The Compassionate Mind Guide To Building Social Confidence

Based in compassion-focused therapy (CFT), a therapeutic model that combines attachment theory, neuroscience, and mindfulness, The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Building Social Confidence helps readers gain the confidence they need to connect with others and develop skills for reducing shame and self-judgment. Written by Lynne Henderson, who is founder and codirector, with Phillip Zimbardo, of The Shyness Institute, this book offers readers skills and exercises for overcoming problematic shyness and feeling more comfortable around others.

Shyness is a universal human emotion, a blend of fear and interest, and is associated with many positive personality traits: a considerate nature, thoughtfulness, and the ability to be a good listener, to name a few. However, withdrawing from others has its drawbacks, and if you're very shy, it's likely that you've experienced some of them: loneliness, depression, and self-blaming thoughts that are much harsher than other people's criticism would ever be. The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Building Social Confidence offers a supportive program based in compassion-focused therapy for moving past social anxiety and the self-critical thoughts that propel it. The program in this book helps you both accept your shyness as part of your personality and challenge your social anxiety when it keeps you from living the life you want. This book also provides dozens of exercises that will help you practice mindfulness, imagery, compassionate thinking, and compassionate action-critical skills that will help you develop the ability to overcome shyness and make strides toward complete social confidence.`

There is nothing wrong with being shy - it is a natural emotion that everyone can experience. But if shyness is negatively impacting your life, The Shyness Workbook can help you grow your confidence. Shyness has evolved as an emotion over thousands of years and can be helpful in some circumstances. However, it can become a problem when it interferes with life goals, develops into social anxiety disorder or leads to 'learned pessimism', mild depression and even 'learned helplessness'. In this way, shyness and shame often hold us back from realising our potential and from engaging with others wholeheartedly. This practical self-help workbook sets out the background to shyness - its evolutionary functions and why it becomes chronic in some people - and teaches skills and exercises to help you overcome problematic shyness. Using this workbook, readers will learn how to: · Cope with shy feelings and debunk anxious thoughts · Develop self-compassion · Practise new, confident behaviours Full of fresh insights and exercises, The Shyness Workbook will support your journey into developing social self-confidence. THE COMPASSIONATE MIND APPROACH The self-help books in this series are based on the Compassionate Mind Approach (developed by series editor Paul Gilbert). This brings together an understanding of how our mind can cause us difficulties but also provides us with a powerful solution in the shape of mindfulness and compassion. It teaches ways to stimulate the part of the brain connected with kindness, warmth, compassion and safeness, and to calm the part that makes us feel anxious, angry, sad or depressed.

Many of us have a tendency to measure our self-worth by comparing ourselves to others. But when we fail to reach our own, families, communities or societies 'ideals' this often results in feelings of inadequacy, anxiety and low mood. We may become self-critical, experience shame and a sense of being different from others. Although an improvement in 'self-esteem' is what we may feel we want this is not necessarily what we need. This is because self-esteem is often associated with times when things are going well but can fail us when things do not go to plan. In contrast self-confidence, built from self-compassion, can help us when things are going well and make us more resilient when things are difficult. This book uses the ideas and practices of Compassion Focused Therapy to help build self-confidence. Attention is also paid to difficulties that often come hand in hand with lack of self-confidence such as anxiety, depression, substance use and anger.

Leading depression authority Paul Gilbert presents The Compassionate Mind, a breakthrough book integrating evolutionary psychology, new insights from neuroscience, and mindfulness practice. This combination of techniques forms a new therapy called compassion focused therapy that can enhance readers' lives.

There is good and increasing evidence that cultivating compassion for one's self and others can have a profound impact on our physiological, psychological and social processes. In contrast, concerns with inferiority, shame and self-criticism can have very negative impacts on these processes and are associated with poorer physical and mental health. The Compassionate Mind Workbook is for anyone who is interested in how compassion - in the form of ideas and practices derived from Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and other approaches - may help us to engage with, understand and ultimately, try to alleviate suffering. CFT utilises both Buddhist practices and Western psychological science. It draws on neuroscience, insights into emotion regulation and identity formation, interpersonal psychology and a range of psychotherapeutic models. CFT-based interventions can help people with a range of mental health problems develop compassion for themselves, be open to the compassion of others and develop compassion for others. This workbook is a step-by-step guide to CFT, in which the chapters build your understanding of yourself, the skills that give rise to a compassionate mind, and ways to work with whatever difficulties you're struggling with in life. The exercises, prompts and case stories in this book provide an understandable and practical way to develop compassion.

