How To Get Rid Of Social Anxiety
For people with social anxiety disorder, interacting with others in social situations can bring intense fear and anxiety and can lead to avoiding such situations altogether. This discomfort can cause significant distress and disrupt your life in a variety of ways.
However, there may be several ways to manage anxiety symptoms related to such situations. For example, you might lean on the people you trust, attend a support group for those with social phobia, give yourself small challenges and celebrate your wins, and show yourself kindness and compassion.
Online therapy can also be a helpful tool to connect with a licensed therapist who can teach you additional skills for managing social anxiety.
Understanding social anxiety disorder
In general, social anxiety disorder (SAD), also called social phobia, isn’t just shyness or occasional nervousness, which can be perfectly normal in some situations. It is often defined as an intense fear of social situations and being judged by others. As defined by the American Psychological Association, SAD may be an anxiety disorder characterized by “extreme and persistent social anxiety or performance anxiety […] that causes significant distress or prevents participation in social activities.” Individuals with social anxiety disorder may avoid the situations or social anxiety triggers that cause this fear, or they may handle the situations but endure extreme discomfort.
Prevalence of social anxiety disorder
If you have social anxiety disorder, please know that you are not alone. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, social anxiety disorder may affect around 15 million adults in the U.S.
In addition, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 12.1% of U.S. adults may experience the disorder at some point in their lives.
Symptoms of social anxiety disorder
Some of the signs and symptoms of social anxiety disorder can include:
Physical symptoms, such as sweating, blushing, nausea, trembling, muscle tension, rapid heart rate, and dizziness when interacting with others
Having a rigid body posture and finding it difficult to make eye contact when socializing
Fearing being judged
Being overly self-conscious
Over-analyzing performance after social interactions
Avoiding social gatherings, situations that lead to confrontation, or situations where you are the center of attention, which can lead to negative consequences
Having a difficult time starting conversations and being very afraid of talking to strangers
Although some symptoms may vary, the central feature of SAD tends to be the persistent fear of social interactions.
How to get rid of social anxiety: Tips to overcome social anxiety disorder
Living with social anxiety disorder can feel very challenging and isolating at times, but there may be ways to manage it and find relief. Included below are a few tips as you consider how to get rid of social anxiety:
1. Lean on people you trust to build confidence
If you have social anxiety disorder, you don’t necessarily have to handle it all on your own. While asking for help can take courage, it may make a huge difference. Consider confiding in someone you trust and asking them for help with anxiety-provoking situations. For instance, you might ask if they could:
Join you for a social event
Accompany you to seek professional help
Go with you to group therapy
Simply be there for you to talk with and have a nice time together
If you have people in your life that you feel comfortable with, it may help to spend more time with them and let them know you might need a little support sometimes. Spending more time with people you trust may also help you build self-esteem and feel more at ease in other anxiety-inducing situations.
2. Join a support group to overcome fear of people
Some people with social anxiety disorder may benefit from joining a support group. There can often be something comforting and helpful about connecting with other people who are experiencing similar challenges. Sometimes, this may help you to not feel so alone as you listen to interesting stories of others who experience this disorder. Plus, working alongside others as they make progress may give you hope and motivation on your own journey. This can also feel like a safe place to say concerns and ask for help.
While being in a room full of strangers may at first be very anxiety-inducing, it may help to remember that many of them likely feel the same way. Having the courage to go to a meeting or several can be a positive step in the right direction.
3. Start small and celebrate your wins
Navigating social situations with social anxiety disorder can be very overwhelming, but it’s generally not necessary to tackle your anxiety all at once. It may be helpful to start small and then consistently recognize your successes.
For instance, you could start by trying to speak up a little more in work meetings, make small talk with the cashier when picking up your coffee, or say hello to a new neighbor. Then, however small or large the win may be, be sure to give yourself some praise for the effort you put in and celebrate yourself. This may help you build confidence over time and recognize the progress you’re making.
4. Be kind to yourself
It can be frustrating when social situations feel so difficult, but try to remember to be kind to yourself. Progress often takes time, and social anxiety disorder is generally not just shyness, but an anxiety disorder that can cause serious disruptions to your life.
Try to show yourself kindness and compassion, and try not to hold yourself to unrealistic expectations or put yourself under unfair pressure. Plus, being unfairly hard on yourself if you “make a mistake” in a social situation may worsen your anxiety. Strive to give yourself grace and patience as you move forward.
5. Seek therapy treatment for social anxiety
If you have social anxiety disorder, you may consider seeking professional treatment. Common treatments for social anxiety disorder usually include psychological and pharmacological interventions. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can frequently be used as an effective treatment for anxiety.
With CBT, a therapist usually helps the patient examine and challenge negative thoughts that may be underlying their condition. Sessions can also involve learning coping skills, such as relaxation exercises, so that when the person starts feeling anxious, they can cope with it more effectively. In other situations, a therapist may use exposure therapy as a way to help someone reduce their fear in social situations.
Overcome fear and boost confidence through therapy
Individuals with social anxiety disorder may feel afraid or intimidated to go to a new place and interact with strangers in an office in order to attend therapy. In these cases, online therapy can be especially beneficial. It can empower you to meet with a mental health professional from anywhere you have an internet connection, including the comfort of your home—so you don’t need to leave your house if you don’t want to.
Research has shown that online therapy can be an effective option for individuals with social anxiety disorder and other anxiety disorders. For instance, a 2022 study reported that online therapy generally showed strong efficacy for the treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Also, a systematic review published in 2020 found that internet-based CBT had a “significantly positive effect on patients with SAD.”
Takeaway
Can you develop social anxiety later in life?
Signs of social anxiety can appear in late childhood and may initially resemble extreme shyness or avoidance of social interactions. While most people who develop this mental illness experience clinically significant symptoms by age 20, it is possible to develop it later in life.
Does social anxiety affect your speech?
If you feel especially anxious, your physiological stress response may make you stumble through sentences in front of others—sometimes to the point of making you question your social skills. Additionally, if you drink alcohol to cope with your anxiety in social situations, the alcohol can slur or slow your speech. It may help to speak with a coach to practice public speaking and learn to use relaxation techniques in social situations.
Can social anxiety disorder be self-diagnosed?
Only a professional can diagnose mental health conditions, so it would be inaccurate to assume that you have an anxiety disorder just because you get nervous about public speaking, for instance. But you can still watch out for troublesome symptoms and discuss them with such a professional if they become intrusive in your daily life.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual spells out specific diagnostic criteria for all mental disorders, including social anxiety disorder. For example, fear, avoidance, or anxiety must be present for at least six months and must not be due to the effects of a medical condition or substance use. Some symptoms of social anxiety disorder, like rapid heart rate, sweating, dizziness, or shortness of breath, can be signs of other medical conditions. Your doctor may want to perform a physical exam to rule out any other causes of your symptoms. For these reasons, you should talk to your doctor or a mental health professional if you feel you are experiencing symptoms of social anxiety disorder or other mental health conditions.
How do you get rid of social anxiety?
Whether or not your disorder will completely go away is highly individual, but you can try the following treatments to make it more likely:
Lead a healthy lifestyle
Engage in physical exercise, get enough sleep, and eat nutritious food to build a solid foundation for mental wellness.
Tend to your self-esteem
You might build confidence by practicing a skill or strengthening an attribute you like about yourself. This confidence can counteract the incorrect, negative assumptions that social anxiety might make you believe.
Practice mindfulness meditation
By engaging in mindfulness meditation, you may find that you can stay in the present moment and not get lost in thoughts about what others might be thinking. With consistent practice, you might not feel anxious as often in social settings.
Consider medication
Prescription anti-anxiety medications, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are typically prescribed when someone’s anxiety is persistent and doesn’t respond to non medication methods or is quite severe. Other medications to treat social anxiety disorder include serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, beta-blockers, and benzodiazepines.
Visit a therapist
Most anxiety disorders improve when working with a mental health specialist, especially if you aren’t comfortable turning to a friend or family member. Visiting a therapist who has experience treating social anxiety disorder can help you work through your feelings and develop effective coping strategies. Talk therapy can help you gain confidence and learn relaxation skills and other coping techniques to manage challenging situations more effectively.
How do you reduce social anxiety?
Multiple techniques may help with overcoming generalized social anxiety. Some treatment options may include practicing self-care and mindfulness meditation to support your overall mental health, working with a therapist to improve self-confidence and learn coping skills to manage anxiety symptoms, or taking medication under the guidance of a physician. You may also consider looking for support groups, either online or in-person, in your area.
Why am I so socially anxious?
If you experience significant anxiety about social interactions in your everyday life, you may be experiencing symptoms of social anxiety disorder. According to the American Psychiatric Association, someone with social anxiety disorder has significant anxiety about being humiliated, embarrassed, or judged negatively in social interactions.
This condition is more severe than occasional nerves and can cause problems with daily functioning, including avoiding social situations or phone calls, and affect personal relationships with friends and family members. If you think you may be experiencing symptoms of social anxiety disorder, consider reaching out to a mental health professional for support. A trained therapist can help you overcome any self consciousness you may have and learn coping skills to manage symptoms when they arise.
Will my social anxiety ever get better?
Social anxiety can get better for some people as they get older, but for many, it does not go away on its own. Treatment for overcoming social anxiety can help people learn to manage this condition.
One type of treatment that can be effective and has been referred to as the “gold standard of therapy” for this condition is exposure therapy. In this form of treatment, you will work with your therapist and gradually work through a series of exposures to things that trigger your fears. For example, if you have problems with public speaking, you may start by reading a speech out loud in a room by yourself, then recording audio of yourself reading it, and then video. Then, you can progress to making the speech in front of a single person, and then a small group of people, and so on, until you can manage speaking in front of a larger group.
What is the main cause of social anxiety?
Experts do not know for sure what causes social anxiety disorder, but risk factors for this condition may include genetics, stress, and other environmental factors and certain social situations, including parenting style, insecure attachment, emotional abuse or neglect, sexual or physical abuse, bullying, or social rejection.
What worsens social anxiety?
Multiple things can worsen social anxiety. For example, poor sleep can worsen symptoms of anxiety. Some studies show that people with social anxiety disorder may have higher rates of sleep problems. Creating a sleep routine and avoiding screen time later in the day may help.
Substance misuse, including alcohol, caffeine, and some recreational drugs, can also worsen anxiety. While some people may use some of these substances as a way to lessen their social anxiety, they may cause anxiety or worsen it over time.
Can social anxiety be cured?
Some people may find that their social anxiety improves as they get older, while others can see significant improvements with treatment. Some common treatments for social anxiety disorder include medication and psychotherapy. There are also some self help techniques that can help, including mindfulness meditation and prioritizing sleep.
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