us,	which	is	why	social	situations	often	involve	a	lot	of	uncertainty	anxiety.
We	can	get	so	caught	up	in	fears	over	possible	judgments/criticisms/slights
that	we	become	paralyzed	at	the	prospect	of	hanging	out	with	people.
The	more	assertive	you	are,	the	less	likely	you	are	to	fear	social
interaction.	This	is	because	when	you	exchange	eye	contact,	speak	out,	put
down	boundaries,	share	your	opinions,	people	see	you	and	respect	you.	And,
too,	speaking	up	is	a	way	to	clear	up	misconceptions	and	miscommunications
(both	of	which	are	inevitable	in	the	social	world)	so	the	same	distressing
social	dynamics	don’t	continue	to	play	out	for	you	over	and	over	again.
List	in	your	notebook	what	your	fears	are	before	entering	a	specific	social
situation,	and	next	to	each	fear	write	out	how	you	could	respond	and
appropriately	handle	the	situation	should	it	occur.
•
	
What	rejections	could	occur?
Example:
	
“People	won’t	talk	to	me	at	all,”	or	“People	will	look	away
and	it	will	feel	like	I’m	not	even	there.”
Response:
	
“I’ll	volunteer	to	help	the	host,”	or	“I’ll	make	the	plan	and
initiate	the	event,	so	I’ll	be	an	integral	factor.”
•
	
What	criticisms	could	occur?
Example: