Category Archives: Public Speaking

Speaking Engagements

Anxiety, Behavior, Cognitive Distortions, Coping Mechanisms, LGBTQ, Neuroplasticity, Psychology, Public Speaking, Self-Empowerment, Social Anxiety, Social anxiety disorder, Speaking Engagements, , , ,

Dear Readers:

My book on social anxiety is in the editing phase. I have been fortunate to be included in Springer’s latest volume on Love, due this spring (“Social Anxiety’s Failure to Establish, Develop, and Maintain Healthy Relationships”).

Now, it is time to get back on the road. Unfortunately, my recent speaking engagements and monthly discussions have been online, which does not satisfy the booking agencies.

I am currently looking for more speaking engagements. I am particularly interested in presenting at a conference or seminar. If anyone has contacts with organizations seeking speakers on neuroplasticity, recovery from social anxiety, or the other related topics listed below, please let me know. (“rmullenphd@gmail.com”.)

Compensation or stipend is secondary to having the event taped for future work, as it allows me to reach a wider audience and continue my advocacy for mental health.

As always, I am honored by your encouragement and support.

Dr. Robert F. Mullen | Speaking Engagements
Speaking Engagements
Dr. Mullen

Speaker
Workshop Facilitator
Author
Educator

Director
ReChanneling Inc
Social Anxiety & Related Conditions

Keynote and Workshop Topic

Identifying and Alleviating Social Anxiety’s Impact
on Productivity and Leadership

How My Recovery from Debilitating Social Anxiety
Can Help You JumpStart Your Career

How Neuroplasticity Can Dramatically Alleviate Your
Social Anxiety

Related Topics
Reclaiming Self-Esteem
Overcoming Social Anxiety and Depression
Regulating and Replacing Negative Emotions

My mission is to empower
you to rediscover your
inherent potential, power,
and resilience.

Dr. Robert F. Mullen

Abstract

Statistics tell us that two out of ten people experience anxiety, and half of those suffer from social anxiety. This can manifest in various ways, such as avoiding social situations, feeling constantly judged, or experiencing doubt and confusion. Seventy percent of those also have depression, and far too many turn to substance abuse. In the fast-paced and demanding world of academia and business, these conditions can lead to missed opportunities, decreased performance, and a lack of motivation to thrive in the workplace and classroom. In the words of Aaron Beck, the pioneer of cognitive-behavioral therapy, we feel helpless, hopeless, and worthless.

Our ability to deliberately accelerate and consolidate learning by compelling our brain to repattern its neural circuitry is a powerful tool for change. We possess the inherent power to transform our thoughts and behaviors. We can deliberately compel our brain to repattern its neural circuitry, empowering us to lead a more fulfilling and balanced life.

As someone who has experienced the hardship of social anxiety disorder for the first half of my life, I understand the toll it can take. I was trapped in its vicious cycle of fear and anxiety, restricted from living a ‘normal’ life. My fear of disapproval and rejection compelled me to avoid the life-affirming experiences that connect us with others and the world.

I have spent the last twenty years researching recovery methods and fusing them into workshops, lectures, and publications worldwide. I discovered how to resolve the adverse self-appraisal that disrupts a life of productivity and prosperity. I’m passionate about helping individuals reclaim their strengths, virtues, and achievements and unlock their full potential.

In my speeches and workshops, I share practical strategies and insights for overcoming the doubts and fears of social anxiety to create a mindset of resilience and potential. Drawing upon my own experiences and teachings, I demonstrate how the deliberate, repetitive input (DRNI) of positive information, which involves consistently exposing ourselves to our positive and affirming strengths and abilities, offsets the negative polarity of our neural network caused by adverse core and intermediate beliefs.

Complementary mechanisms replace our negative thoughts and behaviors with healthy, productive ones and regenerate our self-esteem by rediscovering and reinvesting our character assets.

Understanding neuroplasticity, the brain’s continuous adaptation and restructuring to experience and information, is empowering. It’s what makes learning and registering new experiences possible. Our neural network is dynamic and malleable – realigning its pathways and rebuilding its circuits in response to stimuli. This knowledge gives us the power to control our inner narrative and rewrite the story of our lives. 

Through my workshops and coaching programs, I empower individuals to recognize that their weaknesses and failures do not define them. Their character strengths, virtues, attributes, and achievements make them the best they can be. Understanding and appreciating this is a powerful source of motivation and self-worth.

