Ways To Deal With Social Anxiety

Social Anxiety Disorder is a Psychiatric disorder that attacks about one in eight Americans. Those who have the disorder can become physically sick in social conditions. The disorder can ruin even more than your self esteem, it could destroy your marriage, finances and a lot of other aspects of your life. This illness is characterized by fear of social situations.

There is help for people suffering from social anxiety disorder.  If you look for treatment, you will be able to find medications, counseling and help group information to help you on how to deal with social anxiety.  When looking for treatment, there are things that you could do that will help alleviate stressful social situations and ways to start reacquainting yourself with friends and family members. 

1) Read as much as you can on the disorder.  Visit your local library and check out books on the topic.  Then, check out books with topics about gaining self-esteem, positive thinking, public speaking, or anything that you believe will empower you to build more confidence.  You can't just make this disorder disappear by the snap of a finger.  You need to read as much as you can on the topic and topics that will help you re-build your own self-worth. 

2) Start maintaining a daily, weekly, and monthly journal.  In this daily journal write down where you're right now in your life.  Write things regarding any and all social conditions.  How did you feel in those social conditions?  How do you think others reacted towards you and in which way did you respond to them?  Were you feeling sick today when you were experiencing the social condition? 

At the end of the week, summarize your set-backs and itemize your improvement.  At the end of the month, write 2 pages in your journal.  The first page should summarize any complicated situations and how you overcame that situation, or how you dealt with it.  The second page should summarize the social events and social situations where you felt comfortable and the reason why you felt comfortable.  How did you feel overall?  Although this may appear to be a waste of time, you will find that the journals will help you facing and overcoming your fears. 

3) Set social goals for yourself and follow through on them.  If you are really uneasy at the mall, then go to the mall and walk in.  Then walk out, at once.  If your social anxiety seems to attack you when you are in the middle of a packed building, walk to the center of the crowd, and immediately turn and walk away.  Take small practical steps at the beginning and then move on to the more challenging issues you might have. 

Finally, always be open and honest when you talk to your Physician. Take your medication and try to overcome your social anxiety so you can experience the life that you deserve to live at the very fullest. Stressful social situations occur to every person at some point in their lives and one out of every eight people understand how you feel to be living with something much worse than 'one social condition', you are not alone at all and while there is little comfort in understanding that you aren't alone, do know that you are understood.