How to Quit Social Anxiety Disorder

Over the recent past, we've all been through one of the craziest, most challenging times in modern history. simultaneously, we've had to negotiate all of these things, inside of the context of dealing with our personal lives, our businesses, our careers, and any life challenges that we may have had along the way. So we thought that it would be great to welcome back the legendary Amy Morin, for some much needed group psychotherapy. In less than a decade, Amy Morin has become one of America's most popular psychotherapists. She's just got that special quality. Amy is a person who is radically human, incredibly smart, empathetic, and surprisingly, approachable. Maybe that's why we think she's become America's top or one of the top Psychotherapist and a multi-time Bestselling Author. Her new book is out, and it’s called 13 things Mentally Strong People Don't Do Workbook. So in this episode, we dive into all that and find out ways to tactically bolster our own mental strength as we go along. You’re listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let’s go. A Quick Update on Amy Morin Amy has been a guest before in Follow Your Different, and since then she has written new things and accomplished so much more. While Amy has many years of experience and success as a psychotherapist and writer, she quickly found herself with new inspiration and multiple inputs when Covid struck the world. Given the mental strain of worrying about a pandemic, the additional factor of having to stay home and people being exposed to a plethora of terrible news on TV, as well as the helplessness of being unable to do anything, did a number on everyone. Amy realized that she was in a unique position of having the knowledge to assist and a way to share that knowledge through her podcasts and later, in print. As a result, she has written a few works on how to deal with mentally demanding situations and stress, and she recently released a workbook on how to boost one's mental strength. Mental Health Podcast or Therapy? Amy shares that sometimes, their mental health podcast turns into an impromptu psychotherapy session – not just for the guest, but as well as the listeners who are going through the same situation in their own ways. When asked about the difference between podcasting and her psychotherapy sessions, Amy admits that there are times that those two seem to blur together, yet she thinks it is important to keep a distinction. Sometimes, the therapist in me wants to respond one way, and then I'm like, but there's people listening. So you need to respond in another way. So I'm always very aware of that, like, ‘Oh, am I gonna respond to this a little bit differently. And I want to be empathetic’. But at the same time, I didn't want to open up a can of worms for somebody who forgets that this is a podcast. I don't want to ever make it seem like we're getting them to open up in a way to then take advantage of them.” – Amy Morin The importance of having a healthy amount of Not-Give-A-Shit Attitude We then talk about what it is like to have a public following, and how having a healthy amount of no-give-a-shit attitude helps wonders with their own mental health. Amy agrees with this, and shares that she recently did a podcast about the topic of bad mental health advice you might be getting in social media. She had wanted to explore the topic more, and even go so much as contact those who posted the now-viral meme “advice”. But she didn't go through with it in the end. At the end of the day, all she'd gain is a migraine from arguing with people who don't care. She would rather focus on her own inner peace and work on other topics for her own podcast. To hear more from Amy Morin and how to bolster your mental strength to take on the world, download and listen to this episode. Bio