A coalescence of neuroscience and psychology captures the diversity of human thought and experience. Through interactive exercises and group discussions, participants learn practical techniques for managing their thoughts and emotions, building resilience, and cultivating a growth mindset. They discover that they can control their inner narrative and rewrite the story of their lives.

Whether you’re a student, organizer, or professional striving to excel in your field or a potential leader blocked by self-doubt and uncertainty, my keynote speech and workshops can help you recognize your inherent abilities and limitless potential. Together, we can reframe the negativity of your life into a future filled with confidence, resilience, and success.

  • The pioneer of proactive and active neuroplasticity utilizing the deliberate, repetitive neural input (DRNI) of information.
  • Former playwright and equity actor in more than a dozen productions. “… outstanding with commanding and polished stage presence” (Hollywood Reporter). Ties to Jimmy Burrows (Frasier, Friends), John Cleese, Mike Frankovich (producer), Gordon Jenkins (Sinatra’s arranger), Sal Mineo, Tennessee Williams …
  • Co-wrote musical, Ward 22 with Michael Dare (John Belushi’s “Captain Preemo”). Debuted at Jerome Lawrence’s home (Mame, Inherit the Wind).
  • Wrote/directed LA production of A Country Musical.
  • Project manager, then European contract negotiator for British Telecom and AT&T
  • Authored multiple academic articles on social anxiety, depression, and recovery featured in 84 countries.
  • Publicist to Edith Eva Eger (holocaust survivor) New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller; featured in primetime CBS special, Hitler and Stalin
  • Treatment advisor and producer’s representative at the Cannes Film Festival 1989
  • Presenter over sixty virtual discussions on social anxiety, depression, and empowerment
  • Producer of a YouTube instructional series on Proactive Neuroplasticity
  • 200,000 readers of weekly posted articles on ReChanneling.org website and social media
Speaking Engagements
Speaking Engagements
Speaking Engagements
About Dr. Robert F. Mullen | Speaking Engagements
About Dr. Robert F. Mullen | Speaking Engagements
About Dr. Robert F. Mullen | Speaking Engagements

About Dr. Robert F. Mullen

For over thirty years, Robert Mullen navigated the challenges of severe social anxiety. Often referred to as the neglected anxiety disorder, SAD was a new, underrated, misunderstood, and frequently misdiagnosed condition. Bewildered, angry, and depressed, Robert was a social pariah convinced there was something wrong with him, experiencing first-hand the controlling, devious, and manipulative nature of his disorder.  

In his mid-forties, Robert Mullen returned to university, challenging SAD’s grip on his emotional well-being. It was a journey of trial and error, but the answers eventually revealed themselves. He now dedicates his career to the millions of people worldwide who struggle with anxiety and depression. His commitment to this cause is a beacon of hope for many.

Before his pivotal decision, Robert’s career was a tapestry of diverse experiences. He spent several years as an equity actor and playwright in Hollywood, with minor roles in TV and film. He was a publicist and manager for artists and writers, including Auschwitz survivor and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Edith Eva Eger. His journey also led him to serve as a film project treatment advisor and representative at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

Moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, Robert ran his own artists’ management company before becoming an international contract negotiator for AT&T and British Telecom.

It was at university that Robert honed his talents in public speaking for a variety of organizations. Post-doctorate, he created the nonprofit group ReChanneling, which develops and implements programs to (1) mitigate symptoms of social anxiety and related conditions and (2) pursue personal goals and objectives – harnessing our intrinsic aptitude for extraordinary living.

Robert’s work has not just made a mark, but a profound impact in the field of mental health. He has published numerous articles and chapters and produced a YouTube series on recovery. He is credited as the pioneer of proactive neuroplasticity, a technique supported by the deliberate, repetitive neural input (DRNI) of information. This approach has been instrumental in developing workshops, lectures, and seminars that have helped hundreds of clients.

Robert’s paradigmatic approach targets the personality through empathy, collaboration, and program integration. It utilizes neuroscience and psychology techniques designed to replace or overwhelm negative thoughts and behaviors with healthy, productive ones, while producing rapid, concentrated positive stimulation to offset the abundance of negative information in our brains’ metabolism.

Dr. Robert Mullen teaches clients mindfulness (recognition, comprehension, and acceptance) of their inherent capabilities and potential. To be the best we can be, we must not define ourselves by our deficits and shortfalls but by our character strengths, virtues, attributes, and achievements.

