About Martin Stork
I’m Martin Stork, the founder, primary author, and editor of Conquer Social Anxiety.
I created this website to make evidence-informed education about social anxiety easier to find, understand, and apply in everyday life.
My academic background is in psychology and psychotherapy for adults. I earned a degree in psychology from EAFIT University in Medellín, Colombia, and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy for Adults from the University of Minho in Braga, Portugal.
My work focuses on social anxiety education, research, and the development of structured learning resources that help people understand social anxiety more clearly.
Why I created Conquer Social Anxiety
When I first started writing about social anxiety, I noticed a problem.
Much of the information available online was either too vague, too commercial, too simplistic, or too certain about subjects that are more complex than they initially appear.
Some resources described social anxiety as if it were simply shyness. Others focused on confidence tips, quick fixes, or general self-help advice. Many evidence-based explanations, meanwhile, were written in ways that were difficult for the average person to understand or use.
I wanted to build something different.
The goal is not simply to give people more information. It is to help them understand the pattern in which they may feel caught: fear of judgment, self-focused attention, avoidance, safety behaviors, rumination, shame, loneliness, and the gradual narrowing of life that social anxiety can create.
A clearer understanding does not automatically produce change, but it can make helpful next steps easier to recognize and approach.
If you are new to the website, the best place to begin is the Start Here page.
My academic and professional background
My formal training includes:
- a degree in psychology from EAFIT University in Colombia;
- a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy for Adults from the University of Minho in Portugal;
- certification as a Metacognitive Therapy Practitioner; and
- certification as a Mindfulness and Meditation Instructor.
I am currently a Research Fellow at the School of Psychology at the University of Minho and continue to collaborate on research projects with EAFIT University.
Earlier in my professional life, I also trained and worked as a physical therapist. That background continues to influence how I think about psychological change.
Mental health is not separate from everyday life. Social anxiety can affect the body, habits, relationships, work, communication, routines, avoidance patterns, and the way people move through the world. My earlier clinical training in physical health helped shape this broader view of functioning and change.
Research interests
My research interests focus on social anxiety and related psychological processes.
Social anxiety patterns
Social anxiety subtypes and profiles, fear of negative evaluation, and clinically meaningful differences in how social anxiety presents.
Maintaining processes
Anxiety sensitivity, experiential avoidance, behavioral avoidance, safety behaviors, shame, self-criticism, and other processes that may help maintain social anxiety.
Emotion and expression
Anger suppression, internalized anger, difficulty expressing needs, and how emotional patterns may relate to social anxiety.
I have published academic work on social anxiety subtypes and mechanisms such as anxiety sensitivity and experiential avoidance. My current and future research interests include clinically meaningful differences in how social anxiety presents, including data-driven profile models that may eventually contribute to assessment, psychoeducation, and treatment planning.
You can learn more on the Research page.
My role at Conquer Social Anxiety
I am the primary author and editor of Conquer Social Anxiety.
This means that I am responsible for the accuracy, tone, structure, and boundaries of the content published here.
My aim is to explain social anxiety in a way that is clear enough to be useful and careful enough to be trustworthy.
Social anxiety is too important for exaggerated claims. People who struggle with it deserve realistic hope, not false certainty.
You can read more about how CSA approaches research and treatment claims in the Evidence Standards and Editorial Policy.
What I believe about social anxiety
I do not see social anxiety as a character flaw.
I see it as a painful and often self-reinforcing pattern that usually becomes understandable when considered in context.
People with social anxiety are often trying very hard to protect themselves from rejection, embarrassment, criticism, conflict, or disconnection. The difficulty is that protective strategies—such as avoidance, hiding, overpreparing, people-pleasing, self-monitoring, or replaying conversations afterward—can keep the anxiety system active over time.
That is why understanding social anxiety matters.
For a deeper explanation of this pattern, you may want to read How Social Anxiety Develops and Persists and The Cycle of Social Anxiety.
What this website can and cannot do
Conquer Social Anxiety is an educational platform.
It can help you understand social anxiety, recognize common patterns, learn about treatment options, and make more informed decisions about possible next steps.
If social anxiety is substantially affecting your life, consulting an appropriately qualified therapist may be an important step. You may find it helpful to read How to Choose a Therapist for Social Anxiety.
If you are in immediate danger, feel unable to remain safe, or are thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or an appropriate crisis service immediately.
A more personal note
Outside of my work, I enjoy running, sports, and especially basketball. I also enjoy learning languages, which has helped shape the multilingual direction of Conquer Social Anxiety.
More personally, I care about connection, openness, and helping people feel less alone with experiences they may have hidden for years.
Social anxiety can make people feel as though they are fundamentally different from everyone else. One of the quieter aims of CSA is to challenge that belief.
Not through empty reassurance, but through clearer understanding.
Research profiles
You can find my academic profiles here.
ResearchGate
View academic publications, research interests, and project updates.
ORCID
View author identification and academic publication records.
Google Scholar
View my publication record, citations, and related academic work.
Contact
You can contact me by email at martin@conquersocialanxiety.com.
Please keep in mind that I may not always be able to respond quickly and cannot provide individualized psychological advice by email.
I welcome messages about the website, research, collaboration, or educational resources.
Continue Learning
These pages explain more about CSA’s purpose, research background, and educational standards.
Learn more about CSA’s purpose, scope, and educational mission.
Read about the research themes and academic work that inform CSA’s educational direction.
Understand how CSA evaluates research findings, treatment claims, and levels of certainty.
Learn how CSA content is written, reviewed, and kept responsible.
Begin using CSA as a structured learning resource for understanding social anxiety.
My focus on social anxiety
For the past several years, my work has increasingly centered on social anxiety.
This has included psychoeducation, research, structured self-help resources, and earlier community-based social anxiety groups focused on education, mutual support, and guided exposure practice.
I am especially interested in how social anxiety differs from person to person.
Some people mainly fear appearing awkward or incompetent. Others fear visible anxiety symptoms such as blushing, sweating, or trembling. Some are especially concerned about offending, disappointing, or upsetting other people. Some become withdrawn. Others become highly accommodating, perfectionistic, or outwardly successful while struggling internally.
Understanding these differences matters because social anxiety does not always appear or operate in the same way.
This interest has shaped my research, writing, and long-term vision for Conquer Social Anxiety.