4 Effective Ways to Combat Social Anxiety
In a world that thrives on social connections and interactions, social situations can feel like an insurmountable hurdle for those with social anxiety.
Social anxiety is more than just shyness or a case of nerves before a big event or group gathering. It’s a pervasive and sometimes debilitating condition that affects many people all over the world.
Imagine feeling a constant fear of judgment, humiliation, or embarrassment every time you step into a social situation — whether it’s a gathering with friends or an important job interview. Social anxiety can make even the most routine interactions seem like colossal challenges. Over time, it can affect relationships and make it seem nearly impossible to build new ones. But here’s the good news: social anxiety is not unbeatable.
Here are 4 effective ways to combat social anxiety.
1. Identify Your Triggers
One of the best ways you can work towards combatting social anxiety is to learn and identify any potential triggers. Knowing your triggers can help you determine when and where you may be faced with anxiety.
By knowing your triggers ahead of time, you’ll be able to better identify and call out any triggers ahead of time before you end up in a potentially triggering situation. Once you identify your triggers, you can work towards avoiding them and also overcoming them with time.
2. Be Kind to Yourself
Another important thing to remember when you’re struggling with social anxiety is to be kind and patient with yourself. If you’re working towards overcoming your social anxiety, first of all, you should be extremely proud of yourself. That’s no easy feat.
You’re taking a huge and necessary step. Plus, you know it may be difficult and a little uncomfortable, but you’re still willing to put in the work, effort, and time to make it happen. Know that overcoming your social anxiety will take time. It’s not a change that will happen overnight. Give yourself a little grace.
3. Implement Relaxation Techniques
Anxiety can bring on a lot of uncomfortable signs and symptoms that can present themselves behaviorally, emotionally, or physically. Try to slow down your breathing, heart rate, and mind by incorporating some relaxation techniques. Having some relaxation techniques to pull from and try out in the moment can help you before more proactive rather than reactive when it comes to your anxiety.
Next time you’re experiencing social anxiety, you’ll be able to pull from your list of relaxation techniques and try them out so you can try to calm yourself down in a quicker manner. These are just a few of the different relaxation techniques that you can incorporate in your daily routine or have ready to use on standby whenever you’re feeling anxious:
- Body scan
- Deep breathing
- Exercise
- Go for a walk outside
- Journal
- Listen to music
- Meditation
- Yoga
4. Go to Therapy
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with asking for help. If your social anxiety is starting to have a negative impact on your daily life and routine, it’s time to seek additional support. A therapist can help you better understand your social anxiety. They’ll work hand in hand with you to help you good to the root cause of your social anxiety, identify any of the social anxiety triggers, and help you reframe those negative thought patterns and replace them with more positive ones over time.
If you’re interested in working with a therapist for your social anxiety, don’t delay in getting the help you need and deserve. Plus, a therapist may be able to give you more ideas for coping mechanisms or relaxation techniques that you may not have thought of or tried yet. Reach out to us today to set up an appointment/
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