Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 110) This class is an introduction to the evolutionary analysis of human emotions, how they work, why they exist, and what they communicate. In particular, this lecture discusses three interesting case studies, that of happiness (eg, smiling), fear and the emotions we feel towards our relatives. Finally, this lecture ends with a brief discussion of babies’ emotional responses to their caregivers. 00:00 – Chapter 1. The Different Functions of Emotions 09:06 – Chapter 2. Phineas Gage and The Loss of Emotional Capacity 15:45 – Chapter 3. Facial Expressions and Smiles in Particular 28:08 – Chapter 4. Question and Answer on Smiles 32:22 – Chapter 5. Non-Social Emotions: Fear 36:29 – Chapter 6. Social Emotions and Altruism Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: open.yale.edu This course was recorded in Spring 2007.

Have you experienced the pain of Social Anxiety?

It is a very common condition that can control your actions and rob you of just enjoying life!  If you can relate to this, then here is good news - you can overcome Social Anxiety!

Here Are 3 WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR SOCIAL ANXIETY and REGAIN CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE!

#1.  TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS TO REDUCE STRESS IN YOUR LIFE

You can reduce the stress in your life.  Try different methods such as relaxation techniques, aerobic exercise, listening to music, giving yourself some TLC – like having regular spa visits; or, simply getting together with a trusted friend who is positive and uplifting.
Stress management techniques and relaxation can be very calming; and it’s essential to lower these anxiety and panic-triggering factors as much as possible.

]]>

# 2.  SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR YOURSELF

This is an essential step for many of us. When we place unrealistic expectations on ourselves, it is quite likely we simply will not meet those expectations on a regular basis.
Over time, we develop a pattern of thinking that we are never going to be good enough, which leaves us with a sense of inadequacy
To overcome this thinking you first must recognize it, and then begin to take small action steps. Prepare yourself and set reasonable goals. Remember to set low expectation at first; then when you accomplish these smaller goals goals you will feel more confident to take on more.

#3.  STOP AVOIDANCE

This can really steal joy from your life – if you let it.  Please don’t let yourself become an avoider.
Avoidance is simply a response to pain. If we experience emotional pain we avoid any situation that could potentially give us discomfort – hence, you feel relieved that you did not have to put yourself through this.
The key words here are “could potentially give us discomfort”.   We need to stop reinforcing this behaviour and therefore stop the cycle of fear and avoidance.   Focus on all the things that you are missing out on and make a list.  Recognize that what you fear by avoiding social situations is by far less troublesome than missing out on what life can bring you.
Take action and stop avoiding.

Decide today to learn more about Social Anxiety Solutions and get back out there!

Each person at some point in time has experienced anxiety during some social or presentation situation. Having social phobia or anxiety prevents people from being able to do the things they want to do. People that has anxiety want to be friendly, open, and sociable. It is fear (anxiety) that holds them back from participating. The good news is that there is a social anxiety treatment available.

Social anxiety disorder is the most severe form of shyness or social phobia. In order to be diagnosed with this kind of anxiety disorder, a person must experience extreme levels of social anxiety, enough to bother her or him or to interference in her or his daily routine (e.g., school, work, relationships)

Social Anxiety Categories

a. Performance situations (e.g., performing in front of others or being observed by other people)

• Talking in meetings or classes
• Public speaking
• Writing in front of others
• Eating or drinking in front of others
• Participating in sports or working out in front of others
• Performing music or acting on stage
• Being in public areas such as a shopping mall or a bus
• Using public restrooms when other people are nearby
• Making mistakes in front of others

]]>

b. Social interaction situations (e.g., engaging or interacting with one or more people).

• Talking to people in authority (e.g., employer, professor, doctor)
• Going to a party
• Being assertive (e.g., refusing to give in to unreasonable requests, asking others to change their behavior)
• Initiating or maintaining conversation
• Talking to strangers
• Inviting friends over for dinner
• Talking on the phone
• Being in intimate situations
• Expressing personal opinions
• Returning items to a store or sending food back in a restaurant

Effective Social Anxiety Treatment

Biological Treatments
There are a number of medications that have proven useful for treating anxiety disorder. The decision to take medication and which medication to use should be based upon a number of factors, and should be discussed with a doctor first.

Psychological Treatments
Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) include:

Cognitive Therapy – Involves learning to identify one’s anxious thoughts and to replace them with more realistic thoughts

Exposure to Feared Situations – involves confronting a feared situation repeatedly, until the situation no longer triggers fear.

Exposure Role Plays – They are simulated practices instead of practicing the real thing

Social Skills Training

Social Anxiety Treatment Specialties: Anxiety disorders, can be successfully treated today. In seeking help for this problem, we recommend searching for a specialist — someone who understands this problem well and knows how to treat it.

