Discover Your Approval Pattern
Authentic Confidence with Dr. Aziz

Authentic Confidence with Dr. Aziz

Hosted by: Dr. Aziz Gazipura, Psychologist and Author

Do you worry what other people will think? Does it make you doubt yourself, feel guilty, and ultimately stop you from being fully yourself? This can show up as people-pleasing and difficulty saying no. Or as social...

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Episodes

Goodbye Shrink for the Shy Guy, Hello Authentic Confidence

After 12 years and over 600 episodes, Shrink for the Shy Guy is reaching its final installment. But this isn’t an ending—it is a massive evolution. Starting next Wednesday, this same podcast feed will transform into a...
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Do You Feel Like You Belong?

Do you ever feel like you’ve done years of "work" on yourself, only to wake up and find you're facing the exact same fear, hesitation, or self-doubt you thought you’d finally conquered? In this episode, Dr. Aziz digs...
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The Voice That Says It Won't Work

What if the real reason you hold back, soften what you say, or carefully rehearse how you come across isn’t actually about confidence at all? What if, underneath it all, there’s a deeper fear - that if people saw the...
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Why You Get Anxious Before Interviews, Dates, and Presentations (It's Not What You Think)

What do job interviews, first dates, presentations, and social gatherings all have in common? They're all situations where someone could disapprove of you — and your nervous system knows it. In this episode, Dr. Aziz...
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The Moment You Start Managing Yourself

In this episode of Shrink for the Shy Guy, Dr. Aziz explores what happens the moment you stop being natural in a conversation and start managing yourself instead. If you’ve ever felt yourself drift into performance...
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The Hidden Fear of Being Yourself

What if the real reason you hold back, soften what you say, or carefully rehearse how you come across isn’t actually about confidence at all? What if, underneath it all, there’s a deeper fear—that if people saw the...
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Why You Keep Chasing Approval Without Realizing It

Most people don’t walk into conversations thinking they’re trying to win approval. They believe they’re simply being polite, agreeable, or easy to get along with. Yet beneath the surface, many people are unknowingly...
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Finding Ground When Everything Is Changing with Dr. Dave

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...
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The Quiet Cost of Conditional Worth

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...
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Why Knowing How to Speak Up Isn’t Enough

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...
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The Nice Trap

Join Dr. Aziz LIVE for a 3-day virtual event: Not Nice LIVE > Go here for details and tickets.In this episode of Shrink for the Shy Guy, Dr. Aziz exposes one of the most insidious traps keeping people stuck in...
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The High Cost of Deferring Decisions

In this episode of Shrink for the Shy Guy, Dr. Aziz dives deep into one of the sneakiest traps that keep us stuck: deferring decisions. Whether it’s fear of making the wrong choice, wanting more clarity, or simply...
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