Stress and Anxiety

For many people, the festive season is a wonderful and happy time. For others, however, this time of year can actually be very difficult. The festive season can be a period that reinforces the extent to which people feel alone, or serves as a reminder of loss. For some it’s a very busy work period and no time for celebrations or even any rest. Whomever you are and where ever you fit there are several strategies that can help. In his latest article for HIF, mental health expert, Dr. Happy from The Happiness Institute shares five things you can do to have a (relatively) merry festive season.

Do you fear that you will be judged by others in social situations? Do your fears cause you to avoid groups of people or group events because you think you might embarrass yourself? If you answered yes to these questions, then you're probably experiencing social anxiety. According to mental health expert and psychologist, Dr. Happy, "The most common example of social anxiety is a fear of public speaking; but it can also be experienced as extreme anxiety associated with eating or drinking in public, signing one’s name under scrutiny, and even using public toilet facilities. At the heart of social anxiety for everyone, however, is a fear of negative evaluation." The good news is that treatments for social anxiety are relatively effective for most people, most of the time, and relatively quickly. In this article, Dr. Happy discusses social phobia and provides his advice on how to manage these fears.