SOCIAL ANXIETY – What It Is And Steps On How To Overcome It
SOCIAL ANXIETY – In this topic, we will now know what social anxiety is and steps on how to overcome the anxiety that gives us weight.
According to the Social Anxiety Association, it is the fear of social situations that involves the interaction with other people. It also means the fear and anxiety of being harshly criticized by the people around you, stranger or not.
People with this certain fear are usually seen by others as shy, quiet, backward, withdrawn, inhibited, unfriendly, nervous, aloof, and disinterested.
However, they are paradoxically the type to want to have friends, blend in groups, and engage in interactions but this fear prevented them to do so.
These people usually face distress in the following situations:
- Being introduced to other people
- Being teased or criticized
- Being the center of attention
- Being watched or observed while doing something
- Having to say something in a formal, public situation
- Meeting people in authority (“important people/authority figures”)
- Feeling insecure and out of place in social situations (“I don’t know what to say.”)
- Embarrassing easily (e.g., blushing, shaking)
- Meeting other peoples’ eyes
- Swallowing, writing, talking, making phone calls if in public
How To Overcome It?
One simple way of overcoming such anxiety is to internalize what experts call the “Spotlight Effect”.
According to YouTube channel Improvement Pill, it refers to the humans’ capacity to overestimate how much others care about our decisions but reality says most of these people really don’t care since they actually think about themselves.
The channel shows a 2-step way to internalize the Spotlight Effect. Here are the following:
- Be More Aware Of Your Thoughts
- Most of us are unaware of the 50 to 70 thousand thoughts we have daily. The best way to do so is to clear our heads or do some unwinding and focus on one thing. Doing so will make you aware of your thoughts and make you realize that most of it is about yourself.
- Swapping Shoes
- By swapping shoes means to put yourself in the shoes of others, like what are they thinking about and what problems they are facing right now. The exercise urges you to focus on one random individual and try to think what they are thinking, hence, putting yourself in another one’s shoes.
You can check out the video right here:
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