These days, many people may experience feelings of social anxiety quite often. This feeling of anxiety or fear may be related to interactions with other people. A person may have a feeling of being negatively evaluated by others. Most often, this can occur both before and during the interaction with people. And for some time afterwards, the feeling of anxiety may haunt the person’s life.
There are many symptoms of social anxiety. These can be physical symptoms such as sweating, shortness of breath, or heart palpitations. It can also be psychological symptoms, such as various anxious thoughts and even refusing to go out. Social anxiety can be experienced by many people, and it can be a real problem. However, there are different ways to relieve anxiety and worry.
Breathing exercises
Shortness of breath can be one of the symptoms a person experiencing anxiety may face. It can lead to an oversaturation of oxygen in the body without removing carbon dioxide. The body may get a false signal that you need oxygen, when in fact you may even have an excess of it. This can even cause detrimental effects both physically and mentally.
The obvious solution to this problem is to do breathing exercises or, for example, yoga classes. It includes both breathing and also stretching. Taking yoga classes and working on breathing exercises can help alleviate feelings of social anxiety.
Changing the way you think
A great way to combat social anxiety can be to realize that feeling anxious is a natural process. Anxiety is a normal reaction to perceived moments of discomfort or danger. However, anxiety does not define us as individuals. It appears only in emergency situations and does not constitute our entire identity structure.
Worry and anxiety can produce similar feelings of anxiety. This can be one way to think about anxious feelings. However, all you can do is shift your attention from the main stimulus of anxiety to smaller, more manageable tasks.
Creating and achieving realistic goals
A person with excessive social anxiety may find it helpful to make a list of achievable goals. The person receives positive feedback when he or she puts himself or herself in different situations and achieves his or her goals. Positive feedback when goals are achieved encourages the person to set larger goals. As these goals are achieved, the feeling of social anxiety begins to diminish. The person may then find it easier to cope with more difficult social tasks.
Having a close companion
No one likes feeling alone. Having someone close to you contributes to overcoming social anxiety. Having a friend nearby is a good way to join in group socializing. There are many companions you can choose from depending on the situation.
One of the best companions is an emotional support animal. Having an ESA serves many purposes around the house. It will always be there to add happiness to your life. If you want a pet to reduce anxiety, get connected with a licensed healthcare professional to obtain an ESA letter.
