"She's just shy"Social Anxiety can stop you from living your life, but it doesn't have to.
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"Empirical evidence consistently shows that the 5Cs (competence, caring, confidence, connection, and character) of Positive Youth Development (PYD) are positively related to adolescents’ contribution to self, family, and society as well as negatively related to risky behaviors and emotional difficulties, such as anxiety."
The Association Between the 5Cs and Anxiety—Insights From Three Countries: Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain
Social anxiety disorder is an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others. This fear can affect work, school, and other daily activities. It can even make it hard to make and keep friends.
We've learned some stuff about the brain that helps us figure out why we're anxious and what is actually happening when our faces turn red, all we can hear is our heart beating and our brain telling us the worst things possible, we start sweating and feel lightheaded.
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Our ResearchWe've dedicated a LOT of time to researching Social Anxiety in kids. There is a lot of information!
As an adult and child who both deal with social anxiety, we went looking for answers. We organized the available information in a way that helped us address our fears. You can skip the work and read what we found out by clicking on the brain or see the steps we took to create a program or skip ahead to the meat and start with Identify and work through to Unleash. If you're unsure what to do with the information or want to know more, make sure to contact us! |
What are the benchmarks?Kids are very different at 8 than they are at 13. How do you know what they are capable of understanding?
We have made the mistake many times over of thinking a kid acting out sounding like a teenager was capable of understanding self moderation and impacts of behaviors. It's VERY HARD to stay calm and be supportive while doubting your parenting skills and falling down the "what am I doing here" hole. Here is what to expect by age: |
If you already know you have Social Anxiety, then you're way ahead of most people. Mom thought (and was told) there was something really wrong with her. It wasn't until way into adulthood, that the idea of Social Anxiety might be causing so much pain.
It's painful. After our whole lives changed because of Covid, our focus on Social Anxiety became more important than ever. It's been hard to try to re-enter the world of people and there's still so many things in this world that stress us out. So we created a process to work through our Social Anxiety. The process is based on research, trail and error, years of therapy, and years of teaching. It's not easy. It requires a routine and constant assessment. We used Social Emotional Skills to focus the process, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) strategies, and age-appropriate therapy techniques. We created a workbook, this website, and supplemental worksheets to help you with bits and pieces that you need to succeed. The process can be tailored to meet your needs. There are areas that mom struggles with, and areas that Maddy struggles with, but we're different people with different needs so we focus on different things. If you're still struggling to make it through, you can join our membership page (it's FREE!) to access our 16-week plan. Our workbook is organized through Identify, Chill, Plan, and Unleash. Read more by clicking on the boxes. |
We want to start a community of learning to address awareness and strategies. Click on the box to join us!
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Anxiety is not easy to tackle. It's especially hard because people with social anxiety ARE TOO SOCIALLY ANXIOUS TO TALK ABOUT IT.
But we're not, and we want to hear your stories. Please share with us your experiences with social anxiety by clicking the link in the banner at the top of the page. * Every community finds support in common experiences, so connect with us to let us know how social anxiety has impacted your life (we would never monetize your information in any way. Like ever.) Click on the button below to join us. |