5 Ways to Overcome Social Anxiety

There’s nothing fun about being trapped in your own head, while your body floods with anxiety. As someone who used to suffer from social anxiety, I’m no stranger to how much this can wreak havoc on your life.

It’s extremely persuasive and it’ll talk you out of going to parties, sharing your opinion, dating, and saying yes to anything that requires your voice...or your presence.

Social anxiety can be brought on due to low self-esteem, being overly self-critical, the fear of rejection, past traumatic experience, subscribing to the belief that you’re not a great conversationalist, or a combination of it all.

After working through it myself and helping my clients, I want to share some tools that have been radically helpful:

😌 Anxiety is your body’s way of trying to protect you. So, instead of resenting a feeling that’s just concerned about your safety, express gratitude.

When my anxiety is triggered, I have a conversation with it and say, “I see what you’re doing—thank you. I appreciate you looking out for me, but I’m safe and it’s all okay.”

👍 Accept that you’re imperfect and sometimes you’ll mess up, slur over words, and say the wrong thing. This idea that you need to present yourself perfectly is unrealistic and silly—you’re a human, not a robot.

⚠️ Your job isn’t to make others like you, your job is to make you like you. And when you focus on that relationship, rejection gets easier and you give less fucks about how others perceive you.

😃 Practice makes progress. Confidence comes from doing the reps and showing up—even when it’s uncomfortable.

Start with trivial interactions, like saying hi to the person that walks by or talking to the cashier.

💎 Flip the script from, “Does this person like me and find me interesting?” to “Do I find this person interesting? Do I like this person?”

^^ an excellent mindset to have when you go on dates.

There you have it 5 ways to dissipate social anxiety. You’ve got this, boo. ⚡️