Help for Social Phobia/Social Anxiety at Ulster Hypnotherapy, Northern Ireland

Stephen Chan hypnotherapist and licensed Thrive™ consultant can help you to overcome social phobia and social anxiety using Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy and Cognitive Training at Ulster Hypnotherapy: covering Belfast, Portadown, Ulster, Lisburn, Newry, Armagh, Antrim, Lurgan, Dungannon and Dundalk, Northern Ireland

If you are looking for help with social anxiety/social phobia with permanent results, please don't hesitate to contact me now to arrange for a free initial consultation.

What is social anxiety?

Social anxiety is the fear of being judged or being humiliated or being put 'on the spot'.

What is social phobia (Sociophobia)?

Social phobia is a fear of embarrassing, or humiliating 'on the spot' type situations (in public) otherwise known as: social anxiety, social anxiety disorder, fear of being judged.

Social phobia is the 4th most common phobia there is and the one I am most often asked for help with; a pervasive fear of any situation where the person is likely to feel 'on the spot', embarrassed, humiliated or judged - for example; dinner parties, public speaking, interviews, appearing in court, singing, stuttering etc. Associated symptoms: over-sensitivity to criticism, negative self- image, fear of rejection, fear of failure, difficulty in being assertive, and general feelings of inferiority. On a more general level, the social phobic can worry continuously about how others 'see' them and what others may be thinking about them - it is not surprising then that a person with social anxiety usually spends a lot of time creating the image they want others to see. Usually they are quite adept at concealing their anxiety from others, although there is quite often a difficulty in maintaining normal eye contact.

In a clinical setting (in the U.S.A.) somewhere between 3 - 13% of people were diagnosed with social phobia. Social phobia generally starts in the mid-teens (although it often follows on from 'being shy') or can be triggered off by a particularly embarrassing event. As with all phobias and anxieties, any stress a person is feeling will have a significant effect on the 'strength' of the anxiety created. In the D.S.M.4 (the Mental Health 'Bible') the main criteria for social phobia is listed as; "...a marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur": in other words, the person fears that he/she will act in a way that will be humiliating or embarrassing.

Some symptoms that may appear alongside (or be caused by) social phobia or social anxiety are.....

A fear of public speaking
A fear of talking on the telephone
A fear of writing in front of someone (even signing a cheque!)
Blushing or a fear of blushing
Stuttering or stammering
A lack of confidence
Working too hard (to please others)
Setting unachievable high standards and feeling bad when they are not met (perfectionist thinking)
A preoccupation with how you look: 'perfecting' an image you want others to see (this is NOT vanity - this is about trying to 'blend in')
Certain twitches or 'tics'
Shy bladder (men especially) not being able to pee, when on the spot or in public toilets
Certain sexual inhibitions - due to 'performance anxiety'
Repeated failure of driving test etc - due to 'performance anxiety'
A persistent fear of failure or 'not making the grade'
Basically, any situation in life where you might feel embarrassed, on the spot, judged, silly, out of control etc etc

Please contact me at Ulster Hypnotherapy to arrange a free consultation
Free phone 0800 970 1189.

I offer a free confidential consultation at my Portadown, Newry and Belfast Hypnotherapy clinics, which are within easy reach of Lisburn, Armagh, Antrim, Lurgan, Dungannon and Dundalk.

There will be no need to speak to anyone other than myself and I promise that your problems will be discussed with the greatest of sensitivity and strictest confidence. Please note because of the volume of clientele there is a strong possibility you will be connected to my personal answer phone, if this is the case just leave your name and number and, when I return the call, I will not give my name and I will ask for and talk only to you. Please feel free to contact me at Ulster Hypnotherapy to book your free consultation.

YOUR CONFIDENTIALITY IS GUARANTEED