Hi, happywannabe!
At one time, I used self-hypnosis to go to sleep. I was usually very anxious at the end of the day so would be restless and could not get any sleep for the first hour. I learned to think of myself on a beach and to count backwards from 100 to 0. Usually, these techniques calmed me down. However, I never used them in social situations....It took a lot of energy just to think straight....I don't think I could focus my energies toward any type of mental concentration.