Free, self-paced mini course
Social Anxiety
A compassionate, CBT-informed course for reducing avoidance and building social confidence.
A clear path, without pressure.
Understand the social-anxiety cycle, test predictions and approach meaningful situations in graded steps.
This course is designed for adults who fear scrutiny, replay conversations or avoid social and performance situations. Across seven modules, you will build an understanding of the pattern, practise one skill at a time and create a plan that can survive ordinary life. You can complete it in one sitting, but spacing the modules across several days usually creates more opportunity to practise.
The material is psychology-informed education rather than therapy, diagnosis or individual medical advice. Evidence can identify promising approaches; it cannot tell us exactly what one person needs. Keep what is useful, adapt what is not and involve qualified support when the problem is persistent, severe, complex or connected with safety.
Map the social-anxiety cycle
linking predictions, self-focus, body sensations, safety behaviours and post-event rumination
Open module →Module 2Spot anxious predictions
turning vague dread into specific, testable predictions with probabilities
Open module →Module 3Move attention outward
reducing internal monitoring and reconnecting with the actual conversation or task
Open module →Module 4Identify safety behaviours
noticing rehearsing, hiding, over-talking, phone checking and avoiding eye contact
Open module →Module 5Build an approach ladder
ranking meaningful situations by difficulty and repeating manageable steps
Open module →Module 6Review evidence fairly
comparing predictions with observable outcomes while avoiding perfection standards
Open module →Module 7Handle the replay
limiting post-event rumination and returning to ordinary activity
Open module →Turn the course into one small plan.
Choose one idea to remember, one practice to repeat and one situation in which to use it. Then name the sign that would tell you to seek more support. A tiny plan you can recall is more useful than a long plan that disappears under pressure.
The clearest idea or skill from the course.
A small repetition you can try within 48 hours.
A person, service or professional you could involve.
An optional next step
Go deeper with Managing Anxiety
The full course explores how anxiety develops, worry and uncertainty, different forms of anxiety, daily impact and evidence-informed ways of responding. Your free course stands on its own; this is an optional next step.
Explore the full anxiety course →Evidence and further reading
These sources informed the course framework and safety boundaries. Findings are described cautiously because study populations, interventions and outcomes vary.
- NICE CG159: Social anxiety disorder
- Guo et al. (2020), internet CBT for social anxiety meta-analysis
- NHS: Every Mind Matters
- NICE: Common mental health problems