Feeling nervous in social situations is normal, but social anxiety is more than being shy.
If anxiety is so intense that it stops you from meeting new friends or impacts your business or career, then it’s time to do something about it.
It may show up as emotional symptoms (e.g., fear of talking to people you don’t know or feeling like you’re being judged) or physical symptoms (e.g., sweaty palms, racing heartbeat, or nausea).
Anxiety could lead to negative coping mechanisms such as drinking too much at social events or coming up with excuses to avoid going out.
It can make you feel all alone with people everywhere around you.
I’d like to share some tips that could help.
1. Breathing Exercises
When you’re anxious, your breathing and heartbeat might speed up.
Try breathing exercises like the 4-7-8 technique:
- Breathe in for 4 seconds
- Hold your breath for 7 seconds
- Exhale for 8 seconds
2. Rethink Negative Thoughts
Take a moment to think about negative thoughts differently.
If you feel nervous about meeting new people because you’re afraid of what you might say, take a moment to think about what you will say. You can’t go wrong with saying hello with a smile.
In his book, ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People”, Dale Carnegie suggested asking questions people want to answer. Ask people questions about themselves—their family, pets, favourite vacations—and then let them answer. Being a good listener removes the need to speak about yourself, and you’ll make the new person you’ve met feel good. You may even make a new friend.
3. Face Your Fears
Take it slowly. For example, consider volunteering for a cause you believe in. You’ll have something in common with the other participants, making the conversation easier.
Think about what holds you back and each week try to face one of them.
4. Relieve Anxiety with Healthy Lifestyle Choices
A common misconception about smoking is that it calms you down and makes you feel less anxious. This is wrong; the chemicals in tobacco may help you feel relaxed – while you’re smoking, but if you’ve ever smoked, you know that anxious feelings that come up when you’re out of cigarettes. Nicotine causes your brain to release dopamine, which makes you feel good, but that wears off. Smoking causes physical stress on your body.
While caffeine may not cause anxiety, it can make anxiety worse. For example, studies have shown that caffeine can cause an increase in panic attacks. .
5. Try Hypnosis for Anxiety Relief
If you’ve tried these tips but still struggle with anxiety, Hypnosis is an option.
Consider booking a hypnosis consultation with me. Self-hypnosis can help you manage your anxiety, especially if it’s affecting your daily life – and my clients learn this technique at the end of their first session.
I use a hypnosis process where I don’t make you relive your experiences that may have caused your anxiety. I will ask if there are any experiences anywhere that caused this issue, and if your mind says yes, I will ask if your conscious mind wants to know about them.
If your mind says yes, I will ask your higher mind to do what is needed to change them to remove this issue.
However, if your higher mind says it’s not beneficial for your conscious mind to be aware of them, that’s okay, too. I will ask your mind to do what is needed to help resolve the issue. Your mind will not make you relive something that will cause you pain.
My motto is relieve, not relive!
In Summary
Instead of staying home and avoiding situations and people or going to a spouse’s or your own company party and drinking too much, explore these five tips for overcoming social anxiety. You may not become the life of the party, but you might attend one and have a good time!