How to Control Social Anxiety Effectively

How to control social anxiety?

Many social anxiety sufferers, from around the globe, have asked this question repeatedly. The biggest tragedy is there are many inflicted with the condition who don’t realise it is a recognised disorder or know what it’s called. As they don’t know what it is, they are equally ignorant of the fact it can be easily cured.

It’s an important issue because the condition is not rare. In the past decade the US National Cormorbidity Survey has discovered that it’s actually the most common anxiety disorder.

It has a very far reaching impact on sufferers. Social situations are viewed with abject dread (many preferring to remain cocooned in their little shell). And public speaking, should the need arise, is an absolute nightmare, in which nerves become grossly over exaggerated, as do reflexes.

It’s a disorder characterised by certain symptoms. It’s not just attending social events that fills sufferers with complete dread but, the period prior to the event, pre-occupies the minds of sufferers days, or even weeks, before. Often sufferers encounter an increased heart rate, shaking, sweating, and blushing. It’s a very awkward state to be in.

Whilst we set out some simple points to consider below, there is in fact a whole gambit of additional information when you click on the links further below.

Relaxation

Your mental state goes into overdrive very quickly and you need to learn how to establish a mindset to slow it down. Aromatherapy, meditation, yoga, etc., are all great mind state enhancers which will enable the condition you need to establish before you can exercise some form of control. But this is only the first step, amongst a number of other steps you need to enrol.

Get a good night’s rest

We’ve all been there. Tired, but unable to sleep. Being continually tired exacerbates anxiety. In fact it exacerbates many things mentally. It’s really important that you learn how to get a good night’s sleep. It’s often a few simple things you are not doing that causes your lack of sleep. And it is actually easy to resolve, when you know how. Being continually tired will encourage negative feelings which will promote your anxious state. And not being able to sleep will only give you another thing to be anxious about!

Re-program your brain

You need to engage in a self-help program to reprogram your brain to learn how to interpret things differently.

Think about it logically. If your brain is able to perceive so many events in a negative way, then it also has the capacity to do exactly the opposite and perceive them as equally positive as well. After all, how do the brains of non-anxious people function? Just have your mind re-programmed so it does that instead.

You’re actually just the same as everyone else. You have the same brain and you have the same switching functionality. Only difference being your negative switch is turned on, and your positive switch turned off. It’s very simple, get your switching turned the other way (just like positive people have it set).

Keep doing what you’re doing

Running away from the issue will not resolve it – obviously. It’s better to engage in a re-programming exercise, as explained above, and then keep doing the things that make you so uncomfortable (but with your newly altered perception).

It may be hard to appreciate right now but, by continuing to be socially inept, means that a great source of life’s enjoyment is unavailable to you and you’re missing out. The daft thing is, it’s easy to resolve, and you can start resolving it right away.

If you have a severe anxiety disorder you can seek professional help. Trouble is, many will just prescribe an antidepressant. You don’t really want this as it only suppresses the feeling for a while, has uncomfortable side effects, and is something on which you could become dependent. In other words, it leads to other problems (which will only add to your anxious state).

In addition, they may offer you Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This therapy explores your feelings and psychological reactions. The technique does attempt to replace negative perceptions with constructive ones instead. It does work, but not in every case.

However, thanks to some intensive research over past decades there are now some very effective new self help remedies which can be undertaken on your own, quietly, in your own home. Thus no one needs to know what you are doing.

And the other great thing is, once you know which of these novel approached works best, the results can be rapid and astounding. For more information, click on the links below.

Douglas Barker is well known for delivering comprehensive key fact sheets in the field of life improvement. This includes specialist information at the How to Control Anxiety website, where you will also locate invaluable aids on social anxiety at the Control Anxiety page.