Click here to hear interviews with real people who have resolved social anxiety

Would you be horrified or angry if I tell you that in a recent television interview where Stone Phillips interviewed Jeffrey Dahmer in prison a few years ago, the serial criminal and psychopath was referred to as “very shy” as a child by his parents? Theodore Kazynski the “Unibomber” of years ago used to run up to his room and hide as a child when he heard visitors drive their car into his parents’ driveway. In both these cases, characteristics of social anxiety and social avoidance evolved into some pretty serious psychiatric conditions!

There is indeed a definite profile of adolescents who have acted out with school violence in the last decade. These individuals where not socially well adjusted with quality peer relationships. They tended to be loners or hung out with other loners. In addition, they were at the lower end of the social “pecking order” and were often picked on by others, developing internal rage over time and eventually exploding!

One of my patients recently brought me a movie to watch: “FIGHT CLUB”. It was very interesting. A cult of men took out their anger on the unfairness of society. Their strength and power were based on the dynamic of self- inflicted pain. My patient, a 20-year-old who had experienced substantial social rejection and “put down” gave himself a black eye - self-administered pain - to create a sense of power!

Countless numbers of my socially avoidant teens and young adults have verbalized to me that they “understand why kids shot others” - as in the epidemic of school violence.

Most individuals with anger and rage resulting from social anxiety implode, meaning their anger is internalized and repressed. This recycled energy turns into a myriad of problems as the anger drives depression, anxiety, obsessiveness, and a myriad of stress-related disorders. People develop anger when they avoid situations they don’t want to be avoiding, or know they shouldn’t be avoiding.

Any patient of any age and functioning level who has achieved therapeutic success with me has learned to identify and channel the energy of their anger productively. In fact, believe it or not, panic and anxiety attacks are a somatic (physical) expression of emotion - primarily anger. This is after medical-physical etiology has been ruled out.

Take a few minutes and listen to Eric describe his anger during his therapeutic process.

The earlier there is productive intervention, the more of a chance there is to resolve anger, which can be very structural-deep, before it works it’s way insidiously into the personality.

Early Warning Signs of the Angry Loner

• Absence of a peer group
• Social skills challenges
• A sense of secrecy
• Irritability
• Over-dependence on computer
• A parenting breakdown
• Communication problems.

Listen to interviews from individuals who conquered their anxiety.

	Comprehensive Self-Therapy Audio CD Program Self-Help Audio Program for Shyness, Social and Performance Anxiety.		Public Speaking Anxiety Self-Therapy Audio CD Program Self-Help Audio Program for Fear of Public Speaking.		The Book Beyond Shyness: How to Conquer Social Anxieties (Simon & Schuster)

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1. Free Introductory CD
2. The book, "Beyond Shyness: How to Conquer Social Anxieties" (Simon & Schuster)
3. Comprehensive self-therapy audio CD program for social and performance anxiety
4. Public Speaking Anxiety: Self Therapy Audio CD Program
5. Therapy in Great Neck, New York
6. Telephone therapy
7. Selective Mutism Seminar on Audio CD
8. "Parenting The Selectively Mute Child": Self-therapy Audio CD Program
9. "Social Therapy and the Learning Disabled: A seminar on Audio CD
10. Free social-ability questionnaire
11. Free "Parent Addiction" quiz
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