What is Social Anxiety?
Social anxiety is a condition where you are afraid of being judged or embarrassed by others in social situations. There are also many misconceptions about social anxiety, including the idea that it is a sign of addiction and that it is contagious.
This very sensitive disorder can make it very difficult to conduct even the simplest social activities in a normal way. The origins of social anxiety may be traced to a moment in our childhood when we became fearful of the response of others.
The symptoms may not manifest until much later in life when circumstances that used to cause mild anxiety become much more frequent and stressful. For instance, if we are anxious about appearing in public, the fear may surface each time we are asked to speak in public. Or when we encounter overwhelming amounts of social anxiety-causing situations in daily life, the symptoms may become chronic.
Social anxiety is a debilitating condition that can have a serious effect on your life. It can take over your life, and make ordinary tasks seem difficult or impossible. It can cause you to feel isolated from the people around you, and can even make it difficult to participate in activities you used to enjoy.
Social anxiety is not a rare or uncommon condition. According to recent studies, about 1-2% of the US population suffers from social anxiety, which makes it the 6th most common mental disorder. Social anxiety is something that everyone has dealt with at some point in their life. Social anxiety can range from mild to severe, so it’s important to know how to manage it and overcome it.
The Origins of Social Anxiety
Why do we become so anxious about social situations? Answering this question is relatively simple. Most of us have always had limited social skills and learned to handle them well for most of our life. Over time, however, situations that would have once prompted a mild anxiety or a feeling of shyness are now regular occurrences. In addition, our constant exposure to the beliefs and attitudes of other people about those same situations-including negative stereotypes-has also created a foundation for negative social skills. The Beliefs about how a person should behave in certain situations-even in ordinary social situations-have created a mental health disorder.
What Causes Anxiety?
What causes Social Anxiety? Social anxiety is a learned response to typical social situations that can happen to anyone. There are two primary schools of thought about the origins of this condition. One school believes that all cases are caused by a genetic predisposition. The other believes that all cases are caused by a consistent and persistent pattern of negative reinforcement that continues into adulthood.
The debate between genetic and environmental causes centers on the risk factors of anxiety. People who have a genetic predisposition for anxiety are at higher risk than others. These include women with low birth weights, families with low socioeconomic status and early pregnancy, and minority groups that have higher poverty rates and higher stress levels.
The consistent and persistent negative thoughts about social situations are what trigger the anxiety. Those negative thoughts about yourself and your own self-image can be very powerful. The more you think negatively about yourself and your body, the more likely you are to experience negative behaviors and thoughts. According to the mental health professionals, these negative thoughts can actually have a biological impact on the nervous system of the individual. If those behaviors and thoughts are not dealt with, it can cause serious damage to the body. Those behaviors can include substance abuse, inability to maintain healthy relationships and career, depression, and severe eating disorders.
Ways to Treat Social Anxiety
Although the symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder are very real and very debilitating, there is treatment. Treatments range from medication to psychotherapy, from anti-anxiety medications to lifestyle changes to alternative treatments. The most important aspect of treatment is that the patient must learn to be able to identify the symptoms in themselves and with others. Only then can the treatment begin.
A combination of medication and psychotherapy can help the symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder. However, if the patient is not willing to change their behavior or the way they think about themselves, they will fail. Even psychotherapy cannot change the core of the problem unless the patient is willing to accept responsibility for their own behavior and learn new ways to interact with other people in social situations. The great news is that this disease does not have a cure. However, treatment can improve the symptoms and can lead to lasting freedom from symptoms. Anyone who experiences anxiety in social situations should seek the advice of their doctor, psychologist or mental health professional, and begin their treatment immediately.
7 Alternative Tips for Managing and Overcoming Social Anxiety
So the key here is to manage anxiety so that it does not get out of control. So the first step here is to learn about some common anxiety symptoms and how you can start to reduce their severity and frequency. One of the best ways to do this is by taking the time each day to read your favorite news articles.
Another good way to cope with your anxiety and avoid becoming anxious is to take some consistent action each day to confront your fears. By doing this you will be building up your self-esteem and confidence. And if you don’t believe your fears are real then this can become a very powerful tool to help you overcome your anxieties.
Below are 8 strategies that can help you manage and overcome social anxiety easily.
1. Understand Your Anxiety Triggers
Sometimes anxiety can strike without warning. It can happen when a traffic jam creeps up on you, or when you find yourself unexpectedly lost in a new city. The good news is that there are ways to stop anxiety attacks before they start, and there are treatments for the ones that do occur. If you know what sets off your anxious feelings and how to stop them, you can head off attacks before they begin.
Another good way to cope with your anxiety and avoid becoming anxious is to take some consistent action each day to confront your fears. By doing this you will be building up your self-esteem and confidence. And if you don’t believe your fears are real then this can become a very powerful tool to help you overcome your anxieties.
Another good way to cope with your anxiety and avoid becoming anxious is to take some consistent action each day to confront your fears. By doing this you will be building up your self-esteem and confidence. And if you don’t believe your fears are real then this can become a very powerful tool to help you overcome your anxieties.
2. Know Your Physical Symptoms
One of the physical symptoms that can be caused by anxiety is cramping, this is usually brought on by a magnesium deficiency. A magnesium deficiency can be caused by a number of factors and some of these include magnesium-enriched food, including beans, meat, fish, and some dairy products.
However, if you find that your body is lacking magnesium then this is probably what is causing your anxiety symptoms. The good news is that there are some very effective ways to increase the levels of magnesium in your body.
3. Try Meditation
One of the best ways to deal with fear and anxiety is to try to incorporate a few different methods for overcoming your fear or anxieties. For example, by incorporating meditation into your daily routine you can learn to tackle your fears head-on.
4. Create a Vision Board
5. Write Down Your Thoughts
Journaling has been shown to have many mental health benefits, including reducing anxiety, depression, insomnia, and even negative thoughts. In fact, a study from the University of Pennsyvlania found that journaling alone was able to help induce clinical remission in 40% of patients with anxiety disorders.
Private thoughts are very personal and often difficult to discuss. Obviously, our thoughts are an essential part of ourselves. In most cases, the things we think about are the things that make us who we are. However, we must remember that something we’ve thought about in the confines of our own mind, in the safety of our home, may be completely different if it is said aloud in a social setting.
Nevertheless, there are a few things that one might keep private to oneself. If one has an experience or feeling that is unique to them and they do not want anyone else to know about it, they might keep it to themselves.
6. Practice Mindfulness
Did you know the average person thinks approximately 55,000 thoughts a day? A majority of these thoughts are often about ourselves. How we look, the positive or negative interactions with others, etc. We tell ourselves what we need to do or not do, how we should feel and what we deserve. But it can all change with the practice of becoming more mindful.
Mindfulness can lead to better sleep, increased memory, reduced stress, more creativity, and greater compassion. Here are three tips to developing your positive thinking: Exercise the skill of being mindful by practicing it for five minutes a day. Bring your awareness of thoughts, feelings, and sensations to the current moment. By doing this, it can lower anxiety, anxiety attacks, anger, chest
7. Consider Hypnotherapy
Finally, consider hypnotherapy, which is a proven therapy for many conditions and problems including anxiety, smoking cessation, weight control, and smoking cessation. Research also suggests that it may help with sleep, mood, stress, and anorexia nervosa. Hypnosis is a naturally occurring state in which a person is in an altered state of consciousness. In this state, a person is open and receptive to new information and ideas and is freed from conscious, ongoing mental barriers to change. In this state, the individual is able to believe in his or her own reality and accept it.