Helping Your Shy And Socially Anxious Client presents a breakthrough therapeutic approach to treating social anxiety. In a world dominated by extroverts, being shy or socially anxious can make life especially challenging. And while there is nothing wrong with being naturally introverted, avoiding social contact due to extreme fear and anxiety can be very damaging both mentally and physically. As a therapist, you understand that avoidance can often make a client’s anxiety worse. But many clients with shyness and social anxiety believe they can never change. In fact, they may strategically adjust their lives to avoid social activities or situations that make them uncomfortable. In a sense, they allow their social "muscles" to atrophy, and in the end may become even more alienated and despondent. There is hope. Just as physical fitness strengthens the body, "social fitness" can be developed through habit and action. In Helping Your Shy and Socially Anxious Client, shyness expert Lynne Henderson presents the Social Fitness program—a twelve session cognitive behavioral model for clients with shyness and social anxiety. Inside, mental health professionals will learn powerful tools for helping clients strengthen their social skills, track their successes, and learn to cope with setbacks or hurdles. The techniques described in this manual were developed for the Stanford Shyness Clinic by Philip Zimbardo, and are currently being used by the Shyness Institute in Berkeley to educate therapists and other counselors. Find out more at shyness.com.

Picking up where Quiet ended, How to Be Yourself is the best book you’ll ever read about how to conquer social anxiety. “This book is also a groundbreaking road map to finally being your true, authentic self.” —Susan Cain, New York Times, USA Today and nationally bestselling author of Quiet Up to 40% of people consider themselves shy. You might say you’re introverted or awkward, or that you're fine around friends but just can't speak up in a meeting or at a party. Maybe you're usually confident but have recently moved or started a new job, only to feel isolated and unsure. If you get nervous in social situations—meeting your partner's friends, public speaking, standing awkwardly in the elevator with your boss—you've probably been told, “Just be yourself!” But that's easier said than done—especially if you're prone to social anxiety. Weaving together cutting-edge science, concrete tips, and the compelling stories of real people who have risen above their social anxiety, Dr. Ellen Hendriksen proposes a groundbreaking idea: you already have everything you need to succeed in any unfamiliar social situation. As someone who lives with social anxiety, Dr. Hendriksen has devoted her career to helping her clients overcome the same obstacles she has. With familiarity, humor, and authority, Dr. Hendriksen takes the reader through the roots of social anxiety and why it endures, how we can rewire our brains through our behavior, and—at long last—exactly how to quiet your Inner Critic, the pesky voice that whispers, "Everyone will judge you." Using her techniques to develop confidence, think through the buzz of anxiety, and feel comfortable in any situation, you can finally be your true, authentic self.

Research into the beneficial effect of developing compassion has advanced enormously in the last ten years, with the development of inner compassion being an important therapeutic focus and goal. This book explains how Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) – a process of developing compassion for the self and others to increase well-being and aid recovery – varies from other forms of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Comprising 30 key points this book explores the founding principles of CFT and outlines the detailed aspects of compassion in the CFT approach. Divided into two parts – Theory and Compassion Practice – this concise book provides a clear guide to the distinctive characteristics of CFT. Compassion Focused Therapy will be a valuable source for students and professionals in training as well as practising therapists who want to learn more about the distinctive features of CFT.

Discover tools to help you build self-confidence for a better life. From facing your fears to practicing acceptance and self-compassion, The Self-Confidence Workbook offers practical and effective strategies to help you bring out your best self. You'll learn how to guide yourself through having self-confidence in relationships, work, and health. With a goal-oriented approach, these proven strategies teach you to silence the self-critic within and help guide you toward living your best life with confidence. This self esteem workbook helps you vanquish self-doubt with: DEFINING CONFIDENCE: A guide to understanding self-confidence by defining what it means to be confident and helping you determine your starting level of self-esteem. STRATEGIES FOR SELF-ACCEPTANCE: This book entails a 5-step program that begins with setting goals and uses evidence-based strategies to foster acceptance, mindfulness, self-compassion, and more. INTERACTIVE EXERCISES: Discover reflections, checklists, and quizzes to help you internalize lessons and concepts. Improve self-confidence in all areas of your life to feel fully alive with this top choice in motivational books.