Overcoming any challenge in life requires hard work and patience, and social anxiety is no exception. Imagine a huge rock of challenge in front of you, blocking your path. You try moving it, but it weighs far more than an aeroplane.
If you don’t have a really good reason to keep trying, you’re going to give up in no time. So is social anxiety for all genders. It’s a growth challenge that usually begins in teenage years. It can be very distressing and have a big impact on social life.
For some people, it gets worse if no treatment is taken into consideration, while for others it gets better with age as they grow older. Seeking help is important if you are having this challenge. There are various ranges of actions and treatment that can help manage it. While this could be a step there exist many other techniques for dealing and managing social anxiety.
Goal setting
One fundamental step in overcoming social anxiety is in setting goals. While working with a group of people, the objective behaviour would be to make initially few comments which give a good indicator for judging self-progress and achievement. This helps in focusing on whether actual behavioural tasks were performed or not.
Furthermore, other people’s reactions should not matter much but what should matter is that opinions have been uttered on the said issues. Another way is that you have actually asked whether your friend or colleague would agree to attend that party with you. Above all, you were assertive and respected your own desires.
Natural food supplements
Herbal supplements have over the years proven to be beneficial for mental health and well-being hence, if you aren’t ready to approach the aspect of medication with your psychiatrist, doctor or therapist but feel like trying something medicinal, consider trying a herbal supplement from your garden or farmland.
There are a number of herbal supplements for anxiety and panic management; at an initial stage, the change could be so small but watching movies and news every evening can help boost self-esteem and improve social well-being.
Be answerable to positive circles
Being responsible for someone can help in life growth. Your social anxiety will remain if no one knows you are trying to move past your social difficulties and are not accountable or answerable to anyone. Spending time with positive minds can help you feel good and help overcome social obstacles in life.
In doing this, select someone you trust either family or friend, and tell them about your plans to make changes in your social life. This works very much like having a daily routine partner because the other person keeps you honest and from giving up when the road seems too rough and long.
Speech practice
Feeling ashamed of having it is one of the things which make social anxiety worse in overcoming it. Positive individuals are not worried about whether everyone is going to like what they have to say, all they do is speak their mind the best way they can because they want to engage and connect with other people.
Learning to speak at home, events and seminars is one of the best places to start in dealing with social anxiety. You can also practice talking more openly either at work or while walking on the road with strangers.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness helps present outlook, feelings, and memories at a given moment. Learning to notice and appreciate yourself and the world around you, including those unpleasant thoughts and feelings, without judgment can help curb social anxiety.
With mindfulness, you will realise that social connections and exchange of ideas are not something you need to avoid. You perform better because you are actually paying attention to the signals and conversation in your environment. With consistent practice, it can improve social skills and ultimately make you feel more confident.
Onah Caleb is a research assistant at Benue State University (Nigeria). He runs the blog KaylebsThought.
