Seven effective tips to deal with social anxiety
A person giving a speech or meeting new people may be faced with one of the two problems: either he is shy or he suffers from social anxiety.
Symptoms of social anxiety
Social anxiety symptoms may be emotional or physical. Physical symptoms are there for everyone to see such as a red face, upset stomach, trembling, feeling dizzy, sweating, or fast heartbeats. Emotional symptoms include the fear of being humiliated and fear of being watched by others. These lead to behavioral symptoms such as avoiding all social gatherings or being around friends during every occasion.
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Treatments for social anxiety disorder
Focus on others: If one continues to think about oneself and have negative thoughts running through his mind, it is advisable to shift your thoughts to others and start interacting with them. Paying more attention to what others are saying and removing negative thoughts about oneself is a great bonus.
Control your breathing: Many people, in their anxious state, start breathing roughly and the heart rate suddenly starts increasing. It might lead to suffocation, heart attacks or muscle tension. In such situations, it is better to start learning to control your breathing through a number of breathing exercises. This will also help to focus your thoughts elsewhere.
Face your fears: Many people avoid situations that may lead to social anxieties. At such times, that person should try to face the fears, learn about it, and also learn how to overcome it rather than just avoid it.
Create exposure hierarchy: In this maneuver, create a list of all those social anxiety problems that you face. This is known as an exposure hierarchy. Now find out the easiest task that can be overcome. Once that is overcome, move on to the next problem.
Keep a rational outlook: Instead of thinking that you can solve a problem with grade “A”, it is better to have a rational outlook and think that you will be able to solve it, though you might get a grade “B” or “C” on completing it.
Give credit to any social anxiety treatment: Any treatment you may have undergone might not bring about a big change, but the completed work should be given a reward since it has been completed.
Recognize social anxiety: If you know what triggers your social anxiety and how you react, you can try to overcome it and make it stop. Some people tend to stop going to events for fear of their social anxiety. Instead, you can just accompany someone and try to face the party rather than avoiding it completely.
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