Overcoming Social Anxiety | WalkTheTalk | Conversations with Experts and Peers
For years, WalkTheTalk’s free peer support groups have helped countless individuals living with social anxiety confront their fears in a safe, supportive environment. But some questions keep coming up: How do I choose the right treatment for me? How can I maintain progress from CBT? Is it normal to experience setbacks? When will I feel ‘normal’? In this podcast, we seek answers to these questions and more, by bringing in leading clinicians and researchers to share their insights. Join us as we dive deep into the challenges of social anxiety and explore evidence-based strategies for lasting change.
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Episodes
Tuesday Mar 11, 2025
Tuesday Mar 11, 2025
Mark Vernon is a psychotherapist and writer, with a keen interest in ancient philosophy, as well as the illumination of inner life. He’s one of my favourite thinkers.
Mark unpacks psychotherapy, opening the door to big questions:
What’s the meaning of anxiety?
Can it tell us anything?
What are the benefits of engaging with our distress?
I hope it’s as fruitful for you as it is me.
Thursday Mar 06, 2025
Thursday Mar 06, 2025
Dr Ruth Moyse helps us unpack the overlap and differences between social anxiety in autistic and non-autistic people. We learn:
Whether what we’re experiencing might be social anxiety disorder or social anxiety in autism
How anxiety management techniques change between autistic and non-autistic people
Important reminders for breaking down communication barriers
Much more!
Wednesday Jan 29, 2025
Wednesday Jan 29, 2025
Danny is a meditation teacher and author whose books have sold millions. He outlines mindfulness in simple terms and how you can adopt its transformational benefits.
Danny:
Gives ways to ground yourself and take control of your breathing when anxiety kicks in
Explains more about different types of meditation and how to apply them
Provides new perspectives on how you think you’re coming across to dealing with 24/7 news cycles
And much more!
Wednesday Jan 22, 2025
Wednesday Jan 22, 2025
Psychologist Jo Rodriguez has worked with household names. She unpacks performance anxiety for us. In this episode we talk about:
The difference between performance and social anxiety
Helpful ways to respond to performance anxiety
Approaches to everyday situations like job interviews or dating
Embracing imperfection
Building self-confidence and belief
And much more!
Monday Jan 20, 2025
Monday Jan 20, 2025
Professor Paul Gilbert OBE is the founder of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) and an bestselling author. In this enjoyable and varied conversation, Paul takes us through:
What compassion is and how it helps social anxiety
Self-criticism and how to deal with it
How our physiological systems can be regulated with compassion
An evolutionary psychology take on social anxiety
And much more!
We’re honoured to have him join us.
Saturday Jan 18, 2025
Saturday Jan 18, 2025
Leading researcher Emma Warnock-Parkes gives us an overview of cognitive therapy for social anxiety. She outlines:
The difference between exposure therapy and cognitive therapy
What the science says is the most effective method
The Clark and Wells model
How to find the right therapist
How to sustain the gains you make in therapy
What success can look like
And much more!
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
Professor Lusia Stopa takes us on a tour of her pioneering research on the role of imagery on social anxiety. We discuss:
What we mean by imagery
How to change our negative imagery
Healthier ways of comparing ourselves
What science says about ‘positive thinking’
Lusia is Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Southampton. She was a member of the NICE Guideline Development Group for social anxiety.