8/7/2014 I don’t get to watch much TV so I missed seeing Megan Washington on ABC’s Australian Story program this week. She was talking about how she had a stutter from the age of 5 . Megan did a TED talk where she publicly spoke about her stuttering and how she had spent years trying …
23/6/2014 Today I was bit surprised, but delighted to get a call from ABC 702 radio‘s The Drive Show program hosted by Richard Glover. I was invited to participate in an on air discussion about introversion and extroversion. I hadn’t looked at the news today but apparently there are plans for people are going to Mars. Well …
11/6/2014 Bev Aisbett is a well known Australian author, illustrator and artist who has suffered from depression and anxiety. Bev wrote her autobiography, ‘All of It’ as well as a number of self help books looking at depression and anxiety. She is also an artist who exhibits regularly. I was contacted by Ashburton Library and …
Monday 26/5/2014 Whilst reading the Sunday papers, and indulging in a delicious raspberry muffin yesterday, I came across an article in Herald Sun’s, Body & Soul supplement May 25 2014 about fear of vomiting treatment. Kylie Stevenson has written an informative article about emetophobia. Some people fear vomiting in public, whilst others fear their own vomit or …
21/05/2014 Primary school children may worry about their parents getting divorced, be afraid of dogs or the dark. Therefore some children need to learn how to cope with anxiety. ‘Go Away Mr Worrythoughts’ is a stage show targeted at primary school children which gives tips on how to cope with anxiety. Go Away Mr Worrythoughts is …
17/5/2014 A large study (which can be found online in the British Medical Journal http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g1996 ) by researchers at the University of Warwick, England, has found that several common anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills were linked to an increased risk of death. The study followed people who had had prescriptions for anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax and Valium …
When interviewed by the media, I often find myself answering the question “What is Social Anxiety?“ The crux of social anxiety is an excessive fear of being negatively evaluated. Sufferers worry that other people will consider they are e.g. boring or stupid or incompetent if they appear awkward, say or do anything they consider is embarrassing, or …
14/5/2014 Have you been following the trail of Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee athlete, who fired four shots through a locked bathroom door and killed his girlfriend, 29 year old lawyer and model, Reeva Steenkamp? If you have, you are probably aware that a psychiatrist for the defence, Dr. Vorster, has stated that Oscar has had an …
I am delighted to have been invited to discuss social anxiety on air at ABC Radio National next Tuesday morning with presenter Phil Kafcaloudes and Terry Laidler (forensic psychologist and working at The Global & Cultural Mental Health Unit, University of Melbourne). The segment on social anxiety starts at 9.30am so I will have to get up …
I just stumbled across a great article about overcoming your fear of public speaking by famous American atheist, author, philosopher & neuroscientist, Sam Harris. Sam starts his article on public speaking anxiety by reporting that American President Thomas Jefferson was said to be scared of addressing Congress. John Adams said of Jefferson “During the whole time …