7 strategies to overcome social phobia

Social phobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by feeling intense fear in social situations. People who have social phobia feel paralyzing fear when there are more people around, as well as nervousness, anxiety or shyness. This is very uncomfortable and limiting.

Learning to relax in social situations is the key to overcoming social phobia. Being calm will allow you to think about what you are going to say and engage in a conversation without feeling like everyone is looking at you waiting for you to do something wrong. But how to relax and achieve that much-needed social confidence?

Get ready to relax

People who feel social phobia worry in advance, anticipating the situation. To overcome the anxiety produced by the social situation, what you have to do is just the opposite. Instead of anticipating fear, think about relaxing. Don’t think about the anxiety that the future situation will cause you, but rather that you have to relax.

Look for social situations

Even if you feel afraid of social situations, you know that, sooner or later, you must face them, and that important things will depend on it, such as a job or a personal relationship. But If you constantly avoid social situations out of fear, it will be very difficult for you to be able to overcome the ones that matter most to you.

Therefore, Instead of avoiding social situations, look for them. Try to socialize outside your usual circle or in small situations that require a small interaction. You will see that little by little you will feel more comfortable. Even if you don’t participate, little by little you will learn to feel more comfortable among people.

look out

People with social phobia usually focus their attention on themselves, on their feelings. That’s why You should try to focus outwards. This will help you reduce anxiety. Think about unimportant things, such as decoration, the color of the walls, music or sounds, etc.

make questions

Social phobia causes us to worry too much about what others think of us. To overcome this, ask open-ended questions that require more than a “yes” or “no” answer and focus on the answers. This forces your focus of attention to go from the inside out.

Don’t let your imagination betray you

Your imagination can play tricks on you in social situations. In fact, most of the things you fear have not happened or are not happening. What’s more, we can influence what others think or say due to our attitude, derived from what we think they think or believe is happening.

Your imagination anticipates things that have not happened and, without realizing it, you can cause them to happen, since you are predisposed to it. One more time, Put the focus outside of yourself so as not to feed your thoughts in a negative way.

Think about how you want to feel

Instead of focusing on the fear and anxiety that a social situation produces, think about how you would like to be. Savor the feeling of confidence and security, of peace and success, of relaxation and mastery of the situation. Mentally rehearse those sensations.

This is a way to visualize yourself in comfortable situations, without risks. This will allow you to enjoy pleasant sensations and will help you feel more encouraged by the idea of ​​being with others, since you have experienced, in a certain way, that you are capable of having a good time and being comfortable with others.

Be yourself

Social phobia is due, in part, to the conviction that we have to be what is expected of us, to give a perfect and adequate image. In part, this is so, since you have to know how to be. But also You have to trust and feel capable of overcoming the situation without giving up yourself..

In this sense, We don’t have to focus so much on what others think of us, but rather on feeling comfortable with ourselves without being a perfectionist.

Seek professional support

Anxiety disorders should be addressed by a therapist or mental health specialist. Well, these professionals have the necessary resources to address this problem with effective, scientifically supported results. The most common treatments for social phobia are:

Pharmacotherapy

Drugs that have been shown to be effective in relieving the symptoms of social phobia are: serotonin reuptake inhibitors, benzodiazepines, and energy beta blockers. These last, Vegetative symptoms related to activation, such as tachycardia, tremors and sweating, decrease.

Psychological treatment

There are different psychological approaches that treat this condition. The most used and studied is cognitive behavioral therapy, which is limited in time and aimed at teaching patients the cognitions and behaviors necessary to function adaptively in the interpersonal and intraperson spheresl. This approach works with the following techniques: exposure, cognitive restructuring, relaxation and social skills training.

Other psychological trends that have clinically addressed social phobia are psychoanalytically oriented, supportive, and interpersonal therapy.

In conclusion, We emphasize the importance of going to a professional, especially if we feel that we cannot overcome it on our own.

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