Is your fear of social situations holding back your professional ambitions?  Let me share with you my experience and how I was able to conquer my social awkwardness.

I was lucky enough to find the Social Dynamix Course to help me out with my problem.  This course addressed all of the areas that I needed improvement with.

Being a member of the business world, fear of social gatherings greatly hindered my career progress.  I constantly found myself unable to make important contacts at networking events.  I knew I needed to “work the room” and meet the important people in my industry,

My social phobia also prevented me from speaking to an audience or presenting ideas to groups at work.  Again, this kept me from impressing my supervisors and moving up the ladder in my career.

The lessons and training I learned from the Social Dynamix Course has completely cured me from my fears and awkwardness.

I no longer dread attending business networking events.  Now I look forward to meeting and speaking with my business colleagues.  I know how to make a good first impression and can start an interesting conversation with anyone and anytime.

I also have gained the confidence to get up in front of a group and present ideas and give speeches.  It’s amazing to be able to wow my boss and coworkers with a phenomenal presentation instead of just sitting in the corner wishing that I could be up at the head of the table.

Don’t let your fear of social situations cripple your career.  I highly suggest the Social Dynamix Course.  It changed my life.

Find More Social Fear Articles

Be My Friend – www.myspace.com Nutrition by Natalie The Truth about Anxiety, Stress, Fear, Anger, Mental Health & Nutrition Part 3 in series about Stress. Stress is an emotional reaction of anger or anxiety. The effects of stress on your physical health, mental health and emotional health. The symptoms of stress. Stress information. Stress management. Stress relief. Future videos will discuss stress reduction, anger management, Stress management, anxiety management. The Psychology of Anxiety, Stress, Fear & Anger www.youtube.com Stress, Anxiety, Drugs The Truth about; Nutrition by Natalie www.youtube.com Nutrition and Your Mental Health www.youtube.com Natural Stress Relief Tip – Nutrition by Natalie www.youtube.com Phobia, Social Anxiety, Xanax, PTSD, Psychology by Sandy www.youtube.com How Stress Affects Health – Austin Wellness www.youtube.com Truth about Caffeine, Nutrition, Austin Wellness www.youtube.com Xanax (anxiolytic addiction and withdrawal) www.youtube.com Please visit Natalie’s website at www.nutritionbynatalie.com This video was produced by Psychetruth http www.youtube.com ©Copyright 2008 Zoe Sofia. All Rights Reserved. This video maybe displayed in public, copied and redistributed for any strictly non-commercial use in its entire unedited form. Alteration or commercial use is strictly prohibited.

One of the most nerve-wracking situations for many people is attending social events, particularly those where you don’t know anyone else. If you’re like many people, you have visions of yourself standing alone, looking awkward, sweating, and sneaking out the side door early.

Socializing is difficult for many people. Why? For one, it’s a perfect opportunity for rejection. After all, if you say or do something stupid, it’s very easy for the other person to move on to someone else if they find your conversation dull.

Or another scenario is one where you’re stuck at a table with a bunch of other people you don’t know, and you envision yourself staring at your plate all through the meal, completely at a loss of words.

These fears are very common and normal. That’s good. It means that, if you feel this way, you’re not alone. It also means that when you’re feeling awkward in a social situation, others are as well.

Even some people who appear to be completely at ease may have a jumble of nerves and self-doubt inside. So what’s the solution?

If you are the person who speaks out first, makes the first move, and begins a conversation, you’re taking the pressure off the other person. No longer are you now the one who is awkward at socializing, but you are now someone who is focused on the other people attending.

Changing your frame of mind in this way can be very helpful. It’s also more helpful than changing your frame of mind in other ways, such as using alcohol or other medications (unless you’ve had a thorough check-up with a doctor who has prescribed anti-anxiety medications).

It’s true that alcohol can put you at ease and make starting a conversation much easier. The problem is that it also makes it much easier to take another drink, and another, and before you know it (or don’t), you really are saying or doing something stupid.

Unless you are absolutely confident (no pun intended) in your ability to control your drinking, avoid using this method as a solution to your social fears.

After you have reminded yourself that many other people there are feeling just as nervous as you are, try striking up a conversation. This is easier than it may seem–or at least, it does become easier with practice. One of the best ways to start a conversation is to ask questions.

Then keep asking them. People like to talk about themselves, and it’s also a subject that we all know well–so this avoids awkward moments trying to discuss the latest political issue or historical fact that someone may not be “up” on for whatever reason (life can get in the way sometimes).

The key to making this work, however, is to actually be interested in what the other person has to say. If you’re constantly looking around, interrupting, or giving other signs that you’re not interested, you’ll quickly offend the other person, who may well walk away. Then you will find yourself in the situation you’re trying to avoid.

