Hello!
Welcome to The Vibrant Introvert: the show about real people experiencing introversion and social anxiety, their stories of transformation and change, and how they thrive in their daily lives—all told through the lens of Acceptance and Commitment therapy. I’m your host, Gabbie Lanier.
This podcast was formerly called, “ACT-Inspired Behavior” but starting on May 19th, the 2nd season was released under the new name, “The Vibrant Introvert.” One of the biggest values around this new title and this new way of telling story is that I wanted to uplift and empower voices that are not often heard or recognized—the voice of an introvert.
The stories that you will hear in this podcast will range from shy introverts, outgoing introverts, and those who consider themselves a blend of introvert and extrovert.
Some of the stories may also include the experience of social anxiety disorder (SAD.) Not all introverts will have social anxiety but some do—and even those who call themself an extrovert may experience it, too. In this work, I want to bring to light how common social anxiety is—the fact that it is the 3rd most common psychological disorder in the US with a lifetime prevalence rate of approximately 12%, and the fact that as many as 80% of individuals with SAD do not receive any sort of support for this condition. If this is you, you are not alone.
I stand here, passionate about telling these stories because this is my story too. I battled social anxiety, the emotional exhaustion of it all, the self-depreciating thoughts like “Why are you so socially awkward??”, and was plagued by the question: how do I get better? Nothing seems to help.
I felt the pain of this the most between my college years and into my early 30s. And now? I continue to experience SAD. But, I have the tools to navigate it, own it, accept it, and enjoy my life vibrantly with it, as an introvert and as a person who deeply wishes to connect with others, who wishes to connect with you, the listener. If I can do anything in this work, it is to empower not only the voices and stories of those who we highlight here but also voices like yours.
In addition to sharing the many journeys of other vibrant introverts, I deeply wish to disseminate a framework which has been instrumental in my transformational change—the work of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
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I am not currently adding new episodes but have chosen to keep the podcast up. Check out previous episodes!
