bipolar versus anxiety

Social Anxiety is defined as an extreme state of emotional discomfort or fears towards one’s self when encountering large crowds of people in a social setting. For those who suffer from social anxiety, it can be a very crippling and debilitating dilemma faced almost every day. Just picture that you are suffering from social anxiety, feeling very shy and scared to visit restaurants or superstores, you fear crowds and groups of people that you eventually stop going out to movies or parties altogether.

You are even afraid or feel very anxious when it comes to attending lectures at school so getting involved in any activity which requires you to get up on stage or do a presentation in front of a crowd of people might just be too difficult to handle.

It is safe to say then as these sufferers grow older, they become progressively more isolated. They would make very few friendships, or even worse looked upon as social outcasts or loners due to their extreme social shyness.

Overcoming social anxiety disorder is therefore sought by many who suffer from it. The following tips will help you to overcome social anxiety should you find yourself in a nervous situation.

Tips #1 -

Always bring along a trusted friend, colleague or family with you when you are going out on a social call, be it to a conference gathering, a seminar or even just a small party, where you know that the chances of you feeling very uncomfortable are high. Having someone whom you can trust and who you feel comfortable with will help alleviate your social anxiety.

Tip #2-

Always take small steps when immersing oneself in the social crowd. You could perhaps start by introducing yourself to one or two people and just stay back and observe the surrounding for 5 minutes. If you should start to feel too anxious, excuse yourself politely and move to a more open space. Breathe deeply and calm yourself down before you return back in. This should help reduce your anxiety.

Tip #3-

Are you aware that caffeinated drinks such as coffee, tea, soda and energy drinks will amplify your anxiety symptoms? Yes, they do! This is because caffeine drinks acts as stimulants; therefore try to reduce your intake of caffeine as much as possible daily.

Tip #4-

Another technique you could adopt is to monitor your own thoughts and feeling when you start to feel anxious. Be aware of negative thoughts such as ‘I’m going to embarrass myself again’ or ‘I’m bound to say something stupid and make a fool of myself’. Stop these negative thoughts once you are aware of them. Replace them with positive thoughts like ‘Everything is great and I’m going to be OK’. Take deep, slow regular breaths while you run these positive thoughts over in your head and visualize it happening at the same time.

If you would like to find out more tips on how to overcome social anxiety, click here for the latest tips and updates to help you overcome social anxiety.

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