Social Anxiety / Social Phobia - Treatment at Toronto Hypnotherapy and Pure Hypnoanalysis
Social Anxiety: The experience of anxiety, stress, worry, fear or apprehension regarding social situations and interactions.
Social Anxiety affects different people on different levels, from moderate discomfort in social situations, to complete isolation of the outside world. For those who suffer from this particular fear, their lifestyles can be extremely limited.
Many of us have fears of public speaking, job interviews, etc. that at the end of the day, though they are uncomfortable, we prevail and overcome those fears. For sufferers of social anxiety, the fear is crippling and avoidance of social situations becomes the focus of their lives. Whether it's not attending the wedding of a family member or getting drunk before or during social encounters to relieve their stress, life is encumbered by those situations that others take for granted.
Examples:
- Don’t like being put ‘on the spot’
- Find it very difficult to talk publicly or to give presentations
- Find large groups of people intimidating
- Find it difficult to make friends
- Lack confidence in social settings, being shy
- Find parties and small talk difficult
- Suffer with pre-exam or pre-test nerves
- Try and stick to the rules
- Sense of being watched
- Find talking on the phone difficult
- Frequently blushing, stuttering or stammering
- Find maintaining eye contact with people difficult
- Hiding, or keep yourself below people’s level of perception
- Fear of being judged, criticized, mocked or rejected
- Shy bladder (not wanting/able to urinate in public urinals)
- Sexual performance issues
(e.g. impotence, premature ejaculation) - Feel as though people may find out
that you’re a fraud
Where does Social Anxiety Come From?
Unlike other emotions that we feel on an everyday basis, anxiety seems to come from nowhere. When we are sad, we know why we feel sad. When we are happy, we know why we are happy. With anxiety however it is if it comes from nowhere, it is something inside of us but outside our control.
Anxiety does have a cause, just like our other emotions, albeit unknown to us consciously. This is why those who suffer from anxiety often find it very difficult to explain why they are feeling the way they do.
We humans do not like the unknown and the unknown reason behind our anxiety is no exception. As a result, our minds attempt to either relate our anxiety to something in the real world or symptoms are created. This could result in the formation of a phobia, compulsions, obsessions, bodily symptoms, etc.. The formless free-floating anxiety now has form and most importantly it has a reason. In this case the result is the formation of Social Anxiety.
The symptoms created are just as difficult to explain to those suffering from them as the anxiety that is causing them. “I've just always been this way”, “I just need to do it”, “I am not sure, it just happens'”, etc... The reason for our inability to explain it is because we really do not know why it is happening. If we did, the anxiety would disappear along with the symptoms created.
Many suffering from Social Anxiety feel that their situation is hopeless and could not imagine how anything could help them overcome their suffering. They have tried everything and nothing seems to help. Everything that they have done however, is usually done with regard to their symptoms and the root of their problem is not affected.
Why traditional hypnotherapy is not recommended for Social Anxiety:
Traditional hypnotherapy (also known as Suggestion Therapy) falls short because it deals only with the symptom and not the cause. In traditional hypnotherapy your Social Anxiety would be suggested away under hypnosis with suggestions like 'you feel calm and at ease in social situations'. While you will probably leave the hypnotherapist experiencing less social anxiety, the originating cause of that symptom, the bottled-up unconscious emotions have not been addressed.
Because the unconscious emotions are still there, they will find an 'outlet'. So you may not experience your Social Anxiety as often, but now you fear being alone or you are more anxious in general. This is known as symptom substitution and is a very real phenomenon.
Worse yet, suggestions from a hypnotherapist don't always last forever, so in a few months time, your Social Anxiety may well return.
For these reasons, traditional hypnotherapy (suggestion therapy) is not recommended for Social Anxiety.
Resolving Social Anxiety Permanently at Toronto Hypnotherapy and Pure Hypnoanalysis
To achieve permanent results we need to get to the root of the problem. Pure Hypnoanalysis is the best and most successful form of therapy in the world for release of the root cause of anxiety and its related symptoms. Pure Hypnoanalysis offers you a permanent resolution to your problems, letting you live a life free from Social Anxiety and it's symptoms Along with your Social Anxiety, all other symptoms associated with those bottled up uncinscious emotions disappear as well, leaving you more relaxed and in control of your life in general.
Other therapies including CBT, psychotherapy, EFT, NLP only ever deal with the symptoms of your anxiety, leaving the root to manifest elsewhere. Why control your problem when you can rid yourself of it once and for all.