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While social anxiety can feel both daunting and immobilizing, it doesn’t have to control your life. By understanding its root causes, identifying triggers that lead to anxious thoughts and behaviors, developing coping skills, and seeking professional help when needed, you can learn how to overcome social anxiety. This blog post will explore each of these steps so that you are better equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to break down the barriers of social anxiety and move forward in your mental health journey.
Table of contents
Develop Coping Skills for Social Anxiety
FAQs in relation to how to overcome social anxiety
- How to overcome social anxiety
- What are four ways to overcome social anxiety?
- What are 3 coping strategies for anxiety?
Understand Social Anxiety
Social Anxiety Disorder (also known as social phobia) is a powerful and persistent fear of being judged or rejected in social settings, resulting in significant levels of anxiety that are disproportionate to the actual threat. Such fear causes those with Social Anxiety Disorder to avoid activities, events, or places that could trigger their anxiety, and this avoidance leads to significant impairment in their lives.
Many individuals with social anxiety disorder experience physiological reactions such as perspiring, blushing, stomach discomfort, trembling, and difficulty speaking, which may exacerbate their fear of being negatively perceived. This may result in thoughts like, “Everyone is judging me,” or “I must look stupid,” which can make it difficult to interact with others and perpetuate their avoidance of social situations.
The triggers for Social Anxiety Disorder symptoms may vary person-to-person. While some may find professional settings most challenging, others may fear judgment most among peers. Knowing the causes of your symptoms is the critical first step in addressing Social Anxiety Disorder, and one that will support you in developing specific and effective coping skills. Coping strategies that can ameliorate anxiety symptoms related to Social Anxiety Disorder range from relaxation exercises—such as progressive muscle relaxation and self-soothing—to replacing negative judgments about oneself with more neutral, factual ones.
While there are many self-help strategies for dealing with Social Anxiety Disorder that you can manage on your own, it can also be important to seek professional help. A mental health professional such as a therapist or psychiatrist can provide individualized treatment plans tailored specifically to your Social Anxiety Disorder symptoms and experience. They work collaboratively with you towards understanding underlying causes of the disorder, developing effective coping skills, and setting realistic goals for progress and maintenance of therapeutic gains. With support from a qualified healthcare provider, recovery from Social Anxiety Disorder is possible.
Key Takeaway: For those with Social Anxiety Disorder, seeking expert assistance is the most effective path to achieving relief. A trained specialist or medical practitioner can offer personalized treatment plans and techniques for managing the disorder, like cognitive restructuring and exposure therapy, to help you manage your symptoms and reach a healthier mental state.
Identify Your Triggers
A variety of scenarios may bring on feelings of anxiety in social situations. Identifying the stimuli that cause your social anxiety is essential to finding the right strategies for managing it.
One common trigger for Social Anxiety Disorder symptoms is feeling judged or negatively evaluated by others, such as when speaking in public or participating in group activities. Another common trigger is meeting new people or being in unfamiliar environments.
Identifying the triggers that exacerbate your social anxiety can be difficult, as it may feel as though you are anxious most of the time, but it is essential that you do so before you begin developing coping skills—which is the next step towards being able to manage and reduce your symptoms of social anxiety.
Key Takeaway: To overcome social anxiety, it is important to identify the stimuli that trigger your symptoms and avoidance.
Develop Coping Skills For Social Anxiety
Once you have figured out what triggers your social anxiety, you can begin the critical step of identifying and practicing coping skills to address your symptoms.
Practicing deep breathing—a type of grounding exercise—is one way to cope with anxious thoughts and feelings. Taking slow breaths from your diaphragm helps activate your parasympathetic nervous system, thereby decreasing your sense of perceived threat and relaxing your body. This, and other techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery, can be practiced before or during the situation you anticipate bringing on social anxiety.
Positive self-talk is another coping skill that can be helpful in managing social anxiety. By speaking kindly—or at the very least, neutrally—to yourself during moments of stress or fear, you can reframe negative and self-evaluative thoughts into ones that help reduce anxiety levels. This may involve reminding yourself that everyone feels anxious sometimes, that it’s okay to feel scared, and that you are capable of handling whatever comes your way.
