Anxiety Treatment Blog

www.shiningalight.org.uk BBC Radio Manchester interview on Social Anxiety. (AKA Social Phobia, Extreme Shyness, Social Anxiety Disorder) Out Of The Shadows – Into The Light Shining a Light is an inspiring one day event that confronts issues of social and general anxiety, low self-esteem and related conditions, with a selection of fun, creative and therapeutic workshops. The Organisations Leading Light creator, Steve Light had previously suffered with the condition known as social anxiety disorder (SAD) for as long as he can remember. Steve has a passion of helping social anxiety sufferers live a life they love and has been running events over the past year to help people become more confident in their own skin. Through attending social anxiety groups and alternative therapy sessions, Steve made new friends and his confidence began to grow. Steves journey has been one of strength and determination that led him to organise a series of events, for people going through experiences comparable his own. The first event was held in 2008, and was a massive hit, with over 80 people attending and Ruby Wax also made an appearance and enjoyed Laughter Therapy Sessions and a Shiatsu Massage. Steve met when Ruby interviewed him on social anxiety for the BBC back in October 2008. Steve extended the invitation and Ruby replied, Id love to attend, its a really great thing you are doing for social anxiety sufferers and called her agent straight away. You can view the BBC interview on www.bbc.co.uk I am so inspired by what Ruby is taking on; she is removing the stigma that is attached to mental illness Steve Light SAD is a fear of people’, he says. ‘Of being watched, criticised or judged negatively by others. For sufferers, everyday tasks such as socialising, shopping and speaking on the telephone, can be an ordeal marked by persistent feelings of anxiety and self-consciousness. According to SAUK, Research in the United States indicates that SAD is the third most common psychiatric disorder after depression and alcoholism. However, the condition is still unknown by the general public, and was only recognised as a disorder in 1980. According to research in the UK, between 10-13% of the population in the UK are suffering. Steve says why don’t you try something that you wouldn’t normally do? Being courageous is key, feeling the fear and doing it anyway, many people with SA feel as if they should be super confident, loud and extroverted, myself being one of those people, but I have now learned that I am perfect the way I am. That’s why I am very interested in helping people discover therapies such as Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Thought Field Therapy (TFT) through these events. I am trained in TFT and its a really powerful tool that is easy to learn and self applicable. NLP uses visualizations techniques, to reprogram the brain. We are used to doing things a certain way, learning to be anxious in certain situations; this can also be unlearned, so we see these situations as fun. The event is split into 2 parts, the day event and the evening event. At the day event you will get the chance to find out more about Social Anxiety and other related Anxiety issues, as well as trying out fun workshops such as singing, dancing, drama, laughter therapy, CBT, NLP, public speaking, body language and much more. The evening session will include a cat-walk fashion show (which you can be a model for!), live entertainment and also a charity auction. Shining a Light is open to people of all ages and takes place on Saturday 5th September, 2009 from 9.30am 11.00pm, at The Renaissance Manchester Hotel, Blackfriars Street, Manchester, Manchester M3 2EQ. You can either attend just the day event, priced at £32.50 (includes lunch, tea and coffee), or the evening event for £37.50 (Includes entertainment, a buffet and two glasses of complementary champagne). Alternatively you can buy both day and evening tickets for a bargain price of £65. All profits from this event will go to Anxiety UK, the uks largest Anxiety Charity. Please feel free to bring guests along, whether it be a friend or a family member, you will all have a great time and raise money for charity!