Many people feel uncomfortable or experience minor anxieties when thrust into a new situation or a group of unfamiliar people. Unfortunately, for roughly 10 percent of Americans, anxiety about social situations is so severe as to be disabling. Scientists now think that an even larger group of people might deal with more mild types of anxiety in social situations that can lead to significant problems in everyday social interactions.

The term for this type of anxiety is "social phobia". Social Phobia often happens when someone has fears and worries that usually are due to being in a social event. A person who has a social phobia might also struggle with stopping themselves from thinking too much about how others are judging or evaluating them.

For people who have social phobia, feelings of anxiety can happen in many kinds of situations, including going shopping, going to a party, speaking in public, being in front of an audience, or being interviewed. These kinds of social anxieties can also make themselves visible physically; for many people with social phobia, sweating, blushing, trembling, or intestinal problems can happen when dealing with these kinds of stress provoking situations.

Scientists now believe that social phobia involves problems with self-confidence. Self-confidence is our ability to believe that we are able to make the right decisions, be independent, and take power over our lives. People who lack self-confidence -- an extremely common problem in today's stressful world -- might worry too much about how they are perceived, to the point of not wanting to take part in social events or of beginning to feel 'out of control'.

Fortunately, there are some basic actions a person who suffer from self-confidence problems can undertake to take back this control. One possible course of action a person who suffers from self-confidence problems can undertake is to get an anxiety and phobia workbook. You can think of the anxiety and phobia workbook as a simple way to gain insight into the problems you are experiencing by keeping a journal of triggers and mood symptoms; there are also activities to do that will aid you to develop better introspection about your self-confidence problems.

When you have gotten to the point at which you have begun to have some insight about your problems with self-confidence, and have made the decision that now is the time to begin developing self-confidence, then it might be time to think about a kind of treatment that has been demonstrated to be immensely successful in social phobia. As with the anxiety and phobia workbook, this special kind of therapy is defined by being focused on assisting you to become pro-active and gain power over your life. In sum, you will be curing your own problems.

This kind of treatment, called hypnotherapy, functions by taking control of the hidden powers of your unconscious mind to aid you to become more confident, assured, calm, and comfortable with yourself. You may have a hard time believing that we are all born with these abilities, but due to traumatic life events, learned disempowerment, and problematic social interactions, it is common to lose sight of our inborn abilities to seize these powers. Hypnotherapy is clinically shown to work for people with self-confidence and anxiety problems.

Many people who have self-confidence and other anxiety-related problems often seek out a "quick fix" solution, such as medicines, herbal remedies, and short courses of psychotherapy. While these strategies can assist some individuals, they don't actually attack the origin of our self-confidence problems - our unconscious mind. If you want to deal with self-confidence problems, you have to be in charge of your own cure.

If you make the decision to look into hypnosis therapy to aid you to build self-confidence, you will begin a series of treatments with a hypnotherapist who will help you to enter a deep state of relaxation. Within this deep state of relaxation, your unconscious mind is wide open and willing to be reached by suggestive techniques. Your hypnotherapist will then work with you while in this open state by using repetitive suggestion to encourage you to realize that you are a capable, strong, and independent person.

Other valuable possibilities for people who struggle with self-confidence are to receive hypnotherapy through video or audio recordings, which can be viewed or listened to in the comfortable space of your own home. Many people also find out that learning self hypnosis, a specific relaxation method in which it is possible for you to open up to your deepest desires and needs, with just minimal guidance, can be very helpful. Whichever form of anxiety hypnotherapy you select, you will be assured that you are taking a crucial step in creating your own healing and recovery.

Author's Bio: 

Alan B. Densky, CH has pioneered many hypnotherapeutic techniques for the management of social phobias. His site offers a thorough self-hypnosis article library dedicated to every aspect of hypnotherapy and NLP. Visit for Free self hypnosis videos, downloads, and newsletters.