friends. They have colleagues, classmates, neighbors, and familiar faces, but the warm, trusting...
How to Cope With Real Rejection
Much of the work on rejection is about reducing the power of imagined rejection. But real rejection happens too. Sometimes the person does not want to be y...
Grounding: How the 5-4-3-2-1 Technique Pulls You Out of a Spiral
When anxiety pulls you into a spiral, it drags you out of the present and into an imagined future full of everything that might go wrong. Grounding techniq...
How to Go to Events Alone
Going to an event by yourself, a class, a meetup, a gathering, a talk, can feel like one of the most exposing things a socially anxious person can do. With...