Sometimes we are able to ‘out grow’ fears, such as a childhood fear of the dark. Unfortunately, that is not always the case and when anxiety goes untreated, little by little, it can narrow a persons life down till they really aren’t living at all.
Social anxiety is often a ‘self fulfilling’ issue. 
A person feels anxious about a given situation and due to many things, including chemical changes in the body that take place when we feel anxious, they become awkward. They have trouble with simple conversations and may withdraw into their own negative perceptions of what is going on, which of course makes them feel more anxious. This Quartz Media piece is author Helena Bala‘s report of an interview she had with ‘Frank’. It is a story of how social anxiety challenges children, teens and adults. Without treatment this issue becomes a life-defining story.
It might surprise you to know that work with horses can help! First off, horses are non-judgmental. They accept us for who we are in the moment. They come with no expectations. They certainly don’t care what we look like and are not impressed by our conversational skills (or lack there of). 
All we have to do is just be kind and be present. As we begin to work with them we learn about boundaries, how to set them and maintain them without being pushy or aggressive, but keeping ourselves safe in the relationship. We learn about all the things we can’t imagine ourselves doing (such as picking up a horses hoof to check it for rocks), only to discover that, if we are patient with ourselves, we can do amazing things. We learn to look for non-verbal cues as to how our horse is 
feeling/responding to a situation. This skill transfers to other situations where we now may be better able to read non-verbal cues in humans. I could go on, but I bet you get the picture.
Please don’t let life pass you by.
If you or someone you know struggles with social interactions, seek help. We are here to be part of the team! Call or email us and we will schedule a visit to the ranch. We will show you around, introduce our wonderful horses, learn more about what you are dealing with and share how we may be able to help…