Shrink For The Shy Guy cover art

Shrink For The Shy Guy

Shrink For The Shy Guy

By: Dr. Aziz: Social Anxiety And Confidence Expert Author and Coach
Listen for free

About this listen

Everyone has some level of fear in social situations. For you it might be meeting someone new, networking, dating, sales conversations, presenting, public speaking, or business meetings. In order to get to the next level in your life, create better relationships, find love, earn more money, or advance in your career, you must overcome fear, social anxiety, and self-doubt. In order to be outstanding, you must have confidence. That's where Dr. Aziz comes in. After struggling with shyness and social anxiety for 9 years, he decided to take life into his own hands and master confidence. A decade later, he is the world's leading expert on social anxiety and social confidence. He received a doctorate in clinical psychology from Stanford and Palo Alto Universities and now works as a confidence and success coach with people from all over the world. This show contains the profound and immediately life-changing information he teaches high-paying clients every day. Learn from the best about how to overcome social fear, gain confidence in dating, public speaking, sales presentations, business meetings, and all of life.© 2026 2014 Dr. Aziz Gazipura Career Success Economics Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • Finding Ground When Everything Is Changing with Dr. Dave
    Feb 18 2026

    It’s easy to believe that once we arrange our life correctly, the anxiety will quiet and the sense of lack will disappear. A little more money. A different role. A better version of ourselves. Then things will finally settle.

    This conversation explores that subtle threshold—where striving turns into infatuation, where comparison erodes self-trust, and where we begin chasing a fantasy of a life that is somehow all upside. Dr. Aziz sits down with Dr. Dave Tuck to reflect on values, identity, and the illusion that fulfillment lives somewhere outside our current experience. Together they examine the tension between growth and gratitude, ambition and alignment, and what happens when we stop trying to engineer a perfect life and instead learn to see the one we’re already in.

    This is not a formula for attracting more. It’s an inquiry into self-worth, clarity, and the steady ground that comes from knowing who you are.

    You might find yourself looking at your own life a little differently.

    Show More Show Less
    45 mins
  • The Quiet Cost of Conditional Worth
    Feb 10 2026

    Most people don’t walk around thinking, “My worth is conditional.” They just feel the tension when things aren’t going well—and the relief when they are.

    This episode sits with that tension. The quiet pressure to perform, to keep up, to prove something—often without realizing that your sense of value has been hooked onto outcomes, approval, or progress. When those things rise, you feel lifted. When they fall, something inside collapses. Not because anything essential changed, but because worth was never free to begin with.

    Dr. Aziz reflects on how conditional self-worth forms, how it hides in plain sight, and how it can quietly run an entire emotional life. This isn’t a strategy session or a mindset fix. It’s an invitation to notice what you’ve tied yourself to—and what happens when that grip loosens.

    You may find yourself recognizing something familiar, and feeling a little more space around it.

    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
  • Why Knowing How to Speak Up Isn’t Enough
    Feb 3 2026
    Join Dr. Aziz live for a 3-day VIRTUAL event: Not Nice LIVE > Go here for details and tickets. Most people don’t struggle to speak up because they lack communication skills. They struggle because crossing that line feels dangerous. In this episode, Dr. Aziz Gazipura explores why you may still feel stuck in passivity or half-assertiveness, even if you’ve spent years working on yourself. You understand the ideas. You know you “should” speak up. And yet, when the moment arrives, something pulls you back. Rather than offering scripts or techniques, Dr. Aziz focuses on the real breakdown point: the guilt and fear that surface just before honesty. He examines how indirectness becomes a form of self-protection, why “gentle” assertiveness often fails to create real change, and how unspoken rules about being good, kind, or acceptable quietly limit your life. This episode isn’t about becoming aggressive or finding better words. It’s about recognizing the internal code that says, “If I’m really honest, I’ll lose everything,” and understanding why that belief continues to run your behavior unless it’s directly confronted. If you already know a lot about assertiveness but haven’t been able to live it consistently, this conversation names the threshold you may have been standing at for years—and what it actually takes to cross it. --------------------------------- Many people reach a point where they realize something important: being “nice” isn’t working anymore. For years—sometimes decades—they believed that staying flexible, not rocking the boat, and avoiding discomfort was the right way to live. They told themselves they were being considerate, kind, easygoing. They avoided pressuring people, avoided conflict, avoided making anyone uncomfortable. And then slowly, quietly, the cost became undeniable. Resentment started to build. Anxiety didn’t go away. Relationships felt draining or unsatisfying. Opportunities were missed. A subtle but persistent sense of frustration crept in—often accompanied by the feeling, “I’m not really being me.” So they arrive at an insight that feels like progress: I need to speak up for myself. And that insight is progress. But it’s not the breakthrough. Because knowing that you should speak up does not automatically mean that you can—or that when you do, it will actually work. Why “Just Speak Up” Usually Fails Many people assume assertiveness is a simple behavioral skill. Learn the right words. Use the right tone. Say the thing. But assertiveness isn’t primarily about what you say. It’s about the inner stance you’re coming from when you say it. This is where things break down. Often, people move from passivity into what looks like assertiveness on the surface—but internally, they’re still trying not to upset anyone. They soften their message. They hint. They explain excessively. They bring things up indirectly, hoping the other person will “get it” without them having to actually claim what they want. So they say something like: “I just wanted to mention that you said you were going to do X, and then it didn’t happen… but it’s okay, I handled it.” Technically, they spoke up. Emotionally, they didn’t. Nothing meaningful changes—and then comes the conclusion: “See? Speaking up doesn’t work.” So they retreat back into silence, often with more resentment than before. The Passive → Gentle → Stuck Cycle This is one of the most common cycles I see: First, passivity. Then, a tentative attempt to speak up. Then, disappointment when nothing changes. Then, withdrawal. Over time, resentment accumulates—not just toward the other person, but toward yourself. Because deep down, you know you didn’t fully say what was true. What’s most painful isn’t that the other person didn’t change. It’s that real contact never happened. You weren’t fully there. The Real Barrier Isn’t the Situation People usually have a long list of reasons why they can’t be more direct: “It’s my boss.” “It’s my parent.” “It’s my partner.” “That would be mean.” “That would be selfish.” “You can’t say that in this situation.” These reasons feel convincing because they’re emotionally charged. But they all point away from the real issue. The real issue isn’t the circumstance. The real issue is that you’re operating within a very narrow internal permission structure—one designed to protect you from something that feels catastrophic. What Are You Actually Afraid Of? Imagine being fully honest in a situation where you usually hold back. Not cruel. Not attacking. Just clear. Naming the pattern. Naming the impact. Naming what does and doesn’t work for you. Most people feel immediate discomfort just imagining this. Tightness in the chest. A sinking feeling. An urge to pull back. That discomfort usually isn’t about politeness. It’s about fear and guilt. And underneath those ...
    Show More Show Less
    20 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.