One of the most common anxiety disorders is social phobia, a disorder in which an individual is afraid of being in certain social settings. A person with social phobia suffers from debilitating fear that impacts important aspects of their life.

People with social phobia are extremely self-conscious and worried about what others may think or say about them. They are typically afraid of voicing their opinions, out of fear that they might be judged or criticized. People with social phobia tend to look down on themselves or have feelings of low self-worth. They are constantly worried about being seen by others and find socializing to be very stressful.

Some people with social anxiety may seem "shy," but in a phobia, this is taken to extremes. For example, if you suffer from social phobia, you may be reluctant to make an important phone call because you're nervous about talking on the telephone. You pick up the phone, but you're so nervous that you "freeze up" or forget what you wanted to say. Although it happens to everyone once in awhile, for a person with social phobia it may occur every time, until they find it near impossible to make any calls.

Maybe it is the night before a big meeting at work and you find yourself worried sick. You hate the thought of being in front of your boss and all your co-workers watching as you present a new idea or project. You can't help but feel extremely embarrassed and self-conscious. Even after the meeting, you continue overanalyzing everything you said and did. You worry that you embarrassed yourself in front of your colleagues by stammering or saying the wrong thing.

Perhaps you would like to go to parties and meet new people, but you avoid social gatherings because you're nervous about meeting new people. You find parties intimidating and the thought of meeting new people frightens you. You worry about saying the right thing, or that people won't like you. You might stay at home a lot because you're too worried to go out. These are only a few examples of the way social phobias can impact our lives.

Social phobias are irrational fears that can prevent you from achieving your professional goals or fully enjoying your life. But even people who know their fears are irrational may not be able to eliminate their phobia. People with social phobia would like to socialize and meet new people, but are really too afraid to do so. In spite of their conscious desires and best efforts, they can't completely control their fears because all phobias are rooted at the unconscious mind. Ericksonian hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques are the most helpful phobia treatments because they resolve issues at the unconscious level.

It is often hard for people with social phobia to get help because they can be reluctant to visit a therapist or open up about their fear. This is among the reasons why hypnosis programs work great for them. The programs foster a tranquil and confidence-boosting mind frame in a private setting, without being intimidating or overwhelming.

The first stage in a proper phobia program is relaxation therapy. Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool for relieving your tension and anxiety. When you are relaxed, hypnotic techniques will shape positive ideas in your unconscious mind and extinguish your social phobia. NLP techniques are used to eliminate your fears by targeting the thought process that is responsible for a phobia.

In conventional hypnosis, specifically worded post-hypnotic suggestions are used to treat each different phobia. The problem is, people have a tendency to reject being merely told what to do or think, so conventional hypnosis doesn't work as well as it could. A deeply rooted phobia requires a combination of NLP and Ericksonian Hypnotherapy.

Ericksonian hypnosis techniques work better than conventional hypnosis because they utilize suggestions that aren't apparent to the conscious mind, instead of direct suggestions. These suggestions are hidden in conversation, in the form of stories and metaphors, to persuade the unconscious mind to adopt a different line of thinking. For this reason, Ericksonian hypnosis is far more advanced than traditional hypnosis and much harder for the unconscious mind to reject.

A program that utilizes Ericksonian hypnotic therapy and NLP techniques can treat social phobia and any other phobia, in any individual. This is because various techniques are combined to maximize their success rate. People are often amazed at the seemingly miraculous results they can achieve through hypnosis. Ericksonian hypnotherapy and NLP are excellent tools to help boost your confidence and beat social anxiety so you can live life to the fullest.

Alan B. Densky, CH has invented several hypnotic techniques for overcomming shyness and social phobia. He also offers hypnosis CD's for all other phobias. His site offers a comprehensive list of hypnosis for self improvement CD's. Visit for Free hypnosis videos, downloads, and newsletters.