To overcome stress and discomfort in social interactions, one must identify our avoidance behaviors (such as canceling plans or overthinking) and voluntarily expose ourselves, in a very gradual manner, to situations that intimidate us in order to retrain our alarm system.

noli's read

Research solidly supports the creator's analysis regarding the vicious cycle of avoidance and the effectiveness of exposure. A major meta-analysis by Hofmann et al. (2012) shows that gradual exposure is one of the most robust approaches for managing anxiety and regulating relational stress. Furthermore, the work of Clark and Wells (1995), based on observational and experimental studies, demonstrates that avoidance or 'safety' strategies offer immediate relief but maintain tension in the long term by preventing our system from habituating. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) also confirm that exposing oneself in small steps allows for recalibrating our reaction to discomfort. The creator proposes here a very faithful and accessible transposition of these scientific principles to the realm of daily well-being, without any exaggeration.

the sources

No named source held this one up — that absence is part of the verdict.