Dr. Robert F. Mullen
  • I’ve been there… I’ve experienced the despair of social anxiety and its network of fear and avoidance of human connection.
  • I had no courage, no self-esteem, no purpose.
  • No one understood my condition.
  • I created an innovative method of recovery and rediscovered my potential and defined my purpose:
  • To share my experiences and expertise with those who continue to suffer.
Speaking engagements include:

American Academy of Religion – Atlanta/Berkeley/Phoenix
American River College, Sacramento
Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast, Portland University
British Telecom, San Bruno, CA
Bunnings Group Limited, AUS (SF Convention)
The Exchange for the Performing Arts, Sacramento
First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco
Folsom Lake College, CA
Lakeshore Unitarian Society, Winnetka, IL
Six+ years of Monthly Online Discussions on Social Anxiety
Marshall Hospital, Placerville, CA
Sacramento AIDS Foundation
San Francisco Media Alliance
Scottish Rites Temple, Los Angeles
Society for Asian & Comparative Philosophy, Monterey

Social Anxiety Disorder

The distinction between social anxiety disorder and social anxiety is a matter of severity; reference to one includes the other. The recovery tools and techniques provided apply to comorbid emotional malfunctions, including depression, substance abuse, generalized anxiety, and issues of self-esteem and motivation. These malfunctions originate homogeneously, their trajectories differentiated by environment, experience, and the diversity of human thought and behavior. 

  • Fear of situations in which you may be judged negatively
  • Worry about embarrassing or humiliating yourself
  • Intense fear of interacting or talking with strangers
  • Fear that others will notice that you look anxious
  • Fear of physical symptoms that may cause you embarrassment, such as blushing, sweating, trembling or having a shaky voice
  • Avoidance of doing things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment
  • Avoidance of situations where you might be the center of attention
  • Anxiety in anticipation of a feared activity or event
  • Intense fear or anxiety during social situations
  • Analysis of your performance and identification of flaws in your interactions after a social situation
  • Expectation of the worst possible consequences from a negative experience during a social situation – (Mayo Clinic)

Testimonials

Mullen is the pioneer of proactive neuroplasticity utilizing DRNI ‒ deliberate, repetitive, neural information. – WeVoice (Madrid, Málaga, Valencia)

It is refreshing to work with an organization that possesses sincere commitment, ethics, and genuinely cares about its clients. – Sharon Hoery & Associates, Colorado

It is one of the best investments I have made in myself, and I will continue to improve and benefit from it for the rest of my life. – Nick P.

I have never encountered such an efficient professional … His work transpires dedication, care, and love for what he does. – Jose Garcia Silva, PhD (composer Cosmos)  

Social Anxiety Workshop produced results within a few sessions, with continuing improvement throughout the workshop and beyond. I’m now much more at ease in situations that were major sources of anxiety and avoidance for me just a few months ago. – Liz D.

A leading expert on social anxiety disorder and its comorbidities, Dr. Mullen is the father of proactive neuroplasticity. – Lake Shore Unitarian Society, Winnetka, IL

Dr. Mullen is considered a leading expert on anxiety and depression, etc. If you want to regain your sense of self-worth and confidence, you may want to consider recovery. It’s a bit of work but well worth the effort. – Matty S. 

I am simply in awe at the writing, your insights, your deep knowing of transcendence, your intuitive understanding of psychic-physical pain, your connection of the pain to healing, your concept/title, and above all, your innate compassion. – Janice Parker, PhD

Publications


Knowing Social Anxiety

Anxiety, Behavior, Neuroplasticity, Psychology, Public Speaking, Social Anxiety, Social anxiety disorder, Speaking Engagements, , , ,

Recovery from Social Anxiety and Related Conditions

Robert F Mullen, PhD
Director/ReChanneling

For each new subscriber, ReChanneling donates $25 for workshop scholarships.

Knowing Social Anxiety
Knowing Social Anxiety

The distinction between social anxiety and social anxiety disorder is in severity. We are not all affected by the same symptoms or relentlessness. The characteristics and traits are equivalent. These conditions originate homogeneously, their trajectories differentiated by environment, experience, and the diversity of human thought and behavior. While comorbidities dramatically benefit, the recovery methods identified are for social anxiety and social anxiety disorder, and reference to one includes the other.

