Just sit with the discomfort for a while. I’ve found that if you take the chance of going and doing, there is a reasonable expectation of having a great time. If you stay at home, you’ll just beat yourself up for not going.
Practice conversation and making small talk with people. Practice practice practice. Put yourself in awkward situations and talk yourself out of them. Listen to others and ask questions. Be interested in them and what they are saying. And did I mention you need to practice doing this??
You could look up techniques on how to talk to people, start with looking up conversational threading. You could take improv classes to improve interactions with weird situations. You could join a club that does a shared interest of yours and talk to people who like the same things as you. Then you can also accept that it takes time and very awkward situations to make it go away and avoiding socializing only makes it worse.
Signed someone who couldn’t get through a single sentence when i was younger
These days? Get rid of society itself. It’s super toxic, so be kind to yourself and pick carefully who you’re around with. Don’t try to join when not invited, too. You’d spoil it for others.
Realize no one cares about you. I used to have a ton of anxiety and even still get some today (thanks my weed addiction) and now I can do pretty much anything. Do you remember someone saying something weird or tripping or anything like that? No because it wasn’t memorable for anyone else. No one watches us they was we watch ourselves because it’s selfish to think that. But if you have OCD or something you’ll have to talk to a therapist to fix that
I force myself to socialize and make conversation even if it’s painfully awkward. I start by asking questions and being friendly (because I am friendly, I just have a hard time showing it). You have to keep pushing yourself and putting yourself out there. Eventually you kind of stop caring what people think. It will take a long time, but it’s worth it. It’s called “exposure therapy”. You get over it by doing it repeatedly and overcoming it. Getting older also helps because you won’t care as much about your self image.
I struggle with this over the years, outside of professional environment, I’m also shy.. what I find most helpful is to keep saying yes to opportunities to meet people, though I’m still quite quiet & anxious, I also started to continue conversations with people when they chat with me, e.g., class instructors, supermarket.. or try to talk to people when I’m in queue to ask about their pets/what sort of food would they recommend from the cafes cabinet etc.. I find the more you do it the more easy it gets.. though I’m still trying to get over it..
Activities in small groups for something you are interested in and knowledgeable about. Makes it much easier to have conversations when it’s something you are already comfortable with.
Other questions of a similar vein:
Q. How do I get motivated for the gym? You don’t. You do it anyway.
Q. How do I overcome fear of public speaking? You don’t. You do it scared.
Don’t look for silver bullets. Not alchohol, not drugs, not CBT, not therapists. Some work, temporarily. Many come with side effects. The only way to get past it is build discipline. You CAN do it scared/unmotivated, you’re just choosing not to and each time you do, it becomes harder to make the good choice.
Cue the downvotes as people scream about their mental health struggles and claim it’s out of their hands.
Become a regular at a really rough pub where you’ll encounter some of the worst and weird people in society on a regular basis. Eventually being social with a normal people will be a breeze (and eventually talking to weirdos will be too)
If you can swing it – online therapy is a thing and it’s really pretty good. I’ve been using this site for a few months. It’s really helping me. I can text my therapist as much as I need, and we have weekly sessions. She’s helping me with cancer issues plus stuff that predates that, is helping with my (severe) anxiety with coping mechanisms and strategies to help with panic attacks, before and during, and is also helping me figure out how to make progress going forward in terms of life stuff.
Accepting that life will be uncomfortable and living it anyway.
Embracing an attitude of curiosity and experimentation.
Releasing yourself from the delusion that you can curate a perfect self and control people’s response to it. Neither are possible. Give it up. Be who you are and let people have their own response to it.
Think less about who you are and more about what you want to experience.
Breathe and allow yourself to be awkward. Allow yourself to be.
Work on SHAME. Tons of resources out there for identifying and distancing yourself from chronic shame.
Quit telling yourself who you are and what you are and are not capable of. This goes back to curiosity and experimentation.
There is so much fun and freedom that awaits when suddenly you have permission to be your little gremlin self, gremlining around the world, living your little life, laughing at how absurd we ALL are, and how absurd this ALL is.
I went from spending all of my teens and twenties a shivering, tearful, avoidant, self-hating, isolated shell of a person, to turning 30 this year feeling strong, capable, free, and light. For the last 2 years I have been doing all of the above. My life has radically shifted. The world has opened up. I have developed strength in muscles I didn’t even know I had.
I am a super weird person, but I am rocking it. You can, too!
Absolutely not alcohol. Drinking to self medicate social anxiety is a very slippery slope towards alcoholism, or at least a very reliant and unhealthy relationship with it.
Constantly exposing yourself to it. I know it sounds dumb but over time you will get use to the anxiety and it will become normal like everything else.
Gradual Exposure: Start small — say hi to a coworker, ask a stranger for the time, etc. Little wins build confidence over time.
Therapy: Especially Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can give you practical tools to reframe anxious thoughts and reduce that inner panic.
Practice Mindfulness: Simple breathing exercises or meditation help you notice anxiety without letting it take over.
Positive Self-Talk: Sounds cheesy, but reminding yourself that mistakes are normal and people aren’t always judging you helps cut down the “everyone’s staring at me” feeling.
Support Network: Friends, family, or online communities can be huge in sharing tips and encouragement.
