How I overcame social anxiety

How I went from a socially anxious kid to an anxiety disorder specialist using exposure therapy.

#MentalHealthMonth
#MHM
#StigmaFree

Topics Discussed:
- Selective Mutism
- Child anxiety
- Social Anxiety Disorder
- Exposure therapy
- Unified theory
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Anxiety treatment
- Mental Health Awareness Month

Links:

THE PSYCH SHOW! Weekly adventures in psychology, the brain, and behavioral sciences with Dr. Ali Mattu!

[samitrg]

Loved the video! I just have a question, speaking in public would be a conditioned or unconditioned stimulus? and feeling anxious would be then a conditioned or unconditioned response?

[videomissionary]

Exposure therapy: anxietying your way out of anxiety

[Old_SnakeTwitch]

You may think you know what other people are thinking, or assume that they are thinking the worst about you. But I'd be willing to bet that most of the time, 99% of the time, you're wrong, because most of the time people are thinking about themselves.
The sooner you except that, the less likely you are to put yourself in a position that makes you uncomfortable.

-Marc Maron

[ahmedwassime]

The longer you avoyd youre fears the biger he become i feel the lock down make my enxiety bigger

[ReynaSingh]

I suffered from anxiety too and am now actively working on not letting it control my life. Together we are strong.

[bilal]

What an amusing reason for enrolling on a public speaking class. Just imagining you walking into class and learning what it was makes me chuckle. Overall, great story and thank you for the new series :-)

[levarmitchell]

My social anxiety kicked in at about middle school age and got worse in high school and college. I'm 44 now and although I've made minor improvements, I've hit a plateau and I feel a sense of urgency or panic if you will, that if I don't overcome this at my age I'll never realize my goals and dreams.

[kingh]

Here is my story; I am 25 year old, O have always had social anxiety in high school, which is the reason for my bad grades. It got worse when I also had a physical health problem and pain, which changed the way I look as well which made me even more insecure, causing body dysmoprhia. I ended up doing a dead end job from age 19-25. With absolute no friends or social connections. Now I got into college. First day of class was very difficult. It was hard to be around people. Second day of class my nerves calmed down a little bit. Hopefully it gets easier. It's basically a skills we haven't learned, which we were supposed to learn in our younger days

[nicholasrs]

This got to me on an emotional level. Finally someone who can relate ❤️

[WelshBoyUSA]

You’ve really helped me and after watching this video I’ve decided to seek help thank you life changed

[marialblepp]

What you’ve shared is very insightful for me. My fear is opening up to people. I fear that I might disappoint them. This led me to eventually avoiding any conversation that may result to a rather close or even acquaintance-like relationship. I was scared of speaking myself out. I shut down all my social media accounts and isolated myself fron the world. Eventually, it made me think that, I, as a pscyhology major and a mental health advocate, have not done much to reach out to people and help them and it has not benefited me as well.
Now, I am glad I’ve watched your video because it helped me to realize that I am in the process of exposing myself to social situations. I always try initiating conversations now, and even opened a blog for writing my thoughts and for promoting the importance of mental health. I look forward to becoming more confident of my speaking and to encourage more people like me to speak up too.
Thank you so much for what you’re doing to the community. You deserve much more recognition, Dr. Mattu!

[eatingcookieswithpeanutbutter]

I also have dealt with social anxiety since childhood, and I've slowly grown to become less anxious in public situations and am now able to speak to people with more facility. However, I do understand that anxiety never really goes away, because there are times where it still takes over me. Something I still find myself struggling with is speaking up at any given moment, as I still tend to plan out some interactions, like with phone calls.

[vtk]

Hello, Dr. Mattu!

I followed your advice on performing grounding techniques for my public anxiety. It worked!

Every morning and night, i practice the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 senses grounding technique.

This afternoon, i went to the grocery store with no fear whatsoever. No panic attacks while waiting in the long lines either.

Thank you so much for creating this channel!

[ncf]

I really wish I discovered your channel years ago. I have mdd, gad and social anxiety and I am now taking my masters in clinical psych. You're one of my inspirations now <3 thank you for giving psychology away :)

[eris]

I recently enrolled in a public speaking class of my own next semester. I had deliberately chosen it so I could get better at it, but when I thought about it later, I felt like it was a horrible idea. However, your video helped me rethink what the class would be like, and decreased my anxiety. It also gave me a better understanding of how to manage exposure therapy for oneself. Thank you <3

[BlakeCurtis]

Doctor Ali, I want to thank you again for making videos on social anxiety, this has helped me immensely as I have moved into a career where presenting multiple times a day is now possible for me.

[foxc]

This was way more useful than I expected it to be👍🏻

[wizwocn]

Excellent video - so personal, which helps to show that EVERYONE struggles with something! We are not alone! Thank you!

[Awaecnan]

Your story is so inspiring! Indeed, when you start to shift your perspective towards dealing with social situations entirely, you can really make a big difference to your social anxiety. Thanks so much for sharing!

[Lea-ovvq]

Thank you for sharing your story, I've had pretty bad social anxiety for years now but slowly I'm getting better. I can now make eye contact and I'm very happy about that :)