The Shyness & Social Anxiety Workbook
238Take Advantage of Opportunities to Overlearn
Overlearning  involves (1) practicing exposure so many times that it becomes boring 
and second nature, and (2) practicing exposure in situations more difﬁcult than those 
you encounter in your everyday life. For example, if you are fearful of having your hands 
shake while having a drink, you can practice having them shake so much that you actu -
ally spill some of your drink. (Make sure your glass is ﬁlled with water and not grape 
juice!) Repeat this practice until it no longer causes anxiety. Or, if you’re fearful of 
making a minor mistake when talking to a stranger, you can practice purposely making 
obvious mistakes while speaking to people you don’t know.
Overlearning is thought to offer protection from experiencing a return of fear. There 
are several advantages of practicing exposure to more difﬁcult situations than those you 
normally encounter. First, practicing in more challenging situations will automatically 
make the less challenging situations seem easier. Second, practices in difﬁcult situa -
tions will further challenge your anxious beliefs. For example, if you learn that nothing 
bad happens even if you purposely make a big mistake during a presentation, you may 
become less fearful of accidentally making a small mistake when speaking in public. 
Finally, overlearning provides room for some of your fear to return without causing 
signiﬁcant impairment in your life.
WHERE TO GO FOR MORE INFORMATION
For those who want additional information on social anxiety and related topics, we have 
included more useful information at the back of this book. Our list of recommended 
readings includes books on social anxiety, other anxiety problems, cognitive behavioral 
therapy, and related topics. This list also includes information on two videos on the