Social Phobia (the Shyness Program)

Social phobia affects about 700 000 Australian adults each year. When people have social phobia they fear social situations where they might become the centre of attention. This means that they may fear going out in public, going to public places, sitting in public transport, meeting strangers, or speaking in public. Essentially, people with social phobia fear situations where they think they may be judged or evaluated by others.

 

What are the Symptoms of Social Phobia?

People with social phobia experience three main types of symptoms.
  1. Physical symptoms. When they are in a social situation, or sometimes when they even imagine a social situation, people with social phobia often experience strong physical symptoms. These can include: sweating, a racing heart, faster breathing, shaking, upset stomach, tingling sensations, and other physical symptoms of anxiety.
  2. Worrying thoughts. Such as “they probably think I’m stupid/or an idiot”, “I’m going to make a fool of myself”, “they’re all going to laugh at me”, and so on.
  3. Avoiding social situations. They may avoid going out to parties, going shopping, going to the supermarket or bank, or other situations where they need to meet other people.

Social Phobia vs. Shyness

Social phobia is more than shyness. Most people experience some degree of shyness from time to time. But, people with social phobia find that it affects their everyday life. So, they may avoid doing things, meeting people, or taking on new challenges or opportunities, because of their fear.



Treatment for Social Phobia

Social phobia is treatable! The best treatments involve learning about your symptoms, learning how to control those symptoms, and slowly (and gradually) practicing going into situations you fear (to teach yourself, slowly and gradually, that you can manage those situations). You can talk to your General Practitioner about getting a referral to a Clinical Psychologist, Psychiatrist, or another mental health professional to learn to manage your social phobia. Or, you can try our Shyness Program.


What is the Shyness Program?

The Shyness Program is designed to teach people with social phobia about their symptoms, and to show them ways of managing their symptoms, all done over the Internet. We developed Shyness because most people with social phobia never seek treatment, but many have access to the Internet. By providing good education and information via the Shyness Program we hope that you will get better control over your symptoms, improve your confidence, and learn to do things that you might have been afraid of doing.

The Shyness Program includes eight online lessons, homework assignments, and lots of additional resources that are designed to provide you with the information that you would normally receive from high quality face to face treatment. Please note: Learning to overcome symptoms of social phobia takes determination and commitment. We expect that during the Program you will have to invest up to 4 hours each week reading the materials and practicing the skills described in those materials. It is hard work! But, more than 700 people have now completed the Shyness Program, and most report that they would not hesitate to recommend it to a friend with social phobia.

 

The Next Trial of the Shyness Program

We are currently updating the existing Shyness Program, and will relaunch it in mid 2010. In the meantime, you may want to consider applying for the Anxiety or Wellbeing Programs (which also aim to treat social phobia).

 

Page Last Updated:   16 February 2010, by Dr Nickolai Titov

 


Three Simple Steps to Join:

1. Read and learn

2. Apply or Register

3. Accept and participate

Conditions We Treat

Video about Shyness Program


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St Vincent's Hospital