Daniel Gaztambide, PsyD

15 million Americans are estimated to have social anxiety. That's no small number and social anxiety disorder is actually one of the leading anxiety disorders in the country. If you suffer from social anxiety, clearly you're not alone. Even though so many others seem to have this problem, however, it can be easy to feel as if you have no one to turn to and talk about it. One way to handle social anxiety is to check out social or meetup groups online, specifically on Meetup....com. On Meetup.com, you can find a lot of different groups and hangouts that people organize to talk, socialize, and share. Some of those groups may be focused on social anxiety, but we’re thinking a little more broadly here. It’s sometimes easier to engage with people when there’s some shared activity, interest, or topic to talk about. You can think of this shared activity as a social lubricant. You’re not there to talk about you, or even perform in front of others. You’re there to talk about this shared interest. Keep reading to find out more and see if it's an option you want to explore. https://drgpsychotherapy.com//using-meetupcom-to-overcome-

Social anxiety is a common problem in the United States, affecting nearly 7% of the population. This adds up to over 15 million people. People with social anxiety experience a deep fear of being rejected by others, acting in an embarassing way, or being seen as "dumb" or inadequate. This makes it difficult to form relationships, so people with social anxiety may avoid interacting with others, even though they want to form connections. Making friends as an adult can feel... almost impossible. As a child, you're often surrounded by others, so friendships can be formed through chance interactions. This is especially true if you live in a city like New York. You don't have the same sense of familiarity that you would in a small town or in an intimate family or communal setting (like a house of worship, for example). The good news is that there are still lots of ways to make friends, and we'll talk more about some of those ways below. https://drgpsychotherapy.com//conquer-your-social-anxiety-

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A lot of people struggle with how to use online dating, and what place it should have in their romantic lives. Some people avoid engaging in online dating altogether, and depend on their social circles and going out to meet potential dates. Others use online dating almost exclusively, falling deep down a rabbit hole of digital profiles, likes, and swipes. In this vlog, we're going to talk about some things to keep in mind when using online dating so it can serve us as a tool and not a crutch. https://drgpsychotherapy.com//is-online-dating-in-new-york

Dating in New York City sucks. It’s horrible. And sometimes it’s hard to know if you’re making any headway, or if things are just going to continue being horrible. That’s why in these next two vlogs, we’re gonna talk about the six fundamentals of dating. Six things that you need to cover as a baseline, as a foundation to having more success in dating and intimacy. Dating sucks, but you need to be on top of it in order to know where you’re going. You can use these six things t...o assess where you are in your dating journey, and where you should focus your energies. That way, so you can have an easier time dealing with the horrible post-apocalyptic hellscape that is dating in New York City. We can’t make it any less apocalyptic, but at least we can go out there with some tools so we can not only survive, but thrive. https://drgpsychotherapy.com//dating-in-nyc-is-shit-6-fund

We often learn when we’re kids that we shouldn’t express certain thoughts or feelings. We come to believe that if we hide who we are, we’ll maintain a connection with our significant others. This leads us to fear vulnerability. But vulnerability is also the glue of human relationships. In this post, we're going to talk about why we fear vulnerability, why it is so important, and how it can actually heal us. https://drgpsychotherapy.com//why-we-fear-and-need-vulnera

Ever wonder why rejection is so painful? We treat it like it’s kryptonite in our professional, personal, but especially in our romantic lives. We start to believe it says something about uswe’re less attractive, not cool, less desirable. It makes us feel bad, at times just plain horrible about ourselves. In this vlog post, we're going to talk about how to cope with rejection, and 3 ways to address it so that it feels less overwhelming. The better we get at decoding rejection..., the better we'll be at using it as an opportunity for growth. https://drgpsychotherapy.com//18/3-ways-to-handle-rejection