The Benefits of Zoom Hypnotherapy for Social Anxiety Sufferers
Conquering the Beast: My Journey Through Social Anxiety and How Zoom Hypnotherapy Changed Everything
Social anxiety can be a debilitating condition, impacting every aspect of life. For me, it manifested as a crippling fear of blushing (erythrophobia) and a constant preoccupation with others' perceptions. I was plagued by insecurities, and social situations triggered intense anxiety, marked by sweating palms and uncontrollable blushing. The more I tried to suppress these reactions, the worse they became, a testament to the principle that "what resists not only persists, but becomes stronger."
The Impact of Social Anxiety
My social anxiety cast a long shadow over my life. It hindered my ability to form meaningful connections, leading to a small and shrinking social circle. My career aspirations were also thwarted. After being dismissed from college, I struggled to maintain employment, cycling through countless jobs.
Ironically, sales roles became my unlikely refuge. The focus on targets and revenue provided an external anchor, diverting my attention from self-consciousness and internal anxieties. While I managed to hold onto these sales positions, my social anxiety limited my career growth. My anxieties manifested in what one boss termed "idiosyncrasies," self-soothing behaviors that, while providing temporary relief, ultimately undermined my professional credibility and prevented advancement.
Initial encounters were often manageable; I could project a charismatic facade. However, subsequent interactions were fraught with anxiety as I became consumed by self-doubt, questioning others' perceptions and fearing judgement. Maintaining relationships proved challenging, a contributing factor, alongside other issues, to the breakdown of my marriage, a topic I explore in my post on why I had to heal my own inner child. My limited social circle, aversion to meeting new people, and underlying insecurities contributed to a premature marriage and subsequent difficult divorce, which I discuss further in the aforementioned and other blog posts.
The Roots of Social Anxiety
My social anxiety stemmed from a dysfunctional upbringing within a narcissistic family environment. Childhood, a period of heightened neuroplasticity, is a crucial time for learning about the world and your child self, and children rely on adults for guidance. Sadly, in my case, these adults were the source of my trauma.
Decent people deal with their issues; cowards project them onto everyone else. I am not sure if I heard that somewhere or made it up all by myself. Children are easy targets for such projections. While I once harboured anger towards these individuals, I now recognise their own deep-seated wounds. Abuse and trauma often repeat across generations—a phenomenon known as repetition compulsion, where unhealed wounds are either inflicted on others or attract similar experiences.
As infants, we depend on our caregivers to help us co-regulate our emotions. My childhood experiences, detailed in other blog posts on my website, profoundly impacted my emotional development. While some attribute social anxiety to bullying or feelings of not belonging, my experience, both personally and in working with clients, suggests that a traumatic event or series of events, even seemingly minor ones, often lies at the root of the issue, particularly when experienced during childhood, that period of heightened neuroplasticity.
Hypnotherapy for Social Anxiety Relief via Zoom
I began working exclusively online via Zoom when the lock downs began in 2020 and have continued ever since. Hypnotherapy online via Zoom provides a number of advantages for all clients, especially social anxiety sufferers. When I begin working with a new social anxiety client, I begin by exploring the onset of their social anxiety, inquiring about any significant events or traumas that may have coincided with its emergence. If a specific trauma is identified, my initial focus is on neutralising the negative emotions associated with that memory, a process I describe in the below YouTube video.
Traumatic memories carry a stronger emotional charge, a survival mechanism designed to help us avoid similar threats in the future. While useful in prehistoric times, this mechanism can be counterproductive in modern life, leading to various forms of anxiety. As mentioned in the aforementioned video, we can detach the emotional charge from negative memories without requiring clients to relive the trauma.
For clients who experienced dysfunction or bullying during childhood, I often recommended my inner child program. The program aimed to provide the inner child with feelings of safety, love, and acceptance. Given that many people experience some degree of childhood dysfunction, inner child healing can be beneficial even for those without social anxiety. I will be created a new version of the inner child program soon, subscribers to this Substack can access plenty of inner child healing content in the mean time.
Even when clients cannot recall specific traumas or prefer not to address them directly, hypnotherapy can still be effective in reducing social anxiety. The mind struggles to distinguish between real and imagined experiences. Research has shown that visualising desired outcomes creates new neural pathways in the brain, facilitating behavioural change.
Visualisation is a powerful tool. I guide clients to visualise themselves feeling calm and confident in previously anxiety-provoking social situations, regardless of the underlying cause of their social anxiety. This process empowers them to create a new reality, one free from the grip of social anxiety.
The Advantages of Zoom Hypnotherapy
Zoom hypnotherapy offers a unique set of advantages, particularly for individuals struggling with social anxiety. The comfort and familiarity of one's own home can significantly reduce pre-session anxiety, making it easier to engage in the therapeutic process. For those whose social anxiety makes leaving the house difficult, Zoom hypnotherapy provides a convenient and accessible alternative.
It eliminates the added stress of travel, navigating unfamiliar environments, and potential social interactions associated with in-person appointments. Furthermore, the sense of control offered by a virtual setting can empower clients, allowing them to feel more at ease and receptive to the hypnotherapy techniques.
Zoom sessions also offer increased flexibility in scheduling, making it easier to fit therapy into busy lives. Finally, the privacy of a virtual setting can encourage clients to open up more freely, knowing they are in a safe and confidential space. This can be especially beneficial for those dealing with sensitive or deeply personal issues related to their social anxiety. In short, Zoom hypnotherapy breaks down barriers to access and creates a supportive environment conducive to healing and growth.