How To: Anything

How To Get Over Social Anxiety

For a majority of my life I've been extremely anxious when having to deal with social situations, and it's only been recently that I've come out of my shell more and found myself enjoying social events more than I used to. I'll say this before I start, you do not have to force yourself to become an extrovert to deal and get over your social anxiety. Introverts can still do well in social environments, even if they don't necessarily enjoy them.

From my own experience, while getting over social anxiety will take a while, there are things you can do which will help speed up the process.

1. Challenge your negative thinking. You may notice that whenever you think of social situations you immediately think of the worst thing that could happen, and that mentality will hold you back from ever getting over your anxiety. Try and think positively, and go into situations without overthinking them. Stress will increase your anxiety, so try and not think about social situations as this will only stress you out.

2. Breathe. If you find yourself feeling anxious or nervous before a situation where you have to talk to people you don't know or do something you aren't confident in, take deep breaths. This will slow your heart rate and make you feel calmer and more relaxed.

3. Note the way you see other people. Do you notice every flaw on a person's face? Do you care when someone fumbles their words? What you'll find is that most people aren't actually focusing too much on you when you're interacting with them, and there is no real need to feel stressed when talking to someone or doing something with someone.

4. Set goals for yourself. Force yourself to talk to new people if you have to. I remember for me personally, I forced myself to ask if I could sit next to someone on a school trip because there was no one else to sit with, that was a really big turning point for me because when I realised that people didn't mind spending time with me, and that I could talk to anyone, I stopped feeling so anxious.

While progress may seem small at first, over time things will improve. Keep a positive mentality, and you will do fine.