Overcome Social Anxiety And Make Many More Friends

Social anxiety is a true disorder that is a problem for many people.  There are many different degrees to which it can affect someone, from a mild bother to being completely debilitating.

Social anxiety is when an individual becomes very anxious and nervous when they are in social settings.  A lot of times people that have social anxiety have been told they are shy.  Thankfully, there are some things that you can do if you suffer from social anxiety so that it doesn’t affect you and you overcome this fear.

One way to handle social anxiety is to change your thought pattern.  Envision the social gathering that you are attending going well.  Don’t allow negative thoughts to bring you down.  Remind yourself of all of your wonderful qualities and how fortunate anyone would be to be your friend.

Fake it till you make it.  Even if you don’t feel confident going into a social situation, pretend that you do.  You will fool those that are there and before you know it, you may even fool yourself.

Relax.  A lot of times people that suffer from social anxiety get themselves so tense and stressed that they suffer physical symptoms like headaches and an upset stomach.

Start out slowly.  If you have social anxiety, there is no need to feel like you have to overcome it in one day.  Allow yourself to take things slowly.  Maybe you will attend a small backyard barbeque and then move on to a bigger get together such as a block party.

Don’t give up.  You can overcome your social anxiety and the more you get out there and practice, the better that you will be at it.  In time, you will find that you are comfortable and at ease in social situations.

There is a very informative and helpful article on social anxiety at Helpguide.