SELF - HELP STRATEGIES FOR SOCIAL ANXIETY : MindsetOpediaDMHC Blogs

Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quite voice at the end of day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’

Mary A. Radmacher

Social anxiety is more than shyness. It's a persistent dread that interferes with daily activities, self-confidence, relationships, and work or school performance. Many individuals worry about social situations, but someone with social anxiety worries excessively before, during, and after them.

It’s known that help can come in many forms, treatment is available and very much effective for social anxiety. Even then, a very small percentage of people with this condition ever receive professional help and treatment. While self-help is not a replacement for professional therapy, it is an excellent place to start for people who may not otherwise receive any help. Thus the strategies listed below can be used in social situations to manage social anxiety.

Step 1: Observing Your Social Anxiety

An important first step in learning to manage social anxiety involves better understanding your social anxiety. People with social anxiety disorder tend to fear different types of social situations (e.g., speaking in a meeting, going to parties, etc.) and then experience different physical symptoms of anxiety (e.g., sweating, increased heart rate, etc.). Get to know your social anxiety. Take some time notice different situations; write the instances that make you anxious. This process makes it easier to manage your anxiety when you have a better knowledge about yourself.

Step 2: Learning To Relax

Social anxiety is likely to bring strong emotional reactions in social situations. One way to reduce these anxious reactions is for your body to be in a relaxed state. It's simpler to enjoy being with others when your body is calm, your breathing is steady and natural, and your mind is devoid of negative ideas.

• Calm Breathing: When we are nervous, we tend to breathe quicker. This might make us dizzy and lightheaded, making us feel even more anxious. Taking deep, regular breaths via your nose is what calm breathing entails. It's crucial to remember, though, that the objective of calm breathing isn't to totally remove anxiety (anxiety isn't harmful, and it's natural to feel nervous from time to time), but to make it a bit easier to "ride out" the feelings in social circumstances.

• Muscle Relaxation: Learning to relax your body is another useful approach. This involves tensing and then releasing specific muscles. This technique can aid in the reduction of general tension and stress, which can lead to anxiety issues.

Step 3: Realistic Thinking

Individuals with social anxiety often think negatively about themselves and what will happen in social situations. They misinterpret other people's remarks or facial expressions, which leads to emotional reactions. The thoughts are so automatic that they probably don’t even realize that they are thinking in this manner.

We are more prone to feel nervous when we perceive social circumstances are threatening or hazardous. It's essential to remember that our thoughts are just that assumptions about what will happen not actual facts. People with social anxiety disorder tend to over-estimate the degree of danger in social situations. Therefore, developing more realistic ways of thinking is a critical component of anxiety management. Before trying to change these thought patterns, there is a need to be able to identify the kind of thoughts which pop up during these social situations. By examining your negative thinking, you may discover that some of the things you fear are extremely unlikely to occur, or that if anything does occur, it will not be as awful as you anticipate and that you will be able to deal. Practice analysing your anxious ideas by writing them down first, challenge your negative thoughts and then attempting to come up with more realistic alternatives.

Step 4: Facing Fears

It’s normal to want to avoid situations that cause anxiety. While avoiding fearful events may lessen your emotional reactions in the short term, it drastically limits your life in the long run. Furthermore, as your fear gets more wide, the number of scenarios you fear increases. Gradual & repeated exposure to these social situations, on the other hand, will help to lessen the fear and emotional reactions that are connect with them and also build up a sense of confidence.

• Identify the top 10 situations that you avoid.

• Once you have a list, try and arrange them from the least scary to the scariest.

• For each situation on the list, break it down into a series of steps, increasing in difficulty. For example, if you are afraid of being the centre of attention, your steps might look like this:

Tell a funny story about yourself to a group of people that you know well.

Tell a funny story about yourself to a group of people that you don’t know well.

• Practice each step as much as you need to before moving on to the next. If you notice anxiety, challenge your negative thinking and use the slow breathing technique to relax.

Learning to manage anxiety takes a lot of hard work. If you are noticing improvements, take some time to give yourself some credit: reward yourself! In a way, learning to manage anxiety is a lot like exercise there is a constant need to "keep in shape" and practise your skills regularly. This holds true even after you are feeling better and have reached your goals.

Don't be discouraged if you start using old behaviours. This can happen during stressful times or during transitions. This is normal. It just means that you need to start practising the steps. Remember, never try to control your anxiety or be perfect, coping with anxiety is a gradual process. Over time, as you practice relaxation, challenge negative thoughts, and face feared situations, you will find it easier to stay anxiety-free in stressful situations.

By,

Angela Mathias

Council Member

WICCI - DMHC