Do you feel nervous when you have to go to a social gathering and often go blank? Does it seem a pain in the neck to attend a party? It’s high time you overcome that social anxiety. It is absolutely necessary for your personal and professional progress. Self-help is the first thing we should focus on. So without any further ado let’s just jump into the things and learn the 7 easy and practical steps to overcome the social anxiety disorder.

“Practice makes anyone perfect”

Even the most impossible things were achieved by mankind. Many such unthinkable things were done and taken place in Guinness world records and what’s this in front of them if you put in the required effort. We are humans and we need to interact with one another of our kind and it is a fact of life. So, let’s see the ways to cure that social anxiety disorder.

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Get the better of social anxiety disorder

If something is stopping your progress and is the cause of your stress, we must try and snap out of it. In this case, it’s a social anxiety disorder (SAD). Some of the situations that trigger anxiety are meeting new people, giving a presentation in a meeting, being watched when doing something, eating in public, expressing opinions in a crowd, fear of being judged etc.

In such situations, people experience rapid heartbeat, muscle tension, sweating etc… To get out of it you need to help yourself first. If self-help isn’t working then one can go for professional help.

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1. Write down the list of things that are stopping you from socializing

If one is unable to socialize, there might a higher chance of the reason being low self-esteem. Confidence never comes from outside, it should be built within you. Knowing yourself is the first step. Take a paper and note down the things you think that are the causes of your low confidence. It might be a simplest of simple things from your English speaking skills to the lifestyle, jot down everything on a paper. And start working on them. Working on something will give you an instant boost to your confidence.

Many times there won’t be any reason except YOU stopping yourself with some lame excuses. But if there’s any reason for your personal improvement, go for it. I’m not saying to change yourself into something you’re not but to improve yourself. There’s always room for improvement. Embrace yourself as who you are and improve.

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Heart of the matter!

2. Maintain eye contact even if you’re not comfortable

When we are nervous we don’t make an eye contact with the other person. That showcases our low self-esteem and give the other person a chance to dominate us (if he’s a nice person that’s different tho) and all this only makes it worse for us. So, just make an eye contact tho you’re not comfortable. The first time, you’ll feel nervous (as if you’ve stepped into someone else’s shoes), the second time, you’ll feel awkward, third time, you’ll feel OK, and finally, after a few trials, you’ll feel better. *smile*

Anything would be new for just first one or two times, after that you’ll be accustomed to that. That won’t be new anymore.

3. Smile tho you feel nervous

When you’re thrown into something you’re not comfortable with, you’ll feel nervous and sweaty. And to fight back that nervousness, smile.

Scientifically:, “smiling is a way to trick your brain into thinking everything is going great”. Trick your brain till you get back to normal. Smiling is a facial expression that relaxes your muscles and eases the tension.

“Smiling is a way to trick your brain into thinking everything is going great”. Trick your brain till you get back to normal. Smiling is a facial expression that relaxes your muscles and eases the tension.

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4. Divert all the negative thoughts

In such social situations which you’re not used to, you tend to think negatively. AVOID THAT. Divert all your thoughts to the positive side of the situation. For example, you are at a party and you don’t know anyone there. So you’re thinking to talk to a complete stranger and you started thinking all the negative things that can happen, what if they’re not interested, what if I talk something stupid and they make fun of me, I don’t want to humiliate myself if they sound rude, I don’t even know how to start the conversation etc… etc… etc. But don’t let those thoughts enter your brain instead avoid them and think positive thoughts intentionally like they seem nice, I can make a friend today etc.

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5. Push yourself towards your fears

Every person has certain fears in life. If not this, it can be anything. When you push yourself towards your fears, you’re sure gonna make yourself better than what you’re yesterday. We all must face our fears at some point or the other in life, why not do it at our own will.

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Here comes my favorite trick!

6. Magic mirror therapy

Sit in front of a mirror and talk positively. Appreciate yourself, talk positive, practice how you should talk and behave in a social gathering. While doing this directly look into your eyes in the reflection. This is a very effective therapy to skyrocket your confidence and I have personally experienced it.

7. Take initiation to say “hi” to get past that social anxiety disorder

You need not involve yourself in lengthy conversations until you feel comfortable but say hi to everyone you meet and move on. That’s the first step from your side. Get the better of your fears little by little. Once you’re past that border (initiation) you won’t feel a thing. Don’t just attend a party and be a cold fish. If you do all the above six steps consistently you’ll get the nerve to make a move from your side.

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P.S:

Hope all these techniques will be helpful for you to overcome social anxiety disorder. It’s only a matter of time before you overcome your social anxiety disorder. Don’t just pull the plug if you don’t seem to succeed in your very first attempt. Everything needs some time to adjust. If you have tried all the self-help techniques above and none of them really helped, you might need professional help.

LOVE.

*You can follow me on Instagram @nikhila_chalamalasetty. I’d love to hear from you*