What to do if you have social anxiety - 10 Tips
Having a reason to not socialize is a relief.
When Covid-19 started breaking out in America and we had to go into quarantine in March of 2020, I noticed something interesting: my clients with social anxiety were less troubled by quarantine than anyone else. In fact, they seemed to be the least anxious people around. I actually had one client with social anxiety joke that quarantining was his superpower. It’s not really that strange if you think about it. If socializing creates anxiety for you, then having permission to stop interacting with others is kind of a relief.
What is social anxiety?
Social anxiety doesn’t look the same for everyone. You may just have a general fear of being around others and being embarrassed or you may have full blow Social Phobia/ Social Anxiety Disorder. You may have social anxiety if you have a persistent fear of social or performance situations where you worry you may be embarrassed, scrutinized, or judged negatively by other people. The anxiety is irrational or outside of the scope of what is warranted by the situation. As a result of this anxiety, people with social phobia or anxiety avoid many situations which then causes disruptions in their life.
Physical symptoms of social anxiety include:
Increased heart rate
Nausea
Dizziness
Trembling
Difficulty speaking
Emotional symptoms of social anxiety include:
Intense worry about the social situation for days or weeks beforehand
Avoiding social situations or trying to make yourself invisible in those situations
Feeling anxious that people will notice you are worried
Worrying about embarrassing yourself
Needing alcohol or drugs to deal with social situations
Tips for dealing with social anxiety
Talk to a Houston anxiety therapist to learn techniques for reducing your anxiety so it feels manageable
Learn how to use cognitive behavioral therapy to decrease your anxiety or distorted thinking
Learn to use exposure therapy to decrease or extinguish your fear of social situation
Decrease your caffeine intake (caffeine increases anxiety)
Improve your sleep (good sleep hygiene is key)
Engage in more self-care and things that recharge you
Choose to say yes to social situations even when you want to say no
Work on your perfectionism. It can be the fear of being perfect that keeps you from wanting to socialize at all.
Track your negative/anxious thinking and learn to talk back to it
Congratulate yourself for even small victories instead of criticizing yourself when things don’t go the way you had planned
Learn to be free of social anxiety
If you have social anxiety or social phobia, you know how disruptive and upsetting it can be. You may have learned to deal with it by avoiding certain situations, but that is just putting a bandaid on the problem. The anxiety is likely stopping you from really living a free, happy life full of possibilities because you are controlled by your fear. Most people with social anxiety wait 10 years or more to get help. If you are reading this, know help is just around the corner. You don’t have to deal with this alone.
We hope you find these resources helpful! If you are struggling with loneliness, conflict, or anxiety, speaking to a professional anxiety counselor in Houston can help.
The advice in this blog is not a substitute for professional counseling.
ANXIETY TREATMENT IN HOUSTON, TX
If you are struggling with excessive anxiety and/or an anxiety disorder and would like to talk to a professional therapist in the Houston area, contact Wilson Counseling online to schedule an appointment or call 713-565-0922 to ask questions about how their anxiety therapists can help.
OTHER THERAPY SERVICES WE OFFER IN HOUSTON, TX
In addition to Anxiety Treatment and Autism Therapy, we have other mental health services that we offer at our Houston, TX counseling office. Our services are available for adults, children, and teens. For individuals we offer Eating Disorder Counseling, School and College Counseling, Autism Therapy, Perinatal and Postpartum Treatment, and Infertility Counseling. As well as Child Therapy, Family Therapy, Parenting Counseling, Couples Therapy and Marriage Counseling, Trauma Therapy, PTSD Treatment, EMDR Therapy, and LGBTQ+ Counseling. Our caring therapists also offer Career Counseling and LPC Supervision. All of these services are also available through Online Counseling throughout Texas.
Contact us at Wilson Counseling or by phone at 713-565-0922 to find out more about our services or to schedule an appointment. You can find out more about Anxiety counseling here. You don't have to go through this alone. We are in this together.