What’s the difference between social anxiety & social anxiety disorder? What should you do if you’re spiraling? 

Dr. Ali Mattu was so socially anxious as a child, that he had selective mutism. Since then, he’s become a clinical psychologist specializing in treating anxiety disorders. Wanting to create more accessible mental health education, he created a YouTube channel with over 8.5 million views that helps viewers live a more compassionate, courageous, and connected life. He was the co-host of PBS’s Emmy Nominated Self-Evident, an expert on Netflix + Vox’s The Mind Explained: Anxiety, HBO’s Doctor Commentaries, & A&E’s The Employables. 

In this episode, we discuss the difference between social anxiety & social anxiety disorder, where it comes from, how RSD, Autism, Introversion & Reddit come into play & give practical tips to feel grounded.

This episode originally aired May 15, 2023.

If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 300: BIOFIELD THERAPY FOR ANXIETY & GRIEF: RECIPE FOR WELLNESS OR PURCHASED PLACEBO?

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01:12 — Selective mutism (sadly not an X-Men power)

04:05 — Anxiety as evolution’s survival feature

04:48 — Why anxious people thrive in emergencies

05:02 — Social anxiety vs. social anxiety disorder

07:05 — Humans’ real superpower: collaboration

08:05 — The hidden usefulness of everyday social anxiety

09:00 — When social anxiety becomes a disorder

11:00 — Generalized anxiety vs. social anxiety

14:40 — Introversion vs. social anxiety (they’re not the same)

16:35 — Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria explained

20:05 — ADHD, rejection sensitivity, and social anxiety overlap

23:00 — Where social anxiety actually comes from

29:05 — Why social anxiety looks different in everyone

31:10 — Finding your core fear with the “downward arrow”

32:15 — Why identifying the core fear is empowering

33:05 — The terror of large gatherings explained

34:00 — What coping really means (and what it doesn’t)

35:00 — The difference between helpful coping and avoidance

36:00 — The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique for anxiety

38:10 — Supporting a loved one who shuts down socially

41:00 — Helping someone through social anxiety in real time

43:10 — True alarms vs. false alarms in social anxiety

44:05 — Social anxiety within marginalized communities

46:10 — Scaling social support for the mental health crisis

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