Recent Posts

If you know the enemy and know yourself,
you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
If you know yourself but not the enemy,
for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself,
you will succumb in every battle.
 ̶  Sun Tzu

Knowing Social Anxiety

Few had heard of social anxiety before 1994. When I returned to university in my late forties, recovery methods were still in their formative stages and, as I later discovered, poorly invested in social anxiety. Even today, experts treat our condition like any other emotional malfunction when it is anything but. Social anxiety, nicknamed the ‘neglected anxiety disorder,‘ presents unique challenges through its cunning ability to make recovery approaches – productive for most disorders – woefully inefficient for those in our condition.

Although it was apparent to me early on that conventional treatment options for social anxiety were ineffective, the reasons were unclear. After much research and personal application, I embarked on a journey of comprehending how social anxiety sustains itself. I discovered that the mysteries of social anxiety, like the sacred Eleusinian sect of ancient Greece, only reveal themselves to the initiated.

In other words, only someone who has walked in our shoes and defeated the oppression of social anxiety can effectively guide you through recovery. Conventional recovery methods, while clinically sound and well-intentioned, are unreliable at best.

“Dr. Mullen is doing impressive work helping the world. He is the pioneer of proactive neuroplasticity utilizing DRNI – deliberate, repetitive, neural information.” – WeVoice (Madrid, Málaga)   

What is Social Anxiety?

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a multifaceted and intricate health condition. In the forward to these posts, I emphasize that the distinction between social anxiety, and the DSM-identified social anxiety disorder is not just a matter of severity; it’s a complex interplay of various factors. As any expert will attest, there are subtle differences. However, the recovery process, sans medication, is individually focused and remains strikingly similar.

Social anxiety’s unique complexity underscores the need for expert guidance and understanding from someone who has experienced its symptoms.

SAD is a formidable opponent, a master of disguise that withholds its secrets from those who haven’t experienced its enigmatic and catastrophic nature. It is more mysterious than a hormonal teenager, and deciphering its enigmatic structure is challenging, but together we can methodically unravel its mysteries.

SAD steals our identity, making us feel unwelcome and exposed in social situations because we feel unworthy. The condition crushes our self-esteem, causing us to doubt our worth and abilities. It saps our motivation, causing us to avoid activities and personal connectivity. SAD does not want us to be happy because that takes away its power. It does not want us to know how it operates.  It does not want to release us from its insidious grasp. 

SAD is the fearful boogeyman who can only be excised by the bright, exposing light of rationality.

SAD makes us feel helpless and hopeless, trapped in a vicious cycle of fear and anxiety, and restricted from living a ‘normal’ life. Our fear of disapproval is so severe we avoid the life-affirming experiences that connect us with others and the world. We fear the unknown and unexplored. We endure anxiety for weeks before a situation, anticipating the worst. And we worry about how others perceive us and how we express ourselves. 

SAD is like one of those movies in which aliens invade our bodies. They feed off our misery and hopelessness, thriving off our fears and anxieties. The only thing that can kill them is identifying and overwhelming them with rational mindfulness. We starve them with positivity and self-awareness, causing them to wither and die.

Space is Limited
For Information

“It is one of the best investments I have made in myself, and I will
continue to improve and benefit from it for the rest of my life.” – Nick P.

Two Keys to Understanding Social Anxiety

What is Sun Tzu telling us in this post’s opening quote? To effectively challenge our condition, we must know exactly what we are confronting and how it affects us individually. This knowledge empowers us to appreciate the caliber of its weaponry and fashion superior ones, putting us in control of our recovery.

Knowing the ‘Enemy’

Knowing how our social anxiety controls and manipulates us is one key to recovery. Recognizing the symptoms and characteristics of our condition provides the wherewithal to overwhelm and defeat them.

One of the biggest impediments to recovery is our unwillingness to accept or disclose our condition. Many of us deliberately choose to remain ignorant of SAD’s destructive capabilities or go to enormous lengths to remain oblivious to them, as if, by ignoring them, they do not exist or will somehow go away.

It’s astonishing how many clients, after enduring SAD for their entire lives, choose to remain clueless about the easily identifiable symptoms listed by every reputable mental health institute.

The Symptoms

So, let’s put an end to our ignorance once and for all by identifying the common characteristics of social anxiety disorder.

