Confidence & Social Anxiety
We can all learn how to be calmer and more confident, we've simply never been shown how
Social Phobia (scopophobia) is the fear of embarrassing, humiliating , or 'on the spot' type situations in public. Associated fears; social anxiety, social anxiety disorder, fear of being judged.
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Social Phobia is probably the most common phobia. A fear of any situation where the sufferer is likely to feel 'on the spot', embarrassed, humiliated, silly or judged. E.g. dinner parties, public speaking, interviews, presenting, singing, talking on the telephone etc.
Associated symptoms: sensitivity to criticism, negative self image, fear of rejection, difficulty in being assertive and feelings of inferiority. Often symptoms appear alongside the social phobia such as; blushing, stuttering, working too hard to please others, lack of confidence, low self esteem, and preoccupation with looks, twitches or tics, sexual performance anxiety, shy bladder, self imposed unachievable high standards, fear of failure etc.
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A social-phobia worries continuously about how others see them and think about them, thus they devote a lot of time creating the image they want others to see and they're quite adept at concealing their anxiety from others.
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Your sessions will be tailored for you and may include elements from CBT, Hypnotherapy and mind coaching.
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"Thank you for your time and understanding, your empathy and humour in dealing with the challenges I shared. I have definitely felt an improvement in myself during the more pressured moments when presenting or speaking in front of others and I had a few experiences where I felt the enjoyment return (even though small and intimate settings, it still felt good). I do still feel a pang of fear when the prospect of presenting in front of a large group arises but know I have some great tools to help me with overcoming this".
L, London
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"Put simply, Alice changes lives. Her patient, attentive, relaxed, compassionate and empathic approach, together with her willingness to find (appropriate) humour in certain situations which could otherwise leave one despairing, make her bespoke programme easy to engage with. I have been resistant to talking therapies for years - Alice identified the reasons why and helped me through them so that I could benefit fully from her help in other problem areas. She's on speed dial for the future."
C.P.
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"I felt at ease before and during the [work Christmas] party, was able to converse and laugh, it was a bit boring! For the first time in my life it felt like a non-event! No thumping in my chest or parched mouth. I still follow the guidelines you have given me including short, medium and long term goals [refers to list of exciting things she's now able to do in her life that before simply weren't possible due to crippling social phobia and lack of self confidence]. Thank you for all your help." V, Southend-on-Sea Essex
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"Just wanted to let you know...[when I went back to work after several weeks off sick with stress] I felt like I should be getting anxious and it just never happened! I’m not entirely sure what you did but whatever it was it seems to have worked. As soon as you finished [the session] I just felt relief and I’m still feeling it now." Anon, Maldon Essex
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Read more testimonials here...
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All sessions are available from our private practice in Colchester Essex​, or UK and Worldwide online with Essex based therapist Alice Pinion. Arrange your free initial consult.