A collection of questions and sharing by our readership community about a wide variety of aspects of social anxiety. Dive in and receive practical insights and advice.
QUESTION BY:
Anonymous
How Do You Speak in Group Discussions?
Whenever we have group discussions in class, I get very shaky and don’t feel like myself. I also struggle to be myself when talking in groups at parties. What can I do to overcome this?
Jonathan Responds:
The word “cure” requires some rather deep emotional work based on learning self acceptance and learning how, in essence, to be yourself. Your starting point is to identify the messages/content in your internal critical script that translate into your belief that you “can’t be yourself”. It is important to gain insight as to how you learned this excessive script and belief. It’s a good bet that you experienced accute levels of embarrasment-humilation associated with excessive nervous system activity. Achieving a “cure” or resolution also involves learning self-nurturing. This is a multi-dimensional concept of self-acknowledgement while promoting emotional growth. Listening to (and studying) the patient interviews at www.socialanxiety.com (many of whom experienced group anxiety) can provide insight.
