Adele Payne is a life-coach, public speaker and author who focuses her effort on helping women overcome social anxiety and awkwardness.

As a teenager, Adele Payne suffered from severe anxiety that threatened to disrupt every aspect of her life. She simply couldn’t have fun or relax once she was outside her home. She tried to avoid gatherings, public events or social encounters because she didn’t feel comfortable talking to other people. As a self-preservation tactic, she paid little attention to her physical appearance and even less attention to her mental health. In fact, simple thoughts about visiting friends or a picnic would send her heart racing and her emotions wild for several hours.

She was chronically worried about what salespeople in the public stores, and taxi drivers would think about her as she stepped out. She fretted over other people’s judgment of her and this only worsened her anxiety. She couldn’t hold casual conversations with her acquaintances and she tried to avoid making new friends. For hours before any event, her stomach would be upset, she would get the chills, and be unable to move or even think. Needless to say, this was exceptionally perplexing to her parents, who didn’t understand why a seemingly fun event was making her behave this way.

So, it was a big problem for her when her favorite teacher decided that Adele would make a great public speaker. The teacher honed her skills by asking her to present speeches that she was unprepared for. Despite Adele’s skepticism and initial struggles, she discovered that her attempts were not only getting better, but her episodes of social anxiety became less frequent. She failed so much in her attempts to speak that her fears and worries evaporated. So, she set out to find lasting cures for her social anxiety. Her journey of self-discovery took her several years but she learned the right strategies for defeating social anxiety.

Today, Adele is not only a terrific public speaker, she is also a great conversationist. She no longer has to worry about people not liking her or what she is going to say to people. She says being relaxed actually helps her and other people to tap into their reserves of emotional and mental strength. Over the last five years, she has continued to help people (especially women) to overcome their anxiety problems by sharing the strategies that worked for her (and dozens of other people that have tried them).

Her latest book focuses on themes such as,

• Cognitive behavioral therapy strategies for overcoming anxiety and boosting self-confidence

• The symptoms, complications and drawbacks of anxiety disorders

• The role of fear in our response to anxiety

• Development of social skills for anxious women

• Instant strategies for dispelling fear, worry and anxiety

• The stress response and how it fuels anxiety

Adele Payne says “Not everyone will be lucky enough to have an amazing teacher like she did, but I am hoping that her books can serve as the guide and mentor that you need to become the best version of yourself.”

Adele loves playing squash and chess in her free time!