Table of contents:
- Tips and tricks for dealing with symptoms of social phobia
- 1. Identify what triggers are making you anxious
- 2, Learn to relax
- 3. Change the way you think
- 4. Try not to be evasive
- 5. Exercise to get used to it
- 6. Be patient
Social phobia aka social anxiety disorder is a fearless cause that a person has for interacting with other people. But the fear here is not just embarrassment when meeting new people or stage fright when he has to stand in public for an office project presentation. Your fear of embarrassing yourself is so strong and takes over that you completely avoid any situation that might trigger that fear. Social phobia also causes a series of physical reactions that can be burdensome.
Anxiety disorders often appear first in childhood or early adolescence, and tend to get better with age. But for some people, this phobia can stay with them for life, wreaking havoc on their social life. Individuals who have social anxiety disorder, or social phobia, may have very limited social or romantic relationships. This intense fear of being judged and viewed negatively makes them feel helpless, lonely, isolated, and even depressed.
Social anxiety is an officially recognized psychiatric disorder by medical professionals. This is not something that should be ignored because social anxiety is very disruptive to daily activities. If you or someone close to you has social anxiety, here are some tips that can help you deal with social phobia.
Tips and tricks for dealing with symptoms of social phobia
1. Identify what triggers are making you anxious
If you are experiencing social anxiety, the most important thing you need to do is find out what situation is causing you anxiety. Is it talking privately in a closed room or simply being in an open space filled with people?
Everyone who experiences social anxiety will have different triggers for social situations that make him anxious, as well as the physical symptoms caused when experiencing anxiety will be different. Therefore, knowing what situation is making you anxious is very important to make it easier for you to cope with the situation.
2, Learn to relax
When you feel anxious, you will feel uncomfortable with your environment or your existence. And one way to deal with physical symptoms when you are anxious is to learn to relax by inhaling slowly. What you should know is that breathing slowly is not done to relieve feelings of anxiety, because anxiety is something that is natural for everyone to experience. Taking slow breaths is used to make it easier for you to deal with anxiety, because when you are anxious, your breath will be faster than usual. As a result, you will feel dizzy and your anxiety increases.
3. Change the way you think
Anxiety can arise through the mind. Often times, people experiencing anxiety think that their existence is unwanted and that they will be viewed negatively by their environment. In fact, these thoughts are not necessarily true - usually it's just fear that arises for no reason. Therefore, one way to deal with social anxiety is to change the way you think about your environment - because what you fear is just an assumption. Focus on the people around you rather than on the thoughts that cause you anxiety.
4. Try not to be evasive
Force yourself to do activities that make you anxious and avoid them often. Even if it's difficult, you still need to do it because avoiding is not the way out of the anxiety you face. What's more, avoiding what makes you anxious will only increase your fear and make you feel that what you are thinking is true - even though, not necessarily. Therefore, force yourself to face what you fear. Make it a habit to do this over and over again, because the more you face the situation the more you will get used to it, lessen your fear, and making you more confident.
5. Exercise to get used to it
One of the most important things you need to do to deal with anxiety is practice. Of course, overcoming social anxiety is not easy and requires hard work. Therefore, to really get over social anxiety, you have to do the tips above and make it a habit.
6. Be patient
You have to be patient, because changing habits is not easy, including eliminating social anxiety. Coping with social anxiety is a lifelong learning process as you will always be exposed to new environments. It's normal to have feelings of anxiety, but you have to get over it or you will be stuck with the phobia forever, and it can interfere with your activities / career.