When possible, take a buddy with you. Just be sure that you don’t hide in the corner only talking to each other. Instead, use the “buddy system” to meet new people together. It’s always easier when you have someone on your side.

Simply knowing that at least one other person there likes you and is rooting for you can give you an instant confidence booster as you reach out to new people.

Using the buddy method is also a great way to practice before you have to strike out on your own, which is likely to happen at least once in your lifetime. Feeling prepared will make you feel much more confident when you do find yourself in this scenario.

Forcing yourself to learn new social skills is scary. You are taking a risk. However, once you make the effort, even if it doesn’t go as well as you’d hoped, you can feel better about yourself knowing you made the effort. Next time will go better. Give yourself credit for trying.

Related Social Fear Articles

A person who allows his fear to rule his life can be prevented from leading a normal life. The sad fact is that the person who has the fear is not the only one affected, but also his family, friends, and the people around him.

Fear can be healthy because it allows a person to be on his toes and to be watchful of what is happening around him. A person can actually make his fears work for him instead of against him. Then again, this requires a lot of self-control and positive thinking.

A person’s fear can be caused by an event that happened some time ago, or by a belief that he is not capable of dealing with something or someone. There are fears that have a real basis, but most fears are just the creations of one’s imagination.

Phobia is also a fear of something, but such fear can be considered irrational. A phobia can be ridiculous and exaggerated such as a person’s fear of cats or of water. Some people who have developed phobias are aware that the fear is not based on rational thinking; but unfortunately, they are not able to get hold of their emotions and rise above their irrational fear.

Some people are quick to equate phobia with insanity; but it is not fair to conclude that just because a person is phobic, it means that there must be something wrong with his sanity. A person’s phobia can sometimes be embarrassing, especially when he is not able to control such fear. There are people who actually shiver and hide when confronted with their phobias.

Phobias can be simple like the simple fear of being in an enclosed area, or complex like the fear of riding an airplane. A social fear can be manifested in the fear of public speaking or of being surrounded by a crowd. Most phobias are characterized by panic attacks such as when the person is confronted by his phobia and he is forced to come face-to-face with it.

It is normal to be afraid because fear is rational. However, a fear that becomes irrational, and is already without basis, is called a phobia. It is no longer normal and can disrupt a person‘s lifestyle.

A person who wants to get rid of his phobia should not turn to doctors who dig deeper just to discover the root cause of the phobia. Such an activity can be a waste of time because finding the underlying cause of the phobia will not get rid of it. What is more important is to be determined and strong-willed so that the person’s fears will no longer rule his emotions. If a person can learn how to handle his emotions, then he can get rid of his phobia.

Find More Social Fear Articles

www.ilovepanicattacks.com If you want more videos like this, sign up for the FREE video mailings on: www.ilovepanicattacks.com about Panic, Panic Attacks, Anxiety Attacks, Agoraphobia, stress, Social Phobia, low self confidence etc

How to turn fear from a source of anxiety and paralysis into fuel for action and achievement. Jonathan Fields is a former private equity attorney turned lifestyle-entrepreneur, blogger, marketer, speaker and author of Career Renegade: How to Make a Great Living Doing What You Love(Broadway 2009). He writes about the crossroads between family, passion, entrepreneurship, social media and marketing at JonathanFields. com and has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and hundreds of magazines, radio shows and websites. And, BusinessWeek named him one of the 20 people entrepreneurs need to follow on twitter (@jonathanfields). When not writing, speaking or building something, you can usually find him dancing around his living room with his wife and daughter. About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Children and teens with Social Anxiety Disorder have an excessive fear of social and/or performance situations. They are overly concerned that they may do something embarrassing or humiliating, or others will think badly of them. These children constantly feel “on stage,” which can lead to a great deal of self-consciousness. – Social anxiety disorder usually begins in adolescence. – It can develop suddenly after a stressful or humiliating experience or slowly over time. – An equal number of girls and boys experience social anxiety. – Some of the problems associated with social anxiety disorder include poor school performance, low confidence in social situations, trouble developing and maintaining friendships, and depression. Click below to read more… Anxiety BC – anxietybc.com
Video Rating: 5 / 5

A self-made video for the film “Equilibrium”, set to Fear Factory’s “Archetype”. I’m also a social commentator. If you enjoy the way I express myself through video, then you may also like my writing at www.thepopulista.com.

The fact that I feel so uncomfortable just talking about this and admitting it is even more of a reason, why I must shed light on it. Shame, guilt and embarrassment can only survive in privacy, when exposed they are being challenged. I am doing something incredibly difficult in facing an issue that causes such a terrible feeling. The only reason I can do this is I know it is the only way to overcome it. Not facing it and not dealing with these uncomfortable feelings will greatly interfere with my journey in life. So I’m experiencing some temporary pain which I know when dealt with will have life changing effects.