How to Overcome Social Anxiety
Are you always fearful of social interactions? Do you fear being judged all the time? Are you always worried you will humiliate yourself in front of others? If yes, then maybe, you have Social Anxiety.
But there’s nothing to worry about because a lot of us go through this on a daily basis and we are going to find a solution for it together over here in this article, got it? Good.
Here are some activities you can try to overcome your social anxiety and become better at social interactions:
Let’s Get Uncomfortable
You don’t feel great about social interactions, obviously, you will find ways to avoid them. But here’s what I want you to do the next time you have to socialize — Go! If you will not go out now, you will never.
So build some courage from within and just go. I am not even asking you to interact. Concentrate on your thoughts. What do they say?
“I know she’s judging me.”
“Shit, I embarrassed myself again.”
“Should I say this? Never mind I am just going to make a fool out of myself.”
Yes, these negative phrases need a place to wander and that place is definitely not going to be your mind. So just like I always tell you, with every exhale, let one negative thought out.
Judge with the Journal
Now, you think others judge you? Okay, let’s judge them. So once you are back from that particular interaction, I want you to take out your journal (if you have anxiety and not a journal, god bless you. Start maintaining a journal today or I will track you down and buy you one) and then I want you to judge the people you met there.
Once you write about them, see how much you judge them, did you realize these things while you were having a conversation, or did the judgments you made even make sense? I am pretty sure you didn’t notice much and even if you did, they made no sense.
So if these made no sense to you, it doesn’t make sense to them as well. Hence we conclude, nobody really pays so much attention to you, stop worrying about that.
Physical Health = Mental Health
Do you know what is the best way to go out and have no social interactions? Go for a run or a jog or a workout or a yoga class. The only interaction you might have is a smile. I did my best to give you the motivation to go move your body. Now you gotta do it.
Make sure every time you workout or go for a jog or any activity you do, concentrate on your breathing. We all know how much moving a little every day can improve our mood and overall mental health as well as physical health.
Challenge Yourself
I am not saying go to that huge party where there will be thousands of strangers or go give a speech in front of a huge crowd tomorrow. No, I know things don’t work like that. But here’s what will work:
Start small, keep weekly challenges. Maybe for the first week, you can challenge yourself to say Hello to the people you already know and meet every day, the second week could be having a small talk, the third week could be having lunch with someone or whatever suits you, everything according to the pace you want to work on.
Treat. Treat. Treat.
Hello, you did a wonderful job so here’s a tub of chocolate ice cream for you, or how about we have a cheat day today? Let this treat be something that motivates you to take control of your social interactions.
Imagine all you have to do for a tub of chocolate ice cream is to just say “Hello” to your family, friends, co-workers, or anyone you meet. Make this fun, don’t stress over it.
Final Words
When you think about it, social anxiety is more just in your head. You are always just one decision away from choosing to have positive or negative thoughts. Obviously, with anxiety, controlling this becomes difficult. But with the practices mentioned above, I think you are really going to ace at controlling these thoughts and soon become a pro at social interactions.
Are you ready? Tell me in the comments below, which social interaction challenge are taking up first?
