Painfully Shy: How to Overcome Social Anxiety and Reclaim Your Life

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: This is the first and only book I've bought concerning social phobia. Perhaps because I had already researched this subject on the web, a lot of the suggestions in this book were common sense and obvious. Too much was devoted to explication (e.g., what causes anxiety, nature vs. nature, what are SSRIs, etc.) vs. providing actual suggestions which I thought was a waste.

Was I expecting too much? I don't know. There weren't any revelations in this book. Even the anecdotes were a disappointment, I wished the author fleshed them out more. This book may be useful for those comletely NEW to this topic, but I suggest you look elsewhere if you want to delve deeper.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of good information in this book
Review: Wow. I think maybe that last reviewer had some problems other than just being painfully shy. I don't usually write reviews but I like this book and have found it helpful. Most books dealing with this subject seem to be more specific to social skills-- how to be assertive, how to win friends and influence people, etc. I like this book because it deals more generally with how to be comfortable with yourself in social situations. It's clear and easy to read and has interesting examples. It also has helpful exercises to try.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of good information in this book
Review: Wow. I think maybe that last reviewer had some problems other than just being painfully shy. I don't usually write reviews but I like this book and have found it helpful. Most books dealing with this subject seem to be more specific to social skills-- how to be assertive, how to win friends and influence people, etc. I like this book because it deals more generally with how to be comfortable with yourself in social situations. It's clear and easy to read and has interesting examples. It also has helpful exercises to try.