Did you know that social anxiety is the third biggest health problem in the world today? It is a type of phobia, accompanied by intense fears in social situations, where irrational thoughts of being neglected arise to a person. If you notice anxiety, face redness, difficulty breathing, restlessness in the stomach, dizziness, or sweating of the palms when you care about the opinions of others, you probably suffer from social anxiety. Although not fatal, social anxiety is very unpleasant and should be managed as soon as possible.
Change your attitude
Stop judging yourself and stop being too hard on yourself. Change the unrealistic expectations of your behavior and the distorted perception that others will judge you and dislike you if you are not perfect. Try to get those self-contemplative thoughts replaced by supportive thoughts and ideas. Use your imagination constructively. We can influence what others will think about us, but we can not control it anyway, so just try to get rid of it.
Face your fears
One of the most useful things you can do to overcome social anxiety is to deal with the social situations you prefer to avoid. Avoidance maintains the durability of social anxiety and leads to additional problems. While avoiding unpleasant situations can help you in the short term, it keeps you from getting comfortable in social situations and learning to deal with discomfort. In fact, the more you avoid stressful social situations, the more terrible they seem to be.
When you worry too much and think about some situation in advance, you are programming yourself to automatically feel anxious when you really find yourself in a specific situation in which you have been worried too much. Instead, try to relax immediately before social situations. Make yourself a relaxing bath, play some relaxing music, take a deep breath, sit in a comfortable chair, and take a relaxed body posture, don’t stiffen yourself.
Change your lifestyle
Although spontaneous life changes are not enough to overcome social anxiety, they can boost your progress. You should avoid or limit caffeine intake by avoiding coffee and energy drinks which act as stimulants that increase the symptoms of anxiety. Drink moderately. Although you may be tempted to drink something before a party or other social situation in order to relax, alcohol increases your risk of an anxiety attack. Leave cigarettes. Nicotine is a powerful stimulant and despite that a cigarette may relieve your anxiety at the moment, smoking leads to higher levels of anxiety. These lifestyle interventions can help you reduce the overall level of anxiety.
Pay attention to your surroundings
It has been shown that people who see themselves as shy are less likely to remember details from their surroundings. They are concentrated on the inner thoughts that are passing through their heads, so the perception of external details is absent. You can use this finding and start to observe the external environment, shifting the focus from internal thoughts reducing your anxiety. Next time you find yourself in a social situation, give yourself the task to try to remember what people to whom you spoke wore at that moment.