Ellen Hendriksen is a clinical psychologist and author who specializes in anxiety, particularly social anxiety. In this engaging conversation, she discusses how social anxiety has intensified during the pandemic and offers strategies for gradual reintegration into social situations. Ellen emphasizes the importance of embracing uncertainty, setting flexible expectations, and cultivating authentic connections. She also highlights the role of mindfulness and meditation in alleviating anxiety, helping listeners navigate their social fears with greater ease.
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Ease Back into Socializing
Gradually re-enter social situations, starting small.
Don't expect to immediately jump back into large gatherings.
insights INSIGHT
Communicate and Be Vulnerable
Open communication about boundaries reduces anxiety from uncertainty.
Showing vulnerability builds trust and fosters connection.
insights INSIGHT
Two Levers for Managing Anxiety
Two ways to manage anxiety involve increasing certainty and increasing tolerance for uncertainty.
The latter, though seemingly harder, allows for flexibility and reduces all-or-nothing thinking.
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Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety
Ellen Hendriksen
Taming Anxiety Series - Episode 3: As we move into summer and more and more vaccines go into arms, your town or city (or state or country) may soon be opening back up, if it hasn’t already. Some of us are ecstatic. A lot of us are anxious. (And by the way, those are not mutually exclusive. It’s totally possible to be both.) If the thought of large crowds or even small dinner parties makes your palms sweat, don’t worry. You’re not alone. (And if this was true for you even before the pandemic, you’re not alone there, either.) Our guest today is here to help. Ellen Hendriksen is a clinical psychologist who specializes in anxiety and social anxiety and serves on the faculty at Boston University's Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders. She is the author of How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety. In today’s episode she explains how to increase your tolerance for uncertainty; how and why social anxiety has gotten worse since the start of the pandemic; and, what you can do to face your own anxiety around social interactions, especially if you’re in a place that is reopening. She’ll also answer some questions from you, our listeners. In addition to this series on the podcast, we are launching a free Taming Anxiety Meditation Challenge in the Ten Percent Happier app, to help you practice what you’re learning. In this brand-new ten-day meditation challenge, we’ll be pairing a leading anxiety expert and a top-notch meditation teacher together to help you practice what we’re talking about on the show. The free Taming Anxiety Challenge begins on Monday, June 21, and will run for ten days. Each day, you'll receive a video and you'll complete a short meditation. You'll also receive daily reminders to help keep you on track, and you can even invite your friends to join you. Join the Taming Anxiety Challenge by downloading the Ten Percent Happier app: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install. You should be prompted to join the Challenge after registering your account. If you've already downloaded the app, just open it up or visit this link to join: https://10percenthappier.app.link/TamingAnxietyChallenge. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/ellen-hendriksen-357
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