How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety

Description

"This book is also a groundbreaking roadmap to finally being your true, authentic self." -Susan Cain, New York Times, USA Today and nationally bestselling author of Quiet Whenever people are nervous about interacting with others, they're told, "Just be yourself!" But that is easier said than done-especially if you also suffer from social anxiety. You might say you're just introverted or bad with people; that you're fine around friends but feel like you can't speak up in a board meeting or a mingling event; or maybe you never would have considered yourselves socially anxious but have recently moved or started a new job, only to become isolated and unsure. But 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 herself, Dr. Hendriksen has devoted her career to helping her patients overcome the same obstacles she has. With both familiarity and authority, Dr. Hendriksen talks the reader through the roots of social anxiety and why it endures; how it's wired into our brains and how we can change our brains through our behavior; and how to quiet your Inner Critic (the voice that says, You can't). Using her techniques to develop confidence, ease panic, and relax in the face of uncertainty, you can finally be yourself.

Ellen Hendriksen is a clinical psychologist at Boston University's Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders. She graduated from Brown University, earned her Ph.D. at UCLA, and completed her training at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Hendriksen is a regular contributor to Psychology Today, Scientific American, Huffington Post, and Quiet Revolution, and is the host of the Savvy Psychologist podcast on Macmillan's Quick and Dirty Tips network, which has been downloaded over 5 million times.

"'Just be yourself!' You've likely heard this advice and thought 'But how?' Ellen Hendriksen's How to Be Yourself is for the millions of Americans who consider themselves quiet, shy, introverted, or socially anxious. Through clear, engaging storytelling, she takes readers on an inspiring journey: from how social anxiety gets wired into our brains to how you can learn to live a life without fear. This book is also a groundbreaking roadmap to finally being your true, authentic self." --Susan Cain, New York Times, USA Today and nationally bestselling author of Quiet "Ever been frozen at a cocktail party? Panicked before a work presentation? I've spent a lot of time speaking to large crowds and walking into rooms full of strangers, and it's not always easy. How to Be Yourself will let you rest easy knowing that your anxiety is completely normal. As a clinical psychologist, Ellen has spent years helping patients conquer insecurities. With her help, you can go from asking yourself, 'Why can't I do this?' to knowing 'I can do it.'" --Mignon Fogarty, New York Times bestselling author of Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing "HOW TO BE YOURSELF is terrific. It puts the tools of cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety firmly in the hands of those who can benefit the most from them and does so in a manner that is at once extremely engaging and highly therapeutic. Ellen Hendriksen makes it clear what needs to be done to manage social anxiety rather than to be controlled by it and lays it out in the most down-to-earth and from-the-heart fashion. The millions of people who struggle with social anxiety will be all the better for reading this book." --Richard G. Heimberg, Ph.D., Director of the AdultAnxiety Clinic of Temple at Temple University Ellen Hendriksen is the real deal. This book cuts through the noise to help you overcome those big, dark anxieties and doubts that hold you back so you can live your best life. --Lewis Howes, New York Times bestselling author of The School of Greatness "In a friendly and accessible voice, Dr. Hendriksen teases apart introversion and social anxiety, explains the differences, and provides concrete suggestions that will help introverts who suffer from social anxiety find their way past the fear to a happy and fulfilled introverted life." --Sophia Dembling, author of The Introvert's Way and Introverts in Love