New Life Foundation | Social Anxiety Support Group Meetings
Today nosotros bring you a very special guest postal service from long-term volunteer Mark near the social feet support group meeting held here at the foundation every Thursday. It's a comfortable, not-threatening space where we get together and practice speaking in group situations and at the same fourth dimension, have a lot of fun. It'due south as well a slap-up place to get to know some of the quieter members of our community!
For the concluding eight months, nosotros have been holding a social feet support group here at the foundation. We come up together every Thursday evening, using exercises to practice public speaking. Information technology is a safe environment where people can support each other, where people tin identify with each other, and where people that are already farther forth in the exercises inspire the people who are just starting. It'southward comforting to know that all of us in the support group know what it's similar to feel anxious in groups. Something essential nosotros keep repeating in the meetings is that it'due south about practicing, not performing, and that it's okay to stop or share you feelings at whatsoever fourth dimension, or even to simply sit and sentry.
We started the social anxiety support group based on the initiative of Scott, an assistant life omnibus here who suffers from social anxiety himself. He introduced a method we now utilise which is based on the idea of overcoming social anxiety through steady simply gradual exposure in manageable steps. The method consists of numerous exercises in public speaking. Starting with an do where you lot remain seated and where you lot describe what you see around you, we move on to exercises where you stand, use gestures and movement, respond to questions, interact, and are required to think on your feet. When people are gear up they can also practice making speeches. We showtime with the first exercise and then move to the second, third, and so on. By building on the success of the previous exercises nosotros move on to the next ones. We emphasise gaining confidence and learning to be kind to ourselves on the mode. Each time we take a manageable step, one small stride at a time. However, it'south a big footstep if you lot look dorsum after several months of practicing and getting support from your young man group members.
I myself take been joining the support group since the beginning, together with Scott and Carrie (yoga instructor and assistant life coach here at NLF) and the progress that we have all made is amazing. With a genuine desire to overcome my social anxiety I started with exercise one, with my heart pounding, throat dry and all the symptoms that go with social anxiety. At the aforementioned fourth dimension, I was determined to move on to the adjacent exercise and the one later, one exercise a week. I wanted to slowly offset practicing it more exterior the support group meetings and at some point starting facilitating the meetings with the support of Scott and Carrie, which I managed to reach subsequently a few months of joining the grouping. The almost important matter I learned is that by allowing and accepting the anxiety, the feet recedes. I achieved the biggest change past looking at the anxiety without judgment and by being open and honest about it to others. In recent months, I have besides been leading the evening community gathering with around 40 people, as well as the morning time community meetings on some weekends. I could never have imagined myself doing that viii months agone. It's astonishing how well the method, in combination with the support of the group, worked for me!
– Mark Hoogers
fewingsthavatabot.blogspot.com
Source: https://www.newlifefoundation.com/th/social-anxiety-support-group-meetings/