Monday 2nd March at 7pm (30-45 minutes)

This event is in collaboration with our kind hosts at London Shyness Social Group on the topic of “Challenging Negative Thoughts”

The session will comprise a 15-20 slide based presentation about tonight’s theme and a quick overview of the social anxiety help available. There will also be time for questions at the end.

Your Hosts
This session is with Neil from Social Anxiety Alliance UK and Sophia – a BABCP qualified psychotherapist and social anxiety specialist. Sophia has previously worked with the NHS Talking Therapy Service. Please see :https://socialanxietyalliance.org.uk/clinical-advisors-meet-the-team/.

What are negative thoughts?
Negative thoughts associated with SAD may include:

• automatic negative thoughts about yourself, your performance or how
you appear to others​
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• a negative mindset or “bias” such as dwelling on past perceived failings, discounting any positives or magnifying the social abilities of others​

​• Core beliefs – our thoughts and behaviours sometimes stem from our deeper beliefs and underlying assumptions about ourselves, other people and the world around us.
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How common is Social Anxiety Disorder?
Social Anxiety Disorder is still very under recognised – especially in terms of public awareness. It’s also under represented in mainstream media despite the fact SAD is very common – affecting up to 1 in 20 people. See https://socialanxietyalliance.org.uk/prevalence-how-many-people-social-anxiety-disorder/

About the Charity
The charity was formed in Aug 2021, and we believe it is the UK’s first dedicated social anxiety charity. The charity’s aim is to provide information and resources for individuals suffering from social anxiety disorder and social phobia, alongside raising public awareness of this common yet often under-publicised mental health problem.

What if I am nervous?
We understand you may be nervous – we have social anxiety too. There will be no need to speak – or even have your video on – just join us and see what we are trying to do.

What’s in it for me?
A chance to hear a little more about SAD and a presentation on tonights theme. Also, a chance to push your boundaries by being brave enough to attend. You will hear about the help available including peer support groups, NHS therapy and self-help.

Will there be questions and answers?
We know some people will be very nervous to speak but yes – there will be a chance to ask questions after the presentation. You can also type any questions in the “chat” feature within the MS Teams event itself. Or – you can email us with questions after the event.

How do I attend? Just click the Teams Link below.
(If prompted on a PC to use MS Teams just click “Cancel” – then “Continue on this browser”. There is no need to install anything)

A recording of the presentation will hopefully be made available via the website (but please come to the live event if you can!)

Many thanks, Neil
(On behalf of SAAUK)