While an important component of overcoming Social Anxiety Disorder is breaking the cycle of avoidance, for some it may be helpful to create an “exit plan” ahead of time in case the anxiety becomes too overwhelming. This could involve locating the closest bathroom in case you need a temporary social break or identifying a friend who can come pick you up if needed.
Key takeaway: Building a toolbox of coping strategies to help you get through anxiety-provoking social situations is a vital step in addressing Social Anxiety Disorder.
Seek Professional Therapy
When it comes to social anxiety, seeking professional help can be a great way to get the support you need. Talking with a mental health specialist can give you the chance to examine your thoughts and emotions in a safe and nonjudgmental environment.
Finding a trained professional is essential when seeking treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder, so prioritize locating someone who has this experience and that you feel comfortable speaking to (or working toward being comfortable speaking to.) Consider researching therapists online by reading reviews from other clients, or asking friends or family members if they have any recommendations. When selecting a therapist, think about the qualities that are important to you such as gender, race/ethnicity, location, types of therapy offered (e.g., individual counseling vs. group therapy,) and insurance coverage.
Once you’ve located a therapist that satisfies your needs and understands your symptoms, the next step is understanding which treatment(s) they recommend for treating your Social Anxiety Disorder. The therapist will likely recommend treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT.) CBT helps individuals identify patterns and connections between their thoughts, behaviors, and emotions while DBT focuses on teaching skills like emotion regulation and mindfulness techniques.
Depending on the therapist, therapy sessions may be conducted in-person or virtually. While video chat can be an effective way to receive treatment, be aware that it may inadvertently reinforce avoidance of social interaction.
Key Takeaway: Finding the right therapist is essential when looking to overcome social anxiety. Make sure you understand their treatment recommendation and whether they plan to meet with you in-person or virtually.
FAQs in Relation to How to Overcome Social Anxiety
How to overcome social anxiety?
Finding a mental health professional to help you treat your social anxiety is the best way to make lasting progress. By partnering with a professional, you can pinpoint the source of your anxiety and its triggers, identify coping strategies, and create an approach for achieving sustained success. Studies indicate that third-wave behavioral therapies are effective in treating Social Anxiety Disorder, so consider looking for someone trained in CBT or another evidence-based treatment.
Finally, it’s important to find someone who listens without judgment and makes you feel comfortable discussing sensitive topics. Take time researching potential providers, and possibly even consulting with a few before making a decision and beginning treatment.
What are four ways to overcome social anxiety?
- CBT focuses on recognizing and restructuring unhelpful thought processes that can lead to social anxiety, challenging core beliefs, and learning relaxation methods such as deep breathing.
- Exposure therapy involves gradually exposing oneself to situations that trigger fear so that you become desensitized and less fearful over time.
- Medications that target anxiety symptoms such as antidepressants or benzodiazepines may be prescribed by a doctor to help reduce symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder such as racing thoughts and rapid heart rate.
- Mindfulness practices focus on being present, nonjudgmental, and nonattached. These can help reduce anticipatory anxiety, distress in social situations, and negative self-evaluations.
What are 3 coping strategies for anxiety?
- Practicing mindfulness involves redirecting to the present moment, letting go of unhelpful thoughts, and non-judgmentally observing body sensations and thoughts.
- Asking yourself, “What is the realistic threat?” can help reduce anxiety that is out of proportion to actual threat posed by the feared social situation.
- Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and yoga can all help reduce stress levels associated with Social Anxiety Disorder.
Overcoming social anxiety can be a difficult process, but with the right tools and support, it is certainly possible. Identifying the causes of your anxiety and its triggers, learning and practicing coping skills, and consulting a specialist are all critical steps in conquering social anxiety. Fear doesn’t have to stop you from achieving the life that you want, and getting professional help may be the first step in doing just that. One free way to do that is to match with a therapist through Mental Health Match, which allows you to choose therapists who specialize in things like social anxiety.