  • We fear situations in which we may be judged negatively
  • We worry about embarrassing or humiliating ourselves.
  • We have an intense fear of interacting or talking with strangers.
  • We fear that others will notice that we look anxious.
  • We fear revealing physical symptoms that may cause us embarrassment, such as blushing, sweating, trembling, or a shaky voice.
  • We avoid doing things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment.
  • We avoid situations where we fear being the center of attention.
  • We express anxiety in anticipation of a feared activity or event.
  • We have intense fear or anxiety during social situations.
  • We negatively analyze our performance and focus on our faulty interactions after a social situation.
  • We expect or self-prophesize the worst possible consequences from a negative experience during a social situation.

So, no more excuses. We now have a basic understanding of the common symptoms of our condition. Social anxiety instills in us unsound fears and apprehensions that are disproportionate to the actual situation. Social anxiety steals our autonomy, hopes, and dreams. It crushes our expectations and possibilities, causing us to miss opportunities to connect with the world. We beat ourselves up for our perceived defects and inadequacies. SAD convinces us that we are undesirable and worthless.

Knowing Ourselves

The other equally important key to recovery is understanding how we are adversely affected by SAD. Because we are unique individuals with diverse experiences, environments, beliefs, needs, and aspirations, these challenges are highly subjective and differ with each individual.

While occasional anxiety is a normal part of life, those of us with SAD experience it in a different, more intense way. We tend to personalize and dramatize our anxiety. Often blowing it out of proportion and obsessing over its potential negative outcomes. This can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies where we inadvertently encourage our failures.

Living with SAD means dealing with persistent anxiety and fear in everyday situations.  Even simple tasks like eating in front of others, riding a bus, or using a public restroom can become unduly stressful.  We often find ourselves seeking invisibility, hoping to avoid any situation that might require us to participate.  As Matty S. shared in our workshop, ‘I spent high school trying to hide in every dark corner with a book in my face. I never once ate lunch in four years, and never once went to the bathroom in four years at my high school, for fear of having to interact with people.’

Dr. Mullen’s Speaking Engagements

Social Interaction

Living with SAD means navigating a paradoxical emotional landscape.  We often find ourselves craving companionship while shunning intimacy, fearing that we will be deemed unlikeable.  It’s not fear that destroys our lives, but the avoidance strategies we develop to cope with it.  At the peak of my anxiety, I would circle the block repeatedly before a social situation to bolster my courage.  Often, I ended up in the bar across the street rather than the event,  a clear example of how I anticipated and guaranteed my self-loathing through avoidance. 

Our social interactions are often clumsy, small talk inelegant, and attempts at humor embarrassing.  Our anticipation of repudiation motivates us to dismiss overtures to offset any possibility of rejection.  SAD is repressive and intractable, imposing self-destructive thoughts and behaviors.  It establishes its authority through defeatist measures produced by distorted and unsound interpretations of reality.

Sharing our experiences with social anxiety is like describing an alien disease – a solitary and fruitless endeavor, as others struggle to comprehend what is only understandable to the person afflicted. The comprehensible lack of empathy further isolates us as we face the challenges of our condition alone, highlighting the struggle and need for understanding our complex relationship with our condition.

The journey to self-discovery and overcoming anxiety is a gradual process that requires patience, introspection, and persistence. What makes us tick? What triggers our fears and apprehensions?  Where do we feel anxious or fearful? What activities are we engaged in, and what thoughts arise? How do we feel (physically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually)? What specific concerns or worries do we have? What is the worst thing that could happen?  And what do we imagine might occur? Who, where, or what do we avoid due to these feelings? 

Once we have a healthy understanding of SAD and how it personally affects us, we will have met Sun Tzu’s criteria for fearlessness in facing the many battles that lie ahead.

Proactive Neuroplasticity YouTube Series

Rechanneling Social Anxiety Recovery Workshops

WHY IS YOUR SUPPORT SO NECESSARY AND ESSENTIAL?  ReChanneling develops and implements programs to (1) mitigate symptoms of social anxiety and related conditions and (2) pursue personal goals and objectives – harnessing our intrinsic aptitude for extraordinary living. Our paradigmatic approach targets the personality through empathy, collaboration, and program integration utilizing neuroscience and psychology, including proactive neuroplasticity, cognitive-behavioral modification, positive psychology, and techniques designed to regenerate self-esteem. No matter the size, every contribution supports someone striving to make a difference in their lives and those of others. All donations support scholarships for groups and workshops.             

Committing to recovery is one of the hardest things you will ever do.
It takes enormous courage and the realization that you are of value,
consequential, and deserving of happiness.