5 Effective Strategies for Overcoming Social Anxiety
If you’ve been dealing with social anxiety, you might feel like you’ll never be able to build connections. Perhaps you can’t remember a time when you didn’t suffer from social anxiety, and you’ve always struggled to make friends. Maybe your social anxiety has cropped up recently after going through a stressful event or life transition. Now, you’re wondering how to bring back your confidence and revive your social life.
Healing your social anxiety can be tricky. When you’re anxious, entering social situations might be the last thing you want to do. But it’s also the key to moving forward. Here are a few strategies to help you overcome your social anxiety.
1. Set Yourself Up for Success
First, make sure that you’re taking care of yourself physically. Drinking too much caffeine, getting too little sleep, a lack of exercise, or a diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates can all exacerbate your anxiety and make your symptoms more severe.
Before socializing, make sure you’re well rested, and you’re not relying on caffeine for energy. Eat a healthy snack, and consider going for a walk to release some of your nervous energy.
2. Start Small
You do not have to show up to large gatherings by yourself in order to overcome your social anxiety. Instead, you can take small steps. For example, calling a restaurant to order takeout, going out for coffee and asking the barista which drink they would recommend, or saying “Hi” to your neighbors when you see them on the sidewalk, can gradually help you get more comfortable socializing.
If you’re nervous about signing up for an activity on your own, or going to a big event, consider volunteering. The other volunteers will be helpful and supportive, and you’ll have a specific activity or cause in common with them, which will give you something to talk about.
3. Relaxation Techniques
It never hurts to have a few relaxation techniques you can turn to when you’re feeling overwhelmed. For example, you may want to practice slow, deep breathing while counting backward from five to time your inhales and exhales.
Grounding yourself by checking in with your senses and taking note of what you see, hear, taste, feel, and smell can also be helpful.
4. Practice Makes Perfect
Do not put pressure on yourself to overcome your social anxiety after socializing just a few times. It’s a process, and chances are, it will take some time to make new friends, reconnect with any old friends you’ve lost touch with, and get comfortable socializing in situations where you don’t know anyone. You might want to make a commitment to attend a certain number of social events per week.
Alternatively, you may have a list of “social goals” you want to tackle. This could include anything from dining alone at a restaurant to asking an acquaintance to hang out to joining a recreational sports league in your area. Pick a few areas that you want to work on, and create a plan to achieve these goals.
5. Remind Yourself You’re Not Alone
Often, social anxiety is rooted in the anxiety that you don’t know what you’re doing, while everyone else is calm and collected. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Many people struggle with social anxiety, chronic stress, depression, and other mental health conditions. Even those who do not have mental health conditions have troubles with low self-esteem and confidence. You are not alone in these struggles. In fact, you’re in good company.
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