Everyone’s journey is different, but a combo of gradual exposure and therapy often works wonders. If it feels overwhelming, talking to a professional can really fast-track progress.
Comments
Expose yourself to situations/environment that cause you to feel anxious. Overtime, it will decrease .
Lobotomy
drinking
Meditation and calming down thoughts can help so much
hobbies that you do outside with other people no matter what it is it will help your anxiety
I wanna say any sports, any outdoor activity where you can meet people with similar interest…….. but deep down i wanna say cigarettes 🙂↕️
Might be a boring answer, but CBT.
SSRI’s also helped me!
But CBT is probably the righter answer
Just sit with the discomfort for a while. I’ve found that if you take the chance of going and doing, there is a reasonable expectation of having a great time. If you stay at home, you’ll just beat yourself up for not going.
Practice conversation and making small talk with people. Practice practice practice. Put yourself in awkward situations and talk yourself out of them. Listen to others and ask questions. Be interested in them and what they are saying. And did I mention you need to practice doing this??
Get comfortable in being uncomfortable (very hard)
You could look up techniques on how to talk to people, start with looking up conversational threading. You could take improv classes to improve interactions with weird situations. You could join a club that does a shared interest of yours and talk to people who like the same things as you. Then you can also accept that it takes time and very awkward situations to make it go away and avoiding socializing only makes it worse.
Signed someone who couldn’t get through a single sentence when i was younger
These days? Get rid of society itself. It’s super toxic, so be kind to yourself and pick carefully who you’re around with. Don’t try to join when not invited, too. You’d spoil it for others.
Go out for breakfast.
You are actively doing something
You have a time limit
It’s in the morning, so you don’t have to stress all day about it
Start with something easier first, like answering the phone. (i know it’s hard, but at least you don’t see the other person)
Society is toxic. Just sit in your own
Realize no one cares about you. I used to have a ton of anxiety and even still get some today (thanks my weed addiction) and now I can do pretty much anything. Do you remember someone saying something weird or tripping or anything like that? No because it wasn’t memorable for anyone else. No one watches us they was we watch ourselves because it’s selfish to think that. But if you have OCD or something you’ll have to talk to a therapist to fix that
Not taking yourself so seriously and realizing not everyone is gonna like you.
I force myself to socialize and make conversation even if it’s painfully awkward. I start by asking questions and being friendly (because I am friendly, I just have a hard time showing it). You have to keep pushing yourself and putting yourself out there. Eventually you kind of stop caring what people think. It will take a long time, but it’s worth it. It’s called “exposure therapy”. You get over it by doing it repeatedly and overcoming it. Getting older also helps because you won’t care as much about your self image.
Honestly controlled exposure therapy – exposing yourself to the scenarios more and more will help build confidence which can help reduce anxiety
Beeeeeeeer. Cures everything
I struggle with this over the years, outside of professional environment, I’m also shy.. what I find most helpful is to keep saying yes to opportunities to meet people, though I’m still quite quiet & anxious, I also started to continue conversations with people when they chat with me, e.g., class instructors, supermarket.. or try to talk to people when I’m in queue to ask about their pets/what sort of food would they recommend from the cafes cabinet etc.. I find the more you do it the more easy it gets.. though I’m still trying to get over it..
Go out
Activities in small groups for something you are interested in and knowledgeable about. Makes it much easier to have conversations when it’s something you are already comfortable with.
Still trying to figure that out
You don’t. You do it anyway.
Other questions of a similar vein:
Q. How do I get motivated for the gym? You don’t. You do it anyway.
Q. How do I overcome fear of public speaking? You don’t. You do it scared.
Don’t look for silver bullets. Not alchohol, not drugs, not CBT, not therapists. Some work, temporarily. Many come with side effects. The only way to get past it is build discipline. You CAN do it scared/unmotivated, you’re just choosing not to and each time you do, it becomes harder to make the good choice.
Cue the downvotes as people scream about their mental health struggles and claim it’s out of their hands.
Become a regular at a really rough pub where you’ll encounter some of the worst and weird people in society on a regular basis. Eventually being social with a normal people will be a breeze (and eventually talking to weirdos will be too)
Getting drunk helps
I tried ballroom dancing. Following instructions and not much time to chat with dance partners but just enough to get out and that helps a lot
Therapy, meds, meditation, yoga
If you can swing it – online therapy is a thing and it’s really pretty good. I’ve been using this site for a few months. It’s really helping me. I can text my therapist as much as I need, and we have weekly sessions. She’s helping me with cancer issues plus stuff that predates that, is helping with my (severe) anxiety with coping mechanisms and strategies to help with panic attacks, before and during, and is also helping me figure out how to make progress going forward in terms of life stuff.
Accepting that life will be uncomfortable and living it anyway.
Embracing an attitude of curiosity and experimentation.
Releasing yourself from the delusion that you can curate a perfect self and control people’s response to it. Neither are possible. Give it up. Be who you are and let people have their own response to it.
Think less about who you are and more about what you want to experience.
Breathe and allow yourself to be awkward. Allow yourself to be.
Work on SHAME. Tons of resources out there for identifying and distancing yourself from chronic shame.
Quit telling yourself who you are and what you are and are not capable of. This goes back to curiosