Coping with Criticism if You Suffer from Socially Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder is rooted in the chronic fear of being negatively judged or insulted. If you’re suffering from the low self esteem that partners social phobia then criticism always seems spiteful and upsetting because it triggers your self punishing, painful thoughts.

However, there shouldn’t be any reason for you to live in chronic fear of barbed comments if you can teach yourself how to respond objectively, and even be able to disarm insults like a master swordsman when they occur.

The isolation brought upon by social anxiety is normally partnered by depression and low self esteem. When you’re feeling rotten and worthless your thought patterns and emotions are shrouded in gloom by the black clouds that follow you around. This means that whenever anybody says anything degrading you’re likely to exaggerate its significance, take it to heart and incorrectly think it means you’re a worthless person.

How cognitive behavioural therapy can help

Thinking negatively and exaggerating the significance of the things people say is a thinking error brought upon by your depression, which prevents you from interpreting what people say in a realistic, objective manner.

Cognitive behavioural therapy teaches you how to identify the negative beliefs and thinking errors that make you get upset whenever you’re criticised. You can then learn to recognise unhelpful thinking errors when they occur and replace them with more positive, realistic thoughts.

This obviously sounds a lot easier said than done, and it can take many months to start changing the way you automatically think and feel. However, it has been clinically proven that it can be done, and CBT provides you with a goal orientated framework for overcoming your social anxiety a step at a time.

Once you’re able to assess the things people say more objectively you’ll then be able to apply a more logical approach to criticism and not take it so personally.

Learn how to interpret comments objectively

If there is an element of truth to someone’s comments then you should use it as an opportunity to learn about your mistakes and how you can correct your behaviour. You’re only human after all and will always make mistakes from time to time. And because you’re human you also constantly developing, so criticism can sometimes give you a few pointers to show you how to grow as a person.

On the other hand, if after assessing criticism objectively you think somebody is just being rude or insulting then their comments shouldn’t have the power to upset you. Why should you feel hurt or devalued because of somebody else’s mistake in judgement?

Remember that it’s not the things people say that can make you feel upset – it’s how you interpret them.

How to handle insults

In Dr David D. Burns’ ‘Feeling Good’ (a global bestseller which has shifted over three million copies) he teaches an ’empathy and disarming’ technique for responding to insults without hurling them back or running home to hide under your bed covers.

Firstly, you have to emphasise with your attacker – objectively assess why they are attacking you. What is the basis for their barbed comments?

By listening and asking for clarification on why they are being insulting, you can calm them down by letting them know that you are listening and can prevent the situation escalating into full scale warfare.

Using empathy is an opportunity to understand if there is any basis to the insults, or if the attacker is just being offensive.

The next stage is to use the ‘disarming technique’ to defuse the situation without losing your temper or losing face. Simply find a way to agree with an aspect of what your attacker is saying, whether you believe it or not, and that way you can disarm their barbed thrusts with the skill of musketeer:

Attacker: ‘You’re a loser.”

You: “Well, I certainly make mistakes sometimes and I’m not the greatest sportsman. There’s certainly areas in which I could improve, but doesn’t everybody.”

Attacker: “You’re a skinny, stupid waster with nothing to offer anybody.”

You: “Yes I could certainly do with putting on some weight, I’m not going to be the world’s next Einstein and I could certainly apply myself better. But I have skills in other areas, just as everybody does, and I have lots to offer the people around me.”

By agreeing, if only partially, with their line of attack you simply take the air out of their sails and divert them from the collision course you’d be heading for if you were to fight fire with fire.

You feel the way that you think, so learn to change your negative thoughts

Being able to identify your positive attributes, rather than kick yourself over your weaknesses, is another skill taught by cognitive behavioural therapy, and is useful in being able to respond objectively to criticism and not take what people say to heart.

The key is to be able to react based on facts, rather than let disagreements deteriorate into name calling or a humiliating retreat.

With practice in learning how to respond in a more realistic, objective manner, you’ll find that the risk of criticism will no longer seem so terrifying, and your social anxiety will recede as a result.

Photo courtesy of Nika

Originally posted 2008-04-21 15:23:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1oLoGHd
via IFTTT

How Can I Do a Test for Social Anxiety Disorder?

Over the last few decades recognition of social anxiety disorder has grown rapidly. No longer is it seen as just a case of someone being over sensitive, too shy or introverted, but a recognised and diagnosable condition. But as with all anxiety disorders, it can be difficult to test for social phobia without clear guidance from a doctor or a psychiatrist.

It’s not like having a fever, when you can just check someone’s temperature or their physical symptoms. What’s more, social anxiety disorder can be a complex condition, with symptoms that can very in severity dramatically between individuals. Some people might just prefer to avoid going to parties and speaking in front of people they don’t know, while others might struggle to leave their house altogether due to the fear of negative stares.

Thankfully, a social anxiety disorder test was devised by Dr Michael R. Liebowitz, a psychiatrist and researcher at Columbia University, New York. First devised in 1987, his social anxiety disorder test continues to be the most widely used and recognised method of diagnosing the condition. Studies have shown it to be an efficient and cost effective way for people to test for social anxiety disorder so they can then progress towards beginning a process of treating the inaccurate, underlying thoughts that drive it.

What is the social anxiety disorder test?

The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Disorder Test consists of 24 questions designed to assess the scale at which social phobia affects your life based on an overall score of its severity. Thirteen of the questions focus on performance related anxiety, such as speaking on a phone in public or talking to someone in authority, while eleven deal with social situations, such as going to a party or speaking in a meeting.

After completing all the questions you are then given a score out of 144. If your score is high, and you are classified in the more severe categories, the important thing is to not feel down and depressed. The fact is that, as with all diagnosable conditions, social anxiety disorder can be treated.

With a diagnosis comes treatment

If you think you might be suffering from social anxiety disorder, the wisest thing to do is to visit a medical professional, whether it’s a doctor or a psychotherapist. They can give you a professional diagnosis along with advice on the best course of action to reduce your symptoms to the level where social anxiety disorder no longer gets in the way of living a fulfilling life.

If your social anxiety is fairly mild, it could be that all you may need to do is to start making some lifestyle changes, such as taking up new hobbies that give you a sense of achievement and boost your esteem as well as provide you with healthier interactions with other people. In more severe cases, where social anxiety disorder is causing you to feel depressed and is adversely affecting your life, then seeing a cognitive behavioural therapist along with a course of medication might be advisable.

So it’s wise to consult a medical professional, whether it’s a doctor or a psychiatrist, for a diagnosis and advice if your anxious thoughts and feelings are getting in the way of your ability to enjoy a happy, fulfilling life.

Originally posted 2013-06-04 14:19:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/17Ti5EX
via IFTTT

Stanford Study finds the ‘Fear Center’ in Children that May Contribute to Social Anxiety as they Grow Up

Living in fear and excessive self consciousness is no way to live. Especially if you are just a kid. It’s hard to go through life and achieve your dreams if you were always anxious and calculated in every decision you make. Children are like delicate flowers that can easily be swayed and blown away by the force of nature. They tend to grow into their fears and not outgrow out of them.

Anxiety is a common mental health problem affecting many children and adolescents today. But the good thing is, it is a treatable condition. A new study from the Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine says that kids with anxieties, like social anxiety, have larger amygdale or what’s better known as “fear center” – a set of neurons located deeply in the brain’s medial temporal lobe. They have conducted the research involving 76 children among the ages of seven and nine years old, a period where the researchers can accurately identify the anxiety levels of the children.

But some agencies and organizations are skeptical about the cause and effect of the new study. However, this is good news for parents who have children who suffer from excessive fears and anxiety. The study may be a breakthrough for identifying in advance social anxiety disorder risks for children.

I for one have my own fair share of anxieties as a kid. I know people who have dealt with social anxieties growing up and most of them were saying that if only they have open up more to their parents as a child. They could have spared the burden of what social anxiety have cost their lives all throughout adolescence and adulthood. As parents, we should be the one responsible in giving our children the quality of life they deserve. We should be in more careful watch of our children’s behavior and how they respond to those around them. Identifying the symptoms of anxiety as early as possible and finding effective treatments is always the best way to give your children a full and happy life.

Originally posted 2014-07-10 22:02:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1xZM4Ge
via IFTTT

YouTube Videos on Social Anxiety Disorder

Vladimir has recently overtaken the Shy and Quiet blog if you’d like to read a personal account on getting to grips with overcoming social anxiety. He’s also bravely posted some videos onto YouTube, which you might  find helpful, in which he discusses the causes of his problem and his determination to overcome them.

Whilst on YouTube I also stumbled upon this video featuring a former sufferer who has managed to overcome his social anxiety by realising why certain situations made him feel uncomfortable and then learning what he needed to do to overcome his social phobia.

I hope you find the videos useful, and you might also like to read some of the comments underneath to remind yourself that you’re not alone and that social anxiety is more common than you might think.

Originally posted 2009-02-07 19:55:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1lk4Ims
via IFTTT

Is There a Chimp Causing Your Unhelpful Thoughts?

BBC radio show The Daily Bacon recently featured an interview with sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters about his new book ‘The Chimp Paradox’.

Dr Peters has helped the British Olympic Cycling Team to improve their mental processes and has worked with hospital patients suffering from depression and other mental health issues for 20 years. So when he shares his insights on how you can improve your thought processes and quality of life, you tend to listen.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking here (or right clicking and downloading), and then fast forwarding to 20 mins 40 seconds (after an interview with Simon Mayo). The reason I’m writing about this is because of the parallels between what he describes as the ‘chimp’ part of the brain and the unhelpful, negative and irrational thoughts that cause social anxiety.

It’s the chimp that causes impulsive and inaccurate thoughts and reactions

Dr Peters describes the brain (based on a simplification of clinical research) as having three parts:

1)      The human front – our rational thoughts and how we’d like to feel and behave
2)      The chimp – our irrational thoughts that cause us to think and behave in an unhelpful manner i.e. feel anxious in social situations
3)       The computer – all the knowledge and experience we’ve accumulated over our lives

It’s the chimp part that causes us to react impulsively to situations before our rational part kicks in. And research shows that social anxiety is caused by irrational and unhelpful thoughts that are rooted in our fight or flee mechanism. So to reduce your anxiety, you need to be able to counter the chimp part of your brain.

Dr Peters doesn’t go into details on how you can do this on the podcast, other than that his model incorporates elements of cognitive behavioural therapy. I haven’t read the book (I managed to beat my social anxiety a few years ago through a combination of CBT, exercise, living a more active lifestyle and taking up social hobbies which involved interaction with other people), but it gets a five star rating based on 39 reviews on Amazon. You can find out more by clicking here (yes, it’s an affiliate link, but I only recommend products I genuinely believe cam help you).

The podcast also features a clip of former England rugby international player Brian Moore (skip to 30 mins 50 seconds) talking about his inner golumn, which used to cause him to suffer from negative thoughts but it’s a voice he’s now learned to ignore.

‘Don’t engage your inner golumn on a long, fruitless discussion you can never win’

When I first started on my journey to beat social anxiety I had no idea it was even a treatable condition until I started researching it on the web (and when I visited a doctor they just put me straight on medication!).

But there seems to be a growing understanding amongst psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals on the fact that its inaccurate, unhelpful and irrational thoughts that cause issues like social anxiety disorder, and as such they need to be challenged or simply ignored.

Originally posted 2012-03-16 17:11:03. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1aDgv9t
via IFTTT

Can Botox Treat Social Anxiety and Depression? Or is it Just a Temporary Fix?

Botox is used to medically treat muscular conditions and cosmetically remove wrinkles by paralyzing the muscles. But the question is, how can it cure depression? Dr. Eric Finzi, a Maryland dermatologist, has suggested it could be used to treat depression. In his study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research,  Dr. Finzi observed a reported 52 percent reduction in depressed patients injected with Botox, compared to 15 percent in the ones who received the saline placebo. One of his patients who had undergone the Botox treatment revealed that the paralyzing effect of the Botox on her facial muscles enabled her to lightheartedly approach every problems she comes to face, making her feel less happy and unaffected with those people who surround her.

With smiling alone believed to improve happiness and reduce social anxiety, it could be that Botox also helps by numbing the muscles in the brows that create expressions of sadness, anger and fear. But making your outside expression seem joyful doesn’t really reflect what you feel deep inside. After a while the effects of the drugs subside and let you go back to your old self, as the paralyzing effect of the drugs on your face began to wear off and you start to feel the other half of your face.

Depression is a mixture of sad feelings that you feel inside you. Botox may help you cover up for your real emotions but it doesn’t erase those depressive feelings. That feeling of worthlessness will still remain and after four months when the Botox effect has all gone you are back to your old depressed self again. There is no short cut in treating depression.

Instead, deal with your depressing realistically; acknowledge the things that are failing you. Make a daily schedule of what you want to accomplish for the entire day. Exercise and eat healthily as regular exercise seems to encourage the brain to re focused in a more positive way, which also helps to reduce social anxiety .

Take responsibility and challenge those negative thoughts in your head. Depression is a mental state, if you can devise a way to shift your negative thoughts into something positive and life enriching  then there you can achieve a happy and fulfilling life ahead of you.

 

 

Originally posted 2014-07-17 11:03:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1mPyGRJ
via IFTTT

‘Social Viagra’ anti-social anxiety disorder drug announced

In the news recently a new anti-anxiety drug was announced that uses oxytocin hormones released by mothers when they bond with their newborn babies. The results of trials appear to be encouraging, with 120 patients reported to be relieved of their social anxiety within half an hour.

The report also highlights how millions of people suffer from shyness or social anxiety in the UK. One in ten say it affects their daily lives, with many seeking refuge in drink and illegal drugs to try and alleviate the symptoms.

There have been plenty of false dawns in the promises of drugs that can cure people of their anxiety. However, If ‘social viagra’ proves to be as effective as is being reported then it can certainly help soften the uncomfortable  feelings of anxiety, and make learning how to change the way you think and feel that little bit easier.

I (along with many psychologists and doctors) don’t think that the long-term approach to overcoming social anxiety is in pill form. Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches you how to identify the uncomfortable thoughts that cause your anxiety, realize they’re illogical and then how to adopt more helpful, objective ways of thinking and feeling.

CBT isn’t a magic bullet (unlike the promises made by many drug companies). But it has clinically proven to be effective for thousands of people who have struggled with anxiety, depression or both.

On a brighter note, it’s fascinating to think that an anti-anxiety drug could be used to make people more generous, to create a soothing atmosphere in restauarants or to replace tear gas for riot control.

Originally posted 2008-06-23 14:06:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1fJuRtM
via IFTTT

What Causes Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic and Fear of Strangers?

If you suffer from social anxiety then the fear of what people think can sometimes be overwhelming. Simple activities like walking into a crowded room or sitting near a group of strangers can be enough to set off your alarm bells and cause you to panic. Because you’re convinced people are judging you and talking about you. In the worst case scenario you might hear someone laugh, which of course you think is aimed at you.

If this sounds familiar then you’re not alone. Literally millions of people around the world suffer from social anxiety and panic in uncomfortable situations. It’s estimated that 10% will suffer social anxiety at some stage in their life.

Why do I suffer anxiety and fear of strangers?

There are believed to be a few reasons why you might have developed social anxiety and the fear of people you don’t know. The main causes are believed to be rooted in your childhood: growing up with anxious or overly critical parents; or bullied or neglected as a child.

The low self esteem these experiences can cause can mean that you’re always looking to win the approval of others. This in turn makes you feel anxious because you’re constantly worrying about what people think and whether they’ll reject you.

Can social anxiety be overcome?

Social anxiety is believed to be the third most common psychiatric disorder, after depression and alcoholism, and in recent years extensive studies have been conducted into its causes and effects. With a diagnosis comes treatment, and thousands of people have learned to overcome their anxiety and panic through a combination of:

• cognitive behavioural therapy (which teaches you how to replace your uncomfortable thoughts with more helpful ways of thinking)
• exercise
• relaxation techniques
• being more active
• medication (a magic bullet doesn’t exist for social anxiety. But a doctor can prescribe drugs that will take the edge off your sense of panic in social situations to help you change the way you think and behave and overcome your anxiety in the long term)

There’s an abundance of information to help you pacify your panic

When I’ve (finally) finished my Overcoming Social Anxiety eBook it will provide an overview of cognitive behavioural therapy and practical exercises you can use to gradually change the way you think and behave. And there’s already a wealth of information available in books and on the web to help you understand what social anxiety is and what strategies you can use to overcome its symptoms.

A particularly useful site (directed to by Ileana at the Beating Social Anxiety blog) is about.com’s Social Anxiety Disorder site. There’s plenty of informative articles on here to get you started in understanding your condition, and to help you realise that you’re not alone in experiencing panic in social situations.

Originally posted 2008-07-24 13:43:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1iPaCJB
via IFTTT

Creating Your Campaign For Overcoming Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder is a difficult problem to overcome. But not impossible.

Once you’ve accepted that it’s inaccurate thoughts causing you to feel anxious you can start working on changing them. Because changing the way you think will change the way you feel.

My advice would be to look at it as a long term campaign you’ll need to engage, rather than hoping for a short term ‘miracle’ cure from medication.

Here’s my suggestion for steps your campaign to defeat social anxiety could take:

1. Read as much as you can about social anxiety disorder

Luckily, it’s no longer an unknown problem, and there are plenty of websites and books on the subject.

I can personally recommend these books:

Overcoming Social Anxiety – Gillian Butler

Feeling Good  – Dr David D. Burns

The Dummies Guide to Social Phobia  – Rob Wilson and Rhena Branch

2. Talk to your friends and family about it

Not easy I know, but confiding in someone else and explaining why you sometimes feel overly nervous will help release some of the pressure on yourself. They might also be able to help and will be more understanding when you start feeling anxious in social situations.

3. Take up new hobbies and be more active

Filling you life with new interests can give you more of a sense of fulfillment, satisfaction and self confidence. Humans are inherently doers, and lying in bed all day hiding under the bedcovers will simply make you feel worse in the long run and prevents you overcoming your problem. If you don’t feel comfortable joining local sports teams or special interest clubs then take up a hobby you can work on at home, such as a new musical instrument, reading or teaching yourself how to cook delicious gourmet dishes.

4. Exercise

I can’t emphasise how effective regular exercise can be at relieving anxiety. I’d recommend jogging for half and hour everyday if you can manage it, otherwise just go for a stroll or exercise at home (press ups, situps etc). Getting in shape will boost your confidence, help you be more active and there’s truth in the old adage ‘a healthy body means a healthy mind’.

5. Gradually expose yourself to the situations that make you feel nervous

Although this can be a struggle, this is the strategy recommended by cognitive therapists for gradaully overcoming the inaccurate physical and mental symptoms of social anxiety. Write a list of the situations your afraid of. Put them in order from the least scary to the terrifying worst and then gradually try to work through them, exposing yourself for a little bit longer each time.

At the end of the day, you’ll need to find your own path to overcoming social anxiety. But always remember that you can learn to change the way you think. And changing the way you think will change the way you feel, and behave.

Originally posted 2009-03-25 18:16:26. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1lre2bu
via IFTTT

New Study Highlights Benefits of Exercise for Helping Treat Social Anxiety

Yet again, studies and research have proven the how relaxation activities, such as yoga and work out exercises, help in the treatment of social anxiety. The research was published in the journal PLOS ONE and headed by Adam Heenan, a clinical psychology PHD candidate at Queens University in Canada. Heenan said that workout and relaxation exercises are able to change people’s perception of the world, thus reducing threatening and negative feelings.

The participants in the study were between the age of 17 to 29, which composed of both male and female. They give no information on their state of mental health at the time of the study and their level of social anxiety was solely assessed by some of the tests the Heenan’s given them.

The test asked participants to view a point-light display of a person walking and asked whether the figure was approaching them or not. A lot of them said that the figure was walking towards them. Heenan concluded that this was a sign of social anxiety and intimidation, with rates higher before their relaxation exercises than after.

“We found that people who either walked or jogged on a treadmill for 10 minutes perceived these ambiguous figures as facing towards them as the observer less often that those who simply stood on the treadmill,” says Heenan.

As a person who had suffered the stigma of social anxiety disorder motivating one’s self to do a simple exercise is a challenge itself. Everyday, I always promise myself to do an hour of jogging the next morning. But when I wake up the next day, I feel unenthusiastic and anxious that I might see my high school friends, an old crush or even my neighbor’s scrutinizing eyes. It’s hard to convince myself that it’s all good and that every uncomfortable thoughts were just in my head.

But when you manage to change those negative thoughts into positive ones then nothing is impossible. Any means of exercise is good for the body, soul and mind. When I started to take control of myself and took care of my health I found new goals and aspiration to live with.

Originally posted 2014-07-22 13:32:06. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1p5M1Cb
via IFTTT

7 Tips for Reducing Anxiety and Social Phobia

Everyone gets stressed at times. Whether it’s at home, the office, in the streets or just commuting home, there are things that can make you feel stressed everywhere. When you get stressed it spikes your blood pressure, lowering your body’s defenses and ability to stay calm, which can cause feelings of anxiety and social phobia.

However, you don’t have to go to a spa or a weekend retreat to relieve all the stress in your body to stay calm. You can be your own stress-busting reliever. All you have to do is learn is how to spot what’s making you feel stressed  and stay in control when you feel pressure rising.

Here are some quick tips for reducing anxiety, which can in turn reduce social phobia through lightening your mood and giving you a clearer perspective on things:

1. Meditate

Multiple research studies have found that daily meditation can alter the brain’s neural pathways. This can make you more resilient to stress and just a few minutes of meditating each day can help reduce anxiety. There are many great meditation apps you can download on your smartphones that can guide you through a meditation.

2. Deep Breathing

Just by taking a 5 minute break and focusing on breathing deeply is a powerful anxiety-reducing technique. This is because it activates the body’s relaxation response.

“Try slowly inhaling to a count of 4, filling your belly first and then your chest, gently holding your breath to a count of 4, and slowly exhaling to a count of 4 and repeat several times” as suggested by Marla W. Deibler, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and director of The Center for Emotional Health of Greater Philadelphia, LLC.

3. Be Present

Focus on what’s happening in the moment when you feel stressed. When we are anxious we tend to think ahead and stress out on the uncomforting thoughts on what might happen in the future. You need to check whether this is what is making you feel anxious and slow down. When you spend time in the moment and focus on your senses, you naturally feel less tense and more calm.

4. Reach Out

Be more open about how you feel at the moment to your siblings, friends, parents or any of the closest people that you trust and you can draw support from. Your real life social network is one of your best sources of support to help you handle stress and anxiety better.

5. Laugh Out Loud

As they say, ‘laughter is the best medicine’. Laughter is a good anxiety reliever, it also raises feel good hormones which serve as a strong counterbalance to anxiety and depression. The best way to use laughter as a stress and anxiety reliever is sharing those joyful and humorous situations with friends and family. You can arrange a weekend gathering at your place and binge watch your favorite shows or have a movie marathon. Sharing fun times with friends is one of the most effective ways to counter low thoughts that can make you feel anxious.

6. Get Moving

Exercise is an excellent stress and anxiety reliever. It helps lighten your mood and release feel good endorphins that give you a new perspective on things. You don’t have to stick to a stiff exercise regimen in order to get moving or become a gym bunny. You can use the stairs instead of the elevator, walk or jog around your block during weekends or walk your dog to your nearest park. Get out and enjoy your local surroundings instead of sulking in your bedroom or slumped in front of the TV all day.

7. Be Grateful

No matter how your day turns out, there are always positive things that you can be grateful for. Keep a gratitude journal to remind yourself that life is not that bad at all and there are a lot of things to be thankful for.

As wellness coach Joni Emmerling puts it, “Being thankful of all your blessings keeps out the negative thoughts and worries.”

Originally posted 2014-09-19 22:44:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1wxljrQ
via IFTTT

The Advantages of Being Shy if You Suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder

[Image courtesy of andy_c]

If you suffer from shyness then you might daydream about swaggering into a party and captivating an audience with your witty anecdotes and smooth one liners. Whilst being confident and attracting attention has its advantages, you shouldn’t discount the qualities of being someone who holds back a little until you feel comfortable around strangers.

Being shy shouldn’t be something you’re ashamed of. But instead merely an aspect of your multifaceted personality.

If being shy or socially anxious is causing you problems then there are ways of overcoming it. But it’s not something you should think you have to be ‘cured’ of to be happy and attractive to others.

Polite and considerate

Shyness and anxiety are merely your body’s defensive mechanisms for staying alert to potential dangers. Whilst most learn to get used to the situations that made them shy as children, many people continue to feel bouts of anxiety as adults.

Being shy can get in the way when you meet people for the first time, and you just want to relax and be yourself. However, the flip side of the coin is that it also gives you the ability to evaluate situations before jumping straight in.

When you’re feeling shy, you might find yourself planning a route through the minefield of potential social mishaps. Whilst you should learn not to worry so much about exposing your weaknesses (which drives your fear of humiliation), the ability to be mindful of saying or doing the wrong thing can be a good thing.

Your efforts to not tread on anybody’s toes or cause offense means people will think you’re polite and considerate, whereas people who aren’t shy enough can  seem overpowering, pushy and self opinionated.

Being shy means you’re more likely to take the time to assess the appropriate thing is to say or do, rather than blunder into a dinner party, take someone else’s seat and then boast about your pay rise when someone else at the table has recently been fired.

Friendships based on quality rather than quantity

People who are shy are sometimes perceived as having an air of mystery about them, or hidden depths just waiting to be revealed. This can be an attractive quality. And can make people curious enough to try and break down your defensive walls to discover the real you.

The people with whom you form friendships will appreciate the confidence you’ve placed in them by letting your guard down. You in a turn are more likely to be a loyal and considerate friend. As a result the friendships you do form tend to have deeper roots and be longer lasting.

Whilst you might not always dominate the conversation. You’re likely to be an attentive listener and adept at asking the right questions, which is a valued characteristic in any relationship.

Independent, resourceful and thoughtful

Whether you consider yourself to be an introvert, shy or socially anxious, there’s a lot of positive skills you’ll have built up due to your personality type.

Spending a lot of time on your own can make you feel isolated. But it also means you’ve had to be self reliant and independent in pursuing your own interests and priorities. This resourcefulness can enable you to be more adept in looking after yourself, and less reliant on others to help you overcome life’s obstacles.

The anxiety of shyness might also mean you spend a lot of time pondering over situations – what went wrong, how it could have gone better. Once you’ve learnt how to assess life’s episodes objectively, you can learn to divert your thoughtfulness to better use by thinking through events more clearly and planning how you’ll approach them better in the future.

Mental strength

Being shy might (at the moment) be causing you problems in life and making everyday activities difficult, such as being assertive at working, dating or interacting with strangers in the street.

But there’s a proven, goal orientated approach to overcoming social anxiety in the form of cognitive behavioural therapy. CBT teaches you first to accept your shyness and then how to reduce it so it doesn’t inhibit your enjoyment of life.

And the sense of achievement, mental strength and improved ability to cope with life’s demands is perhaps the biggest long-term benefit of all from accepting your anxious feelings and taking steps to overcome them.

Originally posted 2008-06-18 13:52:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/TL4JHp
via IFTTT

Overcoming Social Anxiety Tips – 7 Ways to Say ‘No!’ to Negativity

Social anxiety can be a difficult chain to break out of. While direct causes can vary, typically it’s a negative way of thinking that can cause the sense of low self-esteem and lack of self confidence that drives it.

It was not so long ago that I realized how negativity hinders my own self-growth. I became so insecure, I even questioned my purpose; I was afraid to set goals because I was afraid to fail, and thus I lacked direction in life.

This was until I realized I need to do something to get my life back on track. I began to focus only on good ways of thinking and behaving to attract positive responses. I cleaned up my negative thoughts and instead instilled positive vibes towards myself. It was hard at first, but gradually I noticed the difference within myself. I learned that social anxiety, and life in general, becomes easier to live with if you shift your attitude into a positive light and make a habit of saying “No!” to negativity.

The following are some negativity reducing tips that will help you discard those negative feelings and thoughts that can drive social phobia, which will eventually lead to a fuller and brighter life ahead of you.

1. Set rational goals

They always say that “If you want to dream, dream big and if your dream does not scare you maybe it is not big enough”. There is nothing wrong with dreaming big, but sometimes it is impossible to attain larger than life goals when the intimidate you. You have to break them down to pieces and set up some strategies on how to move up the ladder little by little. That way you will be more motivated to continue reaching your goal once you have found the satisfaction by attaining the smaller goals first.

2. Turn problems into challenges

As what Arizona-based entrepreneur mentor Ali Brown said “Motion beats meditation.” Sometimes we get overwhelmed at the problem at hand and would question our ability to perform the task. When it comes to a point like this, it is better to view any obstacles as a challenge, like a game that you need to win over.

Self limitation is the main reason why most of us fail to meet our goals in life. It is useless to rehash inspiring quotes and post motivational words on your social media accounts when you yourself are even afraid to take a leap of faith.

3. Reset your default answer

I remember the movie “Yes, Man” where a character named Carl Allen played by Jim Carrey goes to a motivational “Yes!” seminar and made a covenant to stop being a “No Man” and vows to answer “Yes!” to every opportunity, request or invitation that presents itself thereafter.

It made me realize a lot of things and had me thinking, what if I adapt the same attitude? I was astounded on what I discovered. It made me more optimistic, confident, self assured, friendly and sociable. Stop saying “No” every time, instead you can default to “I’m not sure; give me a minute,” suggested by Lynette Louise, a neurofeedback therapist. This will help you think of it a bit longer and find a good reason to say yes before you say no.

4. Display that award

Surround yourself of physical reminders of positivity, it may come as proof of your past achievements, like trophies, certificates of recognition, your university diploma, photos of your family and loved ones.

5. Put your hands up!

According to a study conducted in 2012, between people who do “Power Poses” (e.g. leaning back in a chair with hands behind head) vs people who do low-power poses (e.g. standing with arms hugging chest and ankles crossed) tend to be more confident. This is believed to be because power poses boost confidence and can increase testosterone level than the lower-pose. This study is also used as a reference when athletes lose their confidence, which is why yoga coach Dana Santas always instructs athletes to hold the “mountain Pose with Arms Up”.

6. Detox from bad news.

I sometimes wonder why the evening news is full of negative headlines. I personally do not encounter that many bad things in my everyday waking life. Colene Eridge, a life coach in Lexington, Ky. suggests taking a break from the negativity that you encounter in daily life, whether it’s from those gruesome evening headlines or your whining neighbor. It doesn’t mean that you are avoiding them, it’s just making a choice of encouraging positive vibes and discarding the negative ones.

7. Wake up on the right side of the bed.

Ask yourself three “morning questions” when you wake that will let you focus on the day ahead and clear your head all of the negative thoughts the night before.

Try asking yourself these questions:

• What am I excited about doing today?
• Who can I encourage or serve today? (Get the focus off yourself)
• What am I grateful for?

Just think about all the things that make you excited by just visualizing them. You will be surprise how this simple exercise can change your perspective for the entire day.

Negative thinking clouds your thoughts and makes situations seem a lot worse than they are, which is a classic cause/symptom of social anxiety disorder. So try following these 7 tips in your daily life to see if they can help reduce your social phobia for good.

Originally posted 2014-11-03 20:03:09. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1tA5LEA
via IFTTT

Could Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Have Helped Kurt Cobain Overcome Social Anxiety Disorder?

Yesterday I watched the biopic ‘About a Son’ in which Kurt Cobain discusses his childhood, music career and views on life. An edited version of 25 hours of interview tapes recorded a year before he committed suicide, the film offers some insight into the negative thought patterns that seemed to be driving Kurt towards taking his own life.

From the film  I got the impression that Kurt exhibited many of the characteristics and symptoms of someone who suffers from social anxiety disorder.

Unhappy childhood

His childhood was blighted by an unaffectionate parent and problems at school from feeling isolated and bullied by the other kids. He comments how he used to feel constantly paranoid and threatened by other people, and even had thoughts of violence because of it.

If you suffer from a lack of affection, a difficulty to connect with other people and social awkwardness then this can lead to an irrational fear, distrust or hatred of other people in adult life. And it’s believed by psychotherapists that the underlying thought processes which lead to social anxiety disorder are formed by unhappy childhood experiences.

Kurt was known to be a recluse, withdrawn and rarely engaged with other people if he could avoid it, typical symptoms of someone who suffered from social phobia.

Kurt’s answer to his troubling thoughts and his chronic stomach pains was to self medicate with opiates and heroin, which would have offered temporary escape but exasperated his problems in the long run.

A life without hope?

Nobody really knows what drove someone who was wealthy, successful and had a baby girl to feel that life was so futile that suicide was the only escape from their misery. But it’s likely that it was his inability to overcome his troubling thought patterns that made his life seem so intolerable.

Now I’m not an expert on Kurt Cobain and haven’t read any of the books on his life, but from my perspective it seems that he could have benefited from cognitive behavioural therapy.

Social phobia and other social anxiety disorders are driven by irrational, negative thought patterns. If Kurt could have been helped to understand how it was the unhelpful childhood experiences driving his subconscious hatred of people and gloomy outlook on life then maybe he could have been directed onto another path.

You feel the way that you think

The way our brains respond to the world around us is a complex puzzle which psychologists and therapists are still making sense of.

But if the brain has been programmed to think in an unhelpful way because of a troubling childhood then, with practice and patience, it can be reprogrammed to think in a more, realistic and helpful manner.

Perhaps if Kurt had learned to challenge his negative thoughts and to replace them with more objective ways of thinking then he might still be with us today, and writing more optimistic songs filled with life and hope because of it.

Image courtesy of Buzzworthy

Originally posted 2008-12-08 17:14:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1l9iZFL
via IFTTT

8 Reasons Why Exercise Helps to Reduce Social Anxiety Disorder

We’re told all the time about the benefits of being active. Working out makes you fit, builds muscle and helps you maintain a healthy lifestyle. There have been countless studies on the advantages of exercise and what it can do for your body. In fact, many clinical psychologists use exercise as a key part of their treatment for depression, general anxiety and the more specific social anxiety disorder.

This is because research has proven that exercising on a regular basis may boost a depressed person’s outlook and thought processes by helping them adopt a meaningful activity that provides a sense of accomplishment. It can provide you with something worthwhile in your life and help raise your self worth as well as improve your self confidence. Better yet, it gives you a new perspective on how to approach your problems in a goal driven manner.

If you’re not already convinced of the benefits of exercise for overcoming social anxiety disorder, here are 8 reasons why exercise can make you feel better and reduce your social phobia as a result:

1. Reduce Stress

Perhaps the most common mental benefit of exercise is stress relief. If you are having a rough day, at home or in your office, then taking time out to exercise can work wonders. Whether you’re up to working out at the gym or would prefer to stroll through a quiet park, taking a break to exercise can help free your mind from the daily chaos of busy life. It’s believed that exercise increases norepinephrine, which is a chemical that can help the brain deal with stress more efficiently and focus better.

2. Boost Happy Chemicals

In severe cases, social anxiety disorder may be treated with antidepressant medication. However, some cases studies have shown that working out may be just as effective as antidepressant medication. A certain chemical called “dopamine” plays a huge role as a neurotransmitter in the brain that is required for feelings of pleasure and happiness, and the best way to increase dopamine production is to exercise.

3. Improve Self-Confidence

Having low self esteem will have a negative effect on all areas of our life. Your relationships are at risk as well as your career and your life aspirations. Working out helps you to feel better physically and mentally, and to develop the positive attitude and emotional stamina needed to take on personal goals and overcome the negative thoughts that drive social anxiety disorder.

4. Enjoy the Great Outdoors

If you don’t fancy going to a gym, then you can exercise in the great outdoors.  Instead of running on your treadmill, why not run a few laps around your neighborhood or go to the nearest park where you get to enjoy the scenery, get fresh air, notice the changing seasons, weather and enjoy nature. Getting much exposure outside under the sun has lots of benefits like Vitamin D that can lighten your mood and  reduce social anxiety disorder symptoms. Aside from that, studies suggest that you can burn more calories when you exercise outdoors.

5. Prevent Cognitive Decline

Age is one of the factors why we go through a cognitive decline. Our brains will gradually become less precise and cloudy over time. Diseases like Alzheimer’s are becoming worryingly more common in old age, where you lose primary brain functions like memory. Exercise can help avoid  cognitive decline out might help in preventing  to prevent the risk of developing Alzheimer’s as we aged. Exercise paired with a balance diet helps improve memory and keeps your thinking, reasoning and learning skills sharp.

6. Alleviate Feelings of Social Anxiety

When you work out or jog for just a few minutes, warm and fuzzy chemicals called endorphine are released during and after your workout which can help you to think in a calmer, more positive manner that naturally helps to reduce the uncomfortable thoughts and feelings of social anxiety disorder.

7. Get More Done

According to some research, people who manage to include workout as their daily habit are more productive and enthusiastic than their inactive peers. No matter how busy your schedule gets, always take time to exercise whether it’s first thing in the morning, in your lunch break or after work to stay more focused on a daily basis.

8. Form New Friendships

Finding a workout buddy is a good way to push yourself when training and to form a new friendship. As well as helping to motivate you when you feel too lazy to exercise, having a workout buddy gives you an opportunity to socialize without being under pressure to be entertaining, to have something interesting to say or any of the other false pressures you might put on yourself if you suffer from social anxiety disorder.

From my own personal experience, I can tell you that regular exercise was one of the key components of my strategy for overcoming social anxiety. The combination of setting yourself new goals, the sense of satisfaction from seeing the improvements in my health and the regular boost of endorphines was crucial in boosting my self esteem and reducing my anxiety of social situations.

So I highly recommend that you dig out some trainers or look up some fitness routines on YouTube and improving your health while reducing your social anxiety at the same time.

Originally posted 2014-10-12 18:08:16. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1C9WnYF
via IFTTT

40 Steps that Will Help You Overcome Social Anxiety Disorder

40 Steps for Overcoming Social Anxiety

It’s proven – Changing the way you think will change the way you feel. This guide explains how you can change the negative thoughts driving social anxiety disorder so you can feel happier and more relaxed around other people, and  live a more fulfilling life free from fear.

Feeling nervous or self-conscious is normal. But when you suffer from social anxiety, also known as social phobia, these uncomfortable feelings can be extremely painful and  even crippling.

People with social anxiety worry that others will notice they are feeling nervous or uncomfortable and look down on them as a result. They feel as though they are the centre of attention the moment they walk into a room, and that people are talking about them in a negative way. Any time someone laughs, they will assume it is about them.

Social anxiety affects millions of people. Not just you

The fear of doing something embarrassing and being negatively judged affects millions of people around the world. Its severity can range from feeling uncomfortable talking in front of groups to avoiding social situations altogether. Social phobia can prevent people from forming close friendships or getting to know other people at all. It also holds people back from leaving the house, preferring the controlled environment and safety of their bedroom.

People with social anxiety will also replay events endlessly in their head. They’ll continuously beat themselves up about the smallest little mistake, making them even more worried about meeting the same people again.

If any of this sounds familiar, it may be that you are experiencing social anxiety. While you may feel down about it right now, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Social anxiety is now a medically recognised and diagnosable condition. Social anxiety is also something that can be overcome with patience and persistence. It doesn’t have to be something you have to deal with for the rest of your life.

What is social anxiety disorder/social phobia and what causes it?

As its name suggests, social anxiety is the fear of social situations. It can cover many different scenarios, from walking around the shops to catching a bus to meeting new people or even talking in front of people you may consider your friends. In all cases, it’s driven by a subconscious fear of being viewed or judged negatively or doing something embarrassing.

My experience with social anxiety

I was always a painfully shy child. I’d rather have my head in a book than hang around with other kids due to my seeming inability to not say or do anything embarrassing. The only exception was playing football (or soccer, if you’re in the US). This was a rare time when I could run and shout freely without having to think of the right thing to say.

But the rest of the time, I dreaded break times at school and counted down the hours when I’d get a brief respite from the sense of discomfort and isolation I felt all day. Suffice to say, school weren’t my happiest years.

Unfortunately, my social awkwardness didn’t reduce as I grew older. It stayed with me into adulthood and followed me into the workplace like a hovering black cloud. People would comment on how I never said anything and walking around the office was like running a gauntlet of negative stares and handing out invitations to be negatively judged.

Eventually, it became clear that these uncomfortable thoughts and feelings would hold me back forever unless I found a way to replace them. If I wanted to be a functioning member of human society, something drastic had to change.

Medication alone was not the answer

So I went to see my doctor to share this deeply rooted problem, thinking there must be some chemical imbalance in my brain that made me feel this way. After listening to my rambling explanation of my behavioral struggles, he promptly put me on beta blockers to help ‘calm me down.’

Beta blockers are normally given to people with high blood pressure. While they did calm my nerves, they just made me feel like an unemotional robot all day. This wasn’t the answer I was looking for.

Thankfully, I was able to find out about social anxiety while researching my symptoms online. This was the light bulb switching on moment for me. After finding out about the specific condition of social anxiety, I set about finding solutions and developing a strategy for overcoming it.

With a diagnose comes treatment

This then led to me working through the negative thoughts with cognitive behavioural therapy and adopting all the strategies outlined in this guide. Improvement didn’t happen overnight. But with practice, patience and persistence, I was able to reduce my social anxiety to a level where it didn’t stop me going where I wanted or doing what I wanted to do.

Such was the sense of satisfaction I felt at improving my mental health and overall happiness, I decided to create http://ift.tt/1Szs4Ts to share the strategies that worked for me in the hope they can help others battling to overcome social anxiety disorder.

Social anxiety disorder is more common than you may think

When you suffer from social anxiety, it can feel as though you’re all alone. That you’re the only person that feels so awful in social situations, and think in a way that nobody else can understand.

But social anxiety is actually more widespread than you might realise. In fact, research suggests that 15 millions people in the U.S. suffer from social anxiety. The majority of people aren’t diagnosed for 10 years or more, but instead forced to suffer in silence.

There are two types of social anxiety/social phobia:

Generalised social anxiety – This can be triggered in any social situation when you feel people are looking at you in a negative way, making you feel uncomfortable or afraid. This can include meeting new people, being watched while doing something or eating in a restaurant.

Specific social anxiety – You feel awkward in specific situations. Public speaking or performing in front of an audience is a specific situation when most people suffer from social anxiety, or as it’s more commonly known ‘stage fright’.

Signs and symptoms of social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety can trigger a variety of emotional and physical symptoms, which vary in severity between individuals.

Psychological symptoms:

• Excessive self-consciousness and sensing that everyone is watching you
• Worrying for days, weeks, or even months about how a social situation will play out
• Fearful of strangers and people you dont know
• You automatically have a negative impression of people you dont know. You assume they’re waiting for an excuse to belittle or reject you.
• Embarrassing yourself in public is a constant worry
• You worry that other people will notice your nervousness and reject you as a result

Physical symptoms of social anxiety disorder:

• Difficulty breathing
• You feel sick or have an upset stomach
• Pounding heartbeat
• Sweating or clammy hands
• General shakiness
• Feeling faint or lightheaded
• Face feels like it’s throbbing and its a constantly bright red colour

Behaviour patterns for social anxiety disorder

Nobody wants to think or feel this way, so it’s naturally to adopt behavioural strategies to soften or avoid the symptoms of social anxiety altogether. Some of the patterns of behaviour for social phobics include:

• Constantly arriving late to classes or meetings so you dont have to interact with people beforehand
• Avoiding social situations altogether, and missing out on positive experiences that could reduce your social phobia over the long term
• Not speaking or keeping a low profile to avoid the risk of doing anything embarrassing
• Afraid to attend social gatherings unless you can go with a friend
• Relying on alcohol, or even illegal drugs, to help you relax enough to be able to speak to people

While ‘safety behaviours’ can make social situations easier to cope with, they prevent you from overcoming it in the long run. Instead, you’ll be spending your life treading water and missing out on all the positive things that can happen to you when you stop feeling afraid.

When you don’t speak you don’t give people an opportunity to know you better, and will miss out on the friendships that can help you improve and be more socially active.

Avoiding other people also prevents you from doing things you’d like to do or reaching certain goals. You wont be able to play the sports you used to enjoy, to give that presentation that will help you get promotion or be able to go on dates.

So if you want to overcome social anxiety for good, you need to start addressing the safety behaviours and avoidance strategies that are holding you back.

What Causes Social Anxiety?

Just as with its symptoms, the underlying causes of social anxiety can vary. Typically, it’s a combination of a sense of inferiority, lack of self confidence, negative childhood experiences or a specific event which can induce a sense of embarrassment and shame in public. Underneath it all is an unhealthy belief system that makes you feel subconsciously threatened by other people and to feel nervous, uncomfortable and even afraid whenever your negative thoughts are triggered.

Childhood experiences

As with any learned behaviour, it’s believed social anxiety can become part of your subconscious belief system due to negative experiences as a child. If you were bullied at school, ignored by your parents or made to feel rejected for a prolonged time then the pain can live on in your subconscious mind for many years afterwards. If you’ve perpetually felt embarrassed or ashamed in social situations that forms a part of your belief system, which you can carry with you long into adulthood.

Read more about overcoming being bullied

A negative way of thinking

Social anxiety can also be caused by a predisposition to think in a negative way. You may, for whatever reason, have thoughts lodged in your head that situations will always go badly and that embarrassing yourself is only a matter of time. Negative ways of thinking typically drive social anxiety, and negative thinking can afflict anyone, whatever your childhood history.

Genetic causes

If your family has a history of anxiety then it could be that you’re genetically predisposed to developing social phobia. Having anxious parents also means you likely grew up in an environment where thinking the worst and worrying excessively was the norm. This in turn causes you to adopt similar ways of thinking and behaving, and forming a negative opinion of the people in the world around you.

Biological causes

The human brain has been evolving for millions of years. But it’s only in the last few thousand that we’ve learned to live in organised societies. We haven’t yet outgrown the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism that kept us alert sabre tooth tigers, coyotes and other threats in the animal kingdom.

Unfortunately, this mechanism, which increases our heart rate, raises our level of alertness and prepares us to escape from danger or face it, can be triggered inappropriately whenever we feel threatened. This explains the heightened awareness of your surroundings and pounding heartbeat you feel in social situations, despite there being no rational reason why.

How can I overcome my social anxiety?

Now that we’ve covered what social anxiety is, its symptoms and what’s driving it, it’s time to shift the focus onto solutions how you can reduce your social anxiety gradually over time.

A lot of research has been done into social anxiety disorder. It’s not some confusing, impossible to diagnose or mysterious condition you have to put up with. It can be treated and reduced so that it just becomes a difficult situation you had to deal with before moving on with the rest of your life.

Overcoming social anxiety involves changing your negative ways of thinking and making lifestyle changes that will make you feel better about yourself, and less threatened by other people as a result. It also involves a lot of practice and patience.

Rewiring your brain and changing your mindset won’t happen overnight. But so long as you commit yourself to making small improvements from now until the rest of your life, you can evolve into a more confident and happier person. Your social anxiety will naturally recede as a result.

The fact that you’re reading this guide is already a positive sign. It shows that you want to change your unhelpful ways of thinking and you recognise a better world exists.

In this guide I outline all the tactics and strategies I used to overcome my social anxiety, and enabled me to discover that changing the way you think will change the way you feel.

1. Cognitive behavioural therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that has grown to become one of the most popular and effective ways of treating depression, negative ways of thinking and, consequently, social phobia.

You can practice it on your own, in a group setting or with a therapist. However you choose to practice, cognitive behavioural therapy enables you to identify negative thoughts when they occur and gives you a framework for replacing them with more positive and objective ways of thinking.

If done on your own, initially you’ll need to practice its exercises on paper. But over time you’ll be able to start performing them in your head until thinking in a positive, objective way becomes a natural part of how your brain works.

I can’t recommend cognitive behavioural therapy enough as a powerful, medication free way of developing a happier, more positive outlook that will reduce your social phobia as a result.

These are the books I recommend for learning more about cognitive behavioural therapy:

2. Create a ladder of situations that make you feel anxious and start climbing it

The best way to conquer your fears is to face them. I’m not suggesting you should immediately go sit on a bus all day or force yourself to take up public speaking. If you take stressful situations on too quickly, it can backfire.

Instead, exposing yourself gradually is the best way to acclimatise to the situations that make you feel awkward and then tackle them in a way that’s comfortable for you.

A recommended strategy is to write down all the situations that make you feel uncomfortable or anxious and then arrange them in ascending order. Place the least challenging situations at the bottom and then progressively more challenging scenarios until you reach your worst nightmare at the top.

You could start with a walk around your neighbourhood, talking to the checkout assistant at the supermarket or forcing yourself to sit in your local shopping centre/mall for 30 minutes. You can then step up to catching a bus or eating on your own in a restaurant. If you’re feeling really determined, you could set your final goal as joining Toastmasters (a public speaking organisation) or singing karaoke sober.

As you work through all the suggestions in this guide, and you feel your self confidence rising, try to tackle the situations that make you feel nervous one step at a time.

Remember that this is a long-term strategy. Don’t try to rush it. Take your time and allow yourself to occasionally slip. Every attempt to reach the next rung will make the next attempt easier, and help you reach your goal of climbing out of social anxiety’s clutches altogether.

3. Say ‘no’ to unfair request

One of the worst side effects of social anxiety is the ‘disease to please’. Rooted in low self esteem, this is where you find yourself agreeing to do favours for people even though it may be inconvenient or unfair. This could include lending people money you think wont pay you back, agreeing to do one your colleagues tasks at work despite having a long list of tasks already or simply changing your plans to suit them.

When you do something to please other people at the expense of your own priorities it just leads to resentment and feeling angry yourself for agreeing to it. These feelings can then bottle up until they eventually explode in an unhealthy way.

The healthy way to handle unfair requests is to weigh up whether what they are asking is fair or unreasonable. If it makes you feel uncomfortable agreeing to it then you need to practice saying ‘no’ instead. You can’t spend your life pleasing other people. You priorities are important too. And if you’re reason agreeing to do it is because you think it means they wont like you then they arent very good friends anyway.

Read more about saying ‘no’ to unfair requests

4. Learn how to negotiate to get what you want in life

Throughout your life you’re going to need to negotiate to get what you want. But when you have social anxiety you may find yourself giving up on pursuing your objectives if they put you in conflict with someone else. This could be deciding on the best place to meet or resolving a dispute with a work colleague on whose responsibility a task is.

 The key to getting what you want is not to think in absolutes and that it’s a win or lose situation. Instead, treat negotiation like a dance where you both have to move around your objectives to get a resolution where you both win.

Read more on using healthy negotiation

5. Try to avoid mind reading. Unless you’re Charles Xavier

If you’re affected by social phobia it can cause you to start assuming you know what other people are thinking, when you really have no way of knowing. You may find yourself automatically assuming that people in the room are thinking or saying negative things about you when, in reality, they’re probably too busy talking about themselves and their own lives to be concerned about other people all the time.

6. Predicting the future

Unless you believe in star signs or predetermined destinies, it’s wise not to spend too much time predicting what’s going to happen before you arrive.

Assuming the worst and that you just ‘know’ things will go wrong can instead become a self fulfilling prophecy. Getting worried and anxious will only put you in the wrong frame of mind which only hold you back from attaining positive outcomes.

Instead, stay and calm and relaxed. If you are going to dwell on the future, try imagining what a great time you’ll have instead.

7. Catastrophizing

Just as with thinking in extremes, social phobia can cause you to blow things out of proportion. You may immediately jump to thinking that a social interaction was “awful” or “terrible,” or an event was “disastrous.” In reality, it probably wasn’t all that bad.

Practicing cognitive behavioural therapy will help you to reel back from thinking about situations in catastrophic terms as it always helps to objectively assess whether your thoughts are rational and switch to more helpful ways of thinking instead.

8. Recognize that you’re not the focus of everyone’s attention

When your heart is pounding and your awareness of people in the room is on overdrive, it’s easy to put yourself as the centre of attention and imagine that everyone is talking about you. As you’ll learn with time, this simply isn’t the case. People are too absorbed with what’s going on in their lives to make you their topic of conversation all the time.

Instead, focus on distracting your mind and getting involved in conversations. This will help to relax and be more focused on your immediate surroundings, and less concerned with what’s going on in the background.

9. Avoid focusing on the negatives. Focus on positives instead

After an event you may find yourself analysing everything you said and did and projecting it in a negative light. The problem is this prevents you from recognising the positives and what went well. So if a conversation went badly or you said the wrong thing, remember that it was just one interaction in the entire evening. There would have been times when you mingled with others in a positive way too.

10. You’re not a label. You’re too complicated for that

The negative thinking that social phobia can saddle you with can lead you to giving yourself bad labels. Maybe you think you’re ‘boring’, ‘weird’ or ‘unlovable’. The fact is that you’re too complicated for that. You have multiple facets to your character and many ways of thinking and behaving. You are also always evolving, and through following some of the strategies in this guide you can pull off the negative labels and embrace your newfound complexity instead.

11. Let go of the past. Look to the future

Deciding to overcome social anxiety means deciding not to be a victim. It means deciding to be a participant in life and not an observer. It also means recognising that what happened in the past shouldn’t define your future.

While it’s important to recognise the reasons why you your social anxiety developed, you shouldn’t expend time and energy dwelling on the past. This will only keep you locked within a mental prison where you continue to allow the negative thoughts and emotions of your childhood to darken your present.

Instead, recognise that these are thoughts and emotions you intend to change. Start imagining what your life will be like in the future, free from feeling nervous all the time or worrying what other people think. Picture how overcoming social anxiety will, one day, provide you with an inner strength and a success driven mindset that allows you to power beyond social phobia’s clutches and onto a much more fulfilling future.

12. Practice deep breathing

It can be amazing how something as simple as breathing deeply can alleviate anxiety. When you are feeling anxious, you’re prone to take short, sharp breaths. This prevents your brain from getting the oxygen it needs to think clearly. It can also worsen the physical symptoms, such as feeling dizzy, as though you’re suffocating and an increased heart rate.

But when you breathe deeply you allow more oxygen to reach your brain. You can then think more clearly about situations, and realise they aren’t as threatening as you may think. Your anxiety will reduce as result.

So the next time you feel as the world is closing in on you, pause and take in a deep breath. This will help you get the physical symptoms under control and to calm the storm clouds gathering in your mind.

Read more about deep breathing for social anxiety.

13. Meditation

Deep breathing and meditation go hand in hand as powerful ways to help your mind and body to relax. Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years because of its emotionally healing benefits. In fact, some studies suggest that it can literally expand the grey matter in your brain.

Meditation is particularly powerful for treating social anxiety because it enables you to see how thoughts are constantly rushing around your mind. Some are worth holding onto, while others are best left to pass like traffic on the street.

To get started, there are lots of meditation apps and podcasts you can download for free. These will provide you with guidance to help you direct your thoughts. Some also feature binaural beats that help to slow your brain waves down to a calmer, more relaxed state.

The best results come from practicing meditation daily. This will help to reshape your thoughts into more helpful and positive ways of thinking and assist you on your journey.

Read more about meditation for social anxiety.

14. Reduce your self conscious by focusing on the world around you

When your social anxiety is peaking it can make you painfully aware of your own body. You can acutely feel every sensation, like your racing heart, sweating palms or throbbing brain. This naturally makes you assume everyone else can see your physical discomfort too, making you feel even worse.

To stop your self consciousness going into overdrive, one trick is to focus on the world around you. Try listening to people’s conversations, practice CBT by challenging your negative thoughts or make silent observations of the decorations in the room. Diverting your attention helps to move it away from focusing on yourself, helping to calm your self consciousness as a result.

15. Count to 10

Another simple yet powerful mind trick is to simply count to ten in your head whenever you feel anxious. This is particularly useful when walking through an open room and you think people are watching you. Counting to ten is a simple way of keeping your frantic mind occupied for long enough to complete certain tasks without feeling overpowered by anxiety.

16. Yoga

Yoga is no longer just for ladies in spandex. It’s now used by athletes, golfers, rugby players and even professional wrestlers to improve their mobility and reduce the risk of injury.

Along with its physical health benefits of improving muscle and joint strength, yoga is also practiced by millions all over the world for its mind cleansing benefits. Moving through its positions and breathing deeply has a calming effect on the mind. Its final meditation at the end, known as ‘shavasana’, also provides a five or ten minute window for your mind and body to feel completely relaxed.

Whether you practice it at home (there are classes on YouTube) or in a gym class, yoga can be a powerful way of helping your mind to relax and your anxious thoughts to be ushered away.

17. Running

The beauty of running is that it allows you to explore your local parks or neighbourhood without having to worry so much about other people along the way. By the time someone has a chance to focus on you, you simply pass them by, leaving their perceived negative stares and opinions behind.

Like all forms of exercise, running will release the body’s natural feel good chemicals, known as endorphins. Getting a daily dose of these will naturally help to lift your mood and think in a happier, positive manner that’s vital for banishing the low moods of social anxiety for good.

Read more about why exercise helps reduce social anxiety

18. Weight training

A healthy body means a healthy mind. Daily visits to the ‘iron palace’ can be a great way of boosting your self confidence. Getting in shape will also give you positive goals to pursue and to visually experience the satisfaction that comes from progress.

As with every tactic, you can start small with a basic weight set at home and progress to joining your local gym when you feel ready. You’ll be surprised to find that today’s gym’s arent filled with meat heads all competing on how much they lift and comparing biceps in the mirror. Getting in shape is a habit people from all walks of life now enjoy and use to better themselves and feel in control of their life’s direction.

19. Social hobbies

Binge watching House of Cards or marathon video game sessions may be wonderful escapism. But locking yourself in your room is only going to delay your entry to a more fulfilling life.

Instead, consider taking up new hobbies or interests which involve some interaction with other people. Joining a local hiking group is a personal favourite of mine. You can talk to other people as little or as much as you want to. It also gets you outdoors enjoying mother nature and releasing those feel good endorphins. You may surprise yourself with how much more you are engaging with people by the end of the hike, as the sense of camaraderie seeps in.

Other options include volunteering for a local charity (particularly if you love animals), joining a book club or cycling. Meetup and Facebook can be great places to look for local groups to join and fun activities to lift your mindset and mood.

20. Improve your confidence at speaking with video chats

Right now you may only been comfortable speaking to people you know well and will avoid speaking to strangers. The only way to change this is to build your confidence having conversations, one chat at a time.

Building healthy relationships requires the ability to communicate clearly and intelligently. These are skills you will need to work on if you want to connect better with others and to grow out of social phobia for good.

If you’re into online gaming, you could start by switching the mic on your headset. Then when you’re ready to go up a level, there are plenty of video chat services you can use, such as omegle.com or randomstrangervideochat.com, which allow you to have casual conversations with strangers. These are people you will never meet in real life, and you can always pull the plug whenever you want. So there really is no drawback to using them to build your speaking skills.

21. Consider deleting your Facebook profile

Facebook is a great tool for keeping in touch with old school friends and new acquaintances. But it does have its negative side.

People tend to cultivate online personas that project their lives in the most favourable light. Many project the impression that their lives as a succession of parties, holidays and laughter, which can feel like looking through a window onto a world that looks alien to you.

If the bombardment of images and updates from someone’s profile is getting you down, consider unfollowing them. Or take a break from Facebook altogether. Allow yourself some time to focus on moving your own life forward, and then rejoin when you feel ready to share it with the world.

22. Follow positive and inspiring people in social media

As you disengage with negative influences in your life, find positive people to motivate you instead. The beauty of social media is that it enables you to find out how successful think and motivate themselves. Following them on Twitter or Facebook allows you to tap into their mindset and use it to influence your own.

Along with following famous people in topics that interest you, consider adding people like Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy and The Rock to your newsfeeds to raise your sense of positivity and to develop your own success driven mindset.

23. Read books and watch videos about positive thinking

Along with learning as much as you can about social phobia and cognitive behavioural therapy, to address low moods and negative thoughts it helps to fill your mind with positive ways of thinking.

It’s often said that we get what we think we deserve in life. Our mindset goes a long way to defining how we experience the world, how we process information and our ways of thinking. This then helps to dictate the quality of our lives and our relationships with others.

As a human being you are always evolving. You can choose what sort of person you want to evolve into. Learning how to think in a more positive, proactive manner can go a long way to taking your thoughts and behaviour in the right direction.

Positive Videos for Inspiration

00:00

00:00

00:00

24. Read books or watch videos about successful people who overcame adversity

People who are successful or overcame great challenges often didn’t do it by accident or an extraordinary run of good luck. Success in any form nearly always occurs as a result of their mindset and determination to succeed against the odds.

Reading how Richard Branson became a billionaire despite coming close to bankruptcy, how Henri Charriere survived, how Louis Zamperini was driven to the limits of human endurance in WW2 or how Stephen Hawking continues to write books, give lectures and push the frontiers of how we perceive the universe despite being a paraplegic are all life stories that can provide you with the inspiration to overcome your own adversity in life.

25. Take an online course in self improvement

Online learning has the potential to revolutionise education and spread literacy levels to disadvantaged communities around the world. It can also help you to develop your social skills from the comfort of your bedroom.

There are lots of free and paid courses that can help you to improve your assertiveness, anger management or positive thinking. Or you can advance your knowledge in a subject that interests you. The key here is that taking an online course will keep you active and doing something productive, and working towards your goal of self improving so your social anxiety reduces.

Self improvement courses worth checking out:

Anxiety Therapy
Assertiveness Training
Improve Your Self Esteem
Social Psychology
Positive Psychology

26. Learn to cook

If you want to raise your self esteem and self confidence, it helps to start setting higher standards for yourself. Brushing up your culinary skills can improve both the quality of meals and develop many other skills beyond chopping vegetables..

Being able to cook well requires attention to detail, doing things properly instead of taking short cuts and experiencing the satisfaction that comes from progress. These are skills and mindsets you can apply to other areas of your life to become a better version of you.

27. Get more sleep

Not getting enough shut eye makes you feel tired and irritable. It can also make you more prone to the physical and mental symptoms of social anxiety.

Getting to sleep can be easier said than done when you’re battling with low moods. You can, however, take proactive steps to help your mind and body relax so that it’s easier to drift off to sleep. This can include listening to white noise, meditation, observing good sleep hygiene and avoiding stimulants, like alcohol of coffee, late at night.

Plenty more tips on getting more sleep on this site:

www.helpmesleep.us

28. Have a healthy morning routine

Having a set routine every morning can be a great way to set yourself up for the rest of the day. This can include setting your alarm clock 30 minutes earlier so you have time to go for a work or to go to the gym before work, to meditate or any other positive activity that is going to help you advance in life.

Having a healthy morning routine can put you in the right frame of mind to make the rest of your day a happier, more relaxed experience.

29. Improve your diet

Eating a balanced diet with more fruit and veg and less chips and fizzy drinks will not only prolong your life but also provide a gradual releases of energy throughout the day. Food packed with sugar and preservatives can give you bursts of energy, but you’ll then find yourself flagging later on. This then leaves you vulnerable to feeling low and more prone to raised levels of social phobia.

Eating healthy food will also give you the energy to exercise every day, and run that extra 10 minutes or lift that extra 5kg. In fact, eating healthily can be a magic ingredient to feeling good about yourself and the world around you.

30. Give up or reduce how much you drink

Drinking before meeting friends or attending any sort of social gathering is common among people who suffer from social anxiety. But relying on alcohol as a way to relax is a just a coping mechanism. It’s a band aid rather than a solution. It can also lead to an unhealthy dependence and a more severe drinking problem.

Much like giving up smoking, try to gradually reduce how much you drink before going out. Better yet, aspire for a time when you’re happy to socialise supping on a fruit juice instead.

31. Give up smoking

You may think smoking helps you feel relaxed. But it can actually make you more anxious and cause your social phobia to peak at the worst moment. Despite what some say about their grandparent who smoked all his life and died at the ripe old age of 82, smoking is more likely to cause cancer, deteriorating health and decades taken off your life.

So make a decision that’s going to reduce your social anxiety, improve your life expectancy and save you a lot of money. Buy some inhalators and stub out for good.

32. Change your career if it isn’t making you happy

We spend more time at work than we do with our friends and family. While it’s true that work is often a necessary evil to pay the bills, having a job you enjoy and find satisfying can have a massive impact of your enjoyment of life and your happiness.

If you find your job boring and uninspiring, it’s because you’re not challenging yourself enough. Consider what your personal strengths are and what you enjoy doing, and then find a job that will fulfill those interests. Work out what steps you’ll need to take to get that job, whether it’s getting some qualifications, studying an online course or improving your interview skills, and make it a future goal to work towards.

Clearly, overcoming or at least reducing your social anxiety may be part of the puzzle you need to solve to get the job you want. But that doesn’t mean you have to put your career aspirations on the backburner. Instead pursue progress in both chasing the job of your dreams and addressing your anxiety at the same time.

33. Develop new interests or expand on your existing ones

Living a rich life doesn’t have to revolve around what’s in the bank account. Instead it can be built around the pastimes and interests you fill it with. Having lots of hobbies and interests keeps you motivated and occupied with pursuing fulfilling goals, instead of whiling away the hours in front of the TV.

What’s more, it will help shape you into a more interesting person and present opportunities to form new friendships with people that share your interests.

34. Join social anxiety forums and interact with members

Discovering that social anxiety was a diagnosable condition was a light switching on moment for me. It meant that I wasn’t the only person to feel like this. There wasn’t something wrong with my brain and I wasn’t doomed to be like this forever.

Joining social anxiety forums will help you to realise that you’re not alone, and that thousands, if not millions, of people are affected by social phobia all over the world. It will also connect you with people that understand what you’re dealing with provide you with a source of support as you strive to self improve.

Social anxiety forums:

Social Anxiety Support

Social Anxiety Community

Social Phobia World

35. Attend a Meetup or Couchsurfing event

If you’ve been suffering from social anxiety for a long time you may have lost contact with previous friends and found it difficult to find new ones.

Walking into a room of people you don’t know can seem very daunting. But the advantage of attending a Meetup or Couchsurfing event is that everyone else is in the same position. The likelihood is that most people at the event will be meeting for the first time, and may also be feeling nervous. Everyone is there to meet new people. Not to form cliques or to criticise those in attendance.

Couchsurfing, in particular, is attended by backpackers and travellers who are some of the least judgemental and the friendliest people you’ll meet. No matter how nervous or self conscious you feel, they’ll be happy to engage you in conversation and meet you halfway.

After attending a few Couchsurfing or Meetup events you’ll be amazed what a confidence boost it provides.

36. Create a Meetup or a Couchsurfing event

Once you’ve attended a few Meetups and Couchsurfing events, consider taking another step up the ladder and create your own. This could be something simple like hiking through a local forest, going to the cinema or meeting for dinner. The benefit of putting on an event is that it puts you in charge and gives you a chance to further develop your communication skills and build a new social circle of friends.

37. Start internet dating

I can appreciate romance might seem like a pipedream right now. Like something that happens in movies and for people who’ve never had to stuggle with social problems in their life. But finding people to go on dates with has never been easier. You dont have to go to bars, think of clever lines in clubs or face the humiliation of trying to approach the girl who gets the same bus as you every day.

Internet dating has opened up a world of new possibilities. It allows people who may be timid or shy to connect with other people on their wavelength without having to do battle in the jungle of weekend nightlife.

When creating your profile make sure you choose appealing photos, ideally smiling naturally and outdoors doing some sort of activity. Your profile will get the best response if you can can project yourself in a positive light and focus on your strengths and interests. There’s no point in being fake or exaggerating. This will won’t match you with people you’ll get on well with in real life.

Be prepared to send plenty of emails and try a few different apps and sites. When you do connect with someone you think is a good match, spend some time getting to know them by email, instant messenger or even on the phone. This will enable you to build rapport and a sense of connection so that when you meet it doesn’t feel like meeting a stranger but someone you’ve already started getting to know. You’ll also have a list of topics of conversation ready to go in advance.

If you think your dating skills need some brushing up, add this to the list of areas where you want to improve. There’s no shortage of books and videos that can help you in adding some romance to your life and making the world a more pleasurable place to be.

38. Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)

NLP has its cynics (myself included until recently). But if you are experiencing success with cognitive behavioural therapy and want to take rewiring your brain to another level, NLP is worth investigating.

NLP focuses on identifying the reasons why you behave in a certain way and then provides a structure for learning more helpful ways of thinking and behaving. Just like with cognitive behavioural therapy, NLP has been proven to be very effective for treating phobias, trauma and removing mental blocks through anchoring more positive thoughts and emotions to the things you fear.

You can study NLP on your own or with a NLP practitioner to identify the cause of your social anxiety and to give you new mental tools for overcoming it.

How to Eliminate Unwanted Thoughts

39. Allow other people to do the talking

You arent the only person in a conversation. It involves two or more people. When talking to people you’re not giving a speech for them to listen and nod in agreement. Try not to feel pressured to do all the talking, allow others to share the responsibility.

If you’re ever stuck for things to say, remember that most people’s favourite topic is themselves. Ask questions about their day was, how work is going or what their plans are for the weekend. Then all you need to do is nod politely and wait for them to return the gesture.

40. Enjoy the process and the results will come

Overcoming social anxiety is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a long-term strategy that requires patience and persistence before you can expect results. For this reason, it’s best to plan where you want to be in a few years time, rather than months.

Success in improving your self esteem and reducing your social phobia comes from making small, incremental steps. It’s like building a wall, with every improvement adding another layer until social phobia has been locked away in a place where it can no longer affect you.

While overcoming social anxiety, take satisfaction in the progress you’re making and enjoy the sense of achievement that comes from making small improvements in different areas of your life. Whether it’s in your exercise routine, your culinary skills or your growing self confidence talking to people, feed off your accomplishments, no matter how small, and be patient on your journey.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. But it was built.

When self-help for social anxiety isn’t enough

The severity and symptoms of social anxiety vary a lot. So if the self help suggestions in this guide aren’t enough, and social anxiety is continuing to hold you back in life, you may need to adopt a different strategy.

Visit your doctor

As always when suffering from a condition that’s adversely affecting your life, your doctor is your first port of call. A lot more is understood about depression and anxiety these days, and your doctor will be able to recommend a sensible course of action. This could include putting you in touch with a therapist who specializes in anxiety disorders to address the negative thought processes combined with medication to sooth the physical symptoms.

Group therapy

Another option may be group therapy for social skills training. Sessions for social anxiety disorder can entail playacting, mock interviews and other exercises that allow you to practice social engagement in more controlled and reassuring settings. This will then help you feel less anxious when encountering strangers in the real world. The more you practice the easier socialising will become and the less afraid you’ll be.

Medication

I’d love to be able to tell you there’s a magic pill that makes your social anxiety vanish in minutes. But none exists. Medication on its own can’t cure your deep rooted beliefs that are driving your social anxiety. All it can do is relieve its symptoms.

Medication is most effective when used in combination with cognitive behavioural therapy and the other strategies in this guide. It will allow you to climb your ladder of anxious situations, to exercise in public and to feel more relaxed in job interviews without the pounding heartbeat and hyper awareness of social phobia.

But ultimately you must address the unhelpful thought processes if you are to overcome social anxiety disorder for good.

Two common types of medication used for treating social anxiety disorder:

Antidepressants – These should only ever be taken after consulting with a doctor and are only advised for when social anxiety disorder is severe and debilitating. The problem with antidepressants is that you can form a dependency on them to improve your mood. Even worse, if you stop taking them suddenly in can cause your depression to return like a crashing tsunami. Always make sure you consult with your doctor on changes in your progress at all times.

Beta blockers – Beta blockers are normally taken to reduce high blood pressure. They also help to treat social anxiety by blocking the flow of adrenaline that’s released when you’re anxious. Beta blockers won’t improve your mood but they can reduce the physical symptoms, such as shakiness, sweating, and slow down your heartbeat.

Finding your own path to overcoming social anxiety disorder

I hope you find the advice in this guide has encouraged you to adopt a strategic approach to overcoming social anxiety. Through taking steps to improve your thought processes, to raise your self esteem and to live a more active life you can find your way to feeling better about yourself and the world around you.

The strategies in this guide all helped me on my own path towards reducing my social anxiety to an extent where it no longer holds me back in life. They are also lifestyle habits that I continue to practice to be a better version of myself.

Overcoming social anxiety isnt easy and requires a lot of practice, patience and persistence. But it’s not something you have to live with. It can be just a difficult phase you’ve had to get through before being able to live a more fulfilling life filled with positive interactions with other people.

The final thought I’ll leave you with is that the mindset and skills you’ll develop through overcoming social anxiety can help you for the rest of your life. Setting higher standards for yourself, experiencing the satisfaction that comes from progress and knowing that you have the ability to triumph over adversity will help you overcome any more problems or struggles that come your way. You’ll be better equipped to get what you want out of life and realising that changing the way you think can change the way you feel.

I wish you luck in your journey and if you’ve found the advice in this guide useful you’ll consider sharing it with other people you think it will help.

All the best,

Matt
matt(at)socialanxietydisorder.org.uk

Disclaimer

I am not a psychologist, behavioural therapist or medical professional of any kind. This guide offers advice only and is not a replacement for professional help. If social anxiety disorder is adversely affecting your life and causing you serious discomfort then you should always consult a trained medical professional.

All the suggestions in this guide are purely that – suggestions. I accept no liability for any injury or psychological discomfort that should arise in practicing any of them and all suggestions are carried out at your own risk.

Legal speak aside, all the strategies in this guide have helped me to reduce my social phobia to an extent where it doesn’t hold me back in life. Taking steps to feel about yourself and the world around you can only help you to eventually leave social anxiety behind, no matter how small the steps.

Originally posted 2015-07-21 15:48:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

from Social Anxiety Disorder Self Help Strategies. Overcome Social Phobia For Good http://ift.tt/1RMC1Sc
via IFTTT