Do you ever have butterflies before giving a speech or feel uncomfortable entering a room full of strangers? Everyone has at least a brush with social or performance anxiety. But for more than 20 million Americans -- men, women, and children from all walks of life -- these problems are an everyday occurrence, often depriving them of success and happiness. Using dozens of cases like these, Drs. Schneier and Welkowitz illustrate the many puzzling forms of social anxiety and the experiences that trigger it. In addition they offer several simple "self-tests" to help you measure your own level of social anxiety -- and provide an easy-to-follow self-help program that will enable you to overcome it at a speed and in a manner comfortable for you. The book also includes information on state-of-the-art psychotherapy and medical treatments and where to find them, as well as guidance for parents of shy children. Whether you live in terror of embarrassment or are just occasionally shy The Hidden Face of Shyness can help you face people with confidence.
A book for shy people of all ages who wonder how to shine in an incredibly noisy world. Shyness can make us feel isolated, and it's inherently difficult to talk about, yet half of all humans consider themselves shy. But shyness is not weakness, nor a shameful secret. Let's own our shyness, and work with it in the face of the loud, outgoing idea of success. It's time for a softer, more considered approach. Shy people have unique qualities and skills, so let's nurture and appreciate them. Nadia Finer gives shy people the support and understanding they need to step out of the shadows. This book is full of easy to follow advice, backed up by first-hand experiences from fellow shy people. Nadia shares insights from scientists and psychologists to help explain the reasons behind shyness, and gives us top tips to help navigate the most challenging situations. Shy and Mighty is packed with practical tools, techniques and ideas to help you work with your shyness, and become a more mighty you.
There's nothing wrong with being shy. But if social anxiety keeps you from forming relationships with others, advancing in your education or your career, or carrying on with everyday activities, you may need to confront your fears to live an enjoyable, satisfying life. This new edition of The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook offers a comprehensive program to help you do just that. As you complete the activities in this workbook, you'll learn to: •Find your strengths and weaknesses with a self-evaluation •Explore and examine your fears •Create a personalized plan for change •Put your plan into action through gentle and gradual exposure to social situations Information about therapy, medications, and other resources is also included. After completing this program, you'll be well-equipped to make connections with the people around you. Soon, you'll be on your way to enjoying all the benefits of being actively involved in the social world. This book has been awarded The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Seal of Merit — an award bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.
Written by some of the leading international authorities in the field, this volume provides an overview of significant contemporary psychological research into shyness. It brings together perspectives from developmental psychology, social psychology and clinical psychology.
The author of Armchair Nation and On Roads examines shyness in a“sparkling cultural history rang[ing]from Jane Austen to Silicon Valley” (The Guardian). Shyness is a pervasive human trait: even most extroverts know what it is like to stand tongue-tied at the fringe of an unfamiliar group or flush with embarrassment at being the unwelcome center of attention. And yet the cultural history of shyness has remained largely unwritten—until now. With incisiveness, passion, and humor, Joe Moran offers an eclectic and original exploration of what it means to be a “shrinking violet.” Along the way, he provides a collective biography of shyness through portraits of such shy individuals as Charles Darwin, Charles Schulz, Garrison Keillor, and Agatha Christie, among many others. In their stories often both heartbreaking and inspiring and through the myriad ways scientists and thinkers have tried to explain and “cure” shyness, Moran finds hope. To be shy, he decides, is not simply a burden; it is also a gift, a different way of seeing the world that can be both enriching and inspiring. “Fantastic and involving . . . [A] feat of empathy. Every page radiates understanding; every paragraph, its (shy) author’s gentle wit.”—The Observer “Whether you’re boldly outgoing or reticent and self-effacing, you’ll find something to inspire, inform, or surprise in this thoughtful, beautifully written, and vividly detailed cultural history.”—Susan Cain, New York Times bestselling author of Quiet
Say hello to new friends, new business opportunities, new love, and new confidence Okay, so you're shy. Here are 85 proven techniques to help you conquer your shyness and change your life for good. No psychobabble. No nonsense. These tested "ShyBusters" prepare you for that upcoming party, work function, interview, date, and the rest of your life. As someone who overcame debilitating shyness herself, professional speaker Leil Lowndes used this method to become a confident woman who has been interviewed on hundreds of TV and radio shows and has spoken to crowds of 10,000. You'll soon be making "fearless conversation" with people who used to intimidate you. You'll learn how to win the love you deserve and ask for whatever you want. You will overcome embarrassing stammering, sweating, clamming up, and wishing you were invisible. Good-Bye to Shy will show you how to: Make a stronger impression at work, at parties, in any situation Feel more relaxed around people, make eye contact, and spark conversations Boost your career, jump-start your social life, and open your heart to new possibilities Say Good-Bye to Shy--and hello to the happy, loving, confident person who's been hiding inside you.
Proven advice for dealing with shyness--in any situation! Do you ever agonize over party invitations? Steer clear of acquaintances at the grocery store? Let everyone else drive the conversation, even when you've got something important to contribute? With The Shyness Solution, you can learn to accept and embrace your shyness in more effective ways: Too Shy? - A questionnaire helps you determine not only the level of your shyness, but your strengths and weaknesses as well. Subtle Charm - Bashful people can be alluring! Learn techniques to draw people to you. Once Bitten - Burned by love in the past? Your current reserve could simply be a defensive reaction to a past relationship. Life of the Party - Play up the mysterious aspect of your shyness, and you'll find yourself the center of attention after all. Whether you're working with colleagues on a project, developing a new relationship, or socializing with guests at a party, you will feel at ease in your own skin and be able to confidently interact with those around you.
For the first time, contributors to the essential reference for professional psychiatrists, "The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, " make vital information about mental disorders available to the general public in an affordable, accessible format.
A study of how ordinary people deal with everyday problems through self-mastery and mental health care practices. Everyday suffering—those conditions or feelings brought on by trying circumstances that arise in everyone’s lives—is something that humans have grappled with for millennia. But the last decades have seen a drastic change in the way we approach it. In the past, a person going through a time of difficulty might keep a journal or see a therapist, but now the psychological has been replaced by the biological: instead of treating the heart, soul, and mind, we take a pill to treat the brain. Chemically Imbalanced is a field report on how ordinary people dealing with common problems explain their suffering, how they’re increasingly turning to the thin and mechanistic language of the “body/brain,” and what these encounters might tell us. Drawing on interviews with people dealing with struggles such as underperformance in school or work, grief after the end of a relationship, or disappointment with how their life is unfolding, Joseph E. Davis reveals the profound revolution in consciousness that is underway. We now see suffering as an imbalance in the brain that needs to be fixed, usually through chemical means. This has rippled into our social and cultural conversations, and it has affected how we, as a society, imagine ourselves and envision what constitutes a good life. Davis warns that what we envision as a neurological revolution, in which suffering is a mechanistic problem, has troubling and entrapping consequences. And he makes the case that by turning away from an interpretive, meaning-making view of ourselves, we thwart our chances to enrich our souls and learn important truths about ourselves and the social conditions under which we live. Praise for Chemically Imbalanced “Chemically Imbalanced is an excellent addition to the works in social sciences and humanities that examine the distress of ordinary Americans from the second half of the twentieth century onward, a period when commercialized pills and the psychology-based notion of self-improvement entered the minds of Americans.” —Metascience “Chemically Imbalanced raises important questions, offers new insight into the power and reach of the biomedical model and neurobiological thinking, and I highly recommend it. I encourage readers to assign it, especially in graduate-level mental health and illness classes—or any class looking for a discussion on people’s experiences with suffering and the broad impacts of biomedical thinking and treatment.” —Social Forces
