So, what is it I want to say? I’m aware that the course is coming to an end and aware that I still feel the pangs of social anxiety thoughts and fears creep up within me and overwhelm my mind and whole being as I move from person to person, interaction to interaction, conversation to chit chat. Words fail me – words, words, words! What to say? How to say it? It is like the words I use and how I say them are the test; they are how I am graded. Say it wrong, say the wrong thing and I’ll be thought less of. I have bracketed myself off to a lower level.  A level that is not as fun, cool, inte ..read more

Most of us intuitively know that there is a strong link between our gut and brain. Almost everyone has experienced ‘butterflies in the tummy’ when they are feeling nervous. For some people, stress and anxiety can cause or worsen stomach problems, such as with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Our gut has been referred to as ‘the second brain’ and it certainly seems to have the ability to mirror our emotions and mood. There is an intricate system of nerves in the gut which are connected to the brain by a large nerve called the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve can transmit signals between the gut and ..read more

Hello. Welcome to our New Notice Board. Our Board of Directors and Committee Members meet every couple of months to discuss business and fundraising matters. We are always on the lookout for new committee members to volunteer. We welcome people from any background and no experience is required. You are welcome to sit in on our next meeting, just email us for details. info@socialanxietyireland.com The post New Members Welcome appeared first on Social Anxiety Ireland | Treating Social Phobias & Social Anxiety Disorder ..read more

Hi, Last year we did some investigating in scientific journals about whether or not exercise can help reduce social anxiety. You can read what we found out here. The TL;DR version is that we found that exercise can help alleviate social anxiety by increasing your feel good hormones, increasing self-efficacy and by acting as a distraction. A very interesting finding was that exercise, like running or something that gets your heart pumping, can reduce “anxiety sensitivity” to the physical symptoms of your social anxiety. In other words it’s similar to the exposure technique! If you fea ..read more

Good news, we have set ourselves up as a non-profit organisation and are currently waiting for our final approval for charity status which we expect any day now. This is a very exciting time for us! We now hope to grow and expand our services. Donations Needed As you know, SAI is based in Dublin and currently has a waiting list of almost two years and this is something we want to change. Establishing ourselves as a charity was our first goal but we’re not stopping there. We plan: To facilitate the delivery of multiple group-treatments across the country. This will allow us to reach more peopl ..read more

Hi everyone! A lot of things are changing at Social Anxiety Ireland! New Address We have settled into our new address at . We have full access to a group room, office space, kitchen and toilets! You can find us at 8 Cabra Road, Phibsboro, Dublin 7.     The Support Group As you may have noticed, the support group is not running at the moment. This is something we hope to change as soon as we can. Over the last year attendance has been low and we are looking for ways to improve the support group so that you get more out of attending each month. We hope to send around a short survey in ..read more

The Great Dublin Bike Ride Our psychologists Odhran McCarthy and Damien Lowry have registered for the 100 km Great Dublin Bike Ride on 11th September in order to raise some much needed funds for SAI. Already they have gathered a small team of friends and past group members to cycle with them on the day. We would LOVE if you joined us to cycle for Social Anxiety Ireland. If you are interested you can register for the 60 km or 100 km bike ride on the Great Dublin Bike Ride website and then email us your contact details! If you can’t take part and would still like to help out you can sponsor ..read more

I am publishing this blog which was submitted to me by one of the members of a recent group. It is their reflections after the completion of our group treatment programme. When we are small we reach milestones. First word, first steps, first time on bike, first kiss, first day at school etc. All of firsts require leaps of faith on the part of humans. These firsts were anxious moments.The fear of doing, the fear of being seen, the fear of failing to a great or less degree impacted on the enjoyment of these experiences. Once we achieve milestones like these most of us move on to the next one and ..read more

Hi Guys, Hope you’re all keeping well. Just wanted to see how people that have completed the programme are getting on since. Also following on from that, what little things did you take from the programme that really gave you that Eureka! moment. I myself finished the programmein September-ish 2013. I found it to be brilliant. Attending it and not missing a week of it was the best decision I ever made. There are weeks where your anxiety might be through the roof and you feel like not going, but it’s hugely important to try get there every night; if possible. I’m glad I was able to do so as it ..read more

I arrived relaxed to the meeting resolute to give my “presentation” via pictures/drawings as quickly as possible. This would afford me the opportunity to decide my own faith – control of my own “destiny” – in relation to the schedule of the role-plays but also, I think, that I would avoid the anguish of having to wait for it to me my turn. In some cases my motto is: “Just do it and do not think”. However, I must stress that I normally only apply this dictum for situations where I feel I have a high degree of control. The illustrations were to convey how it felt to be in a socially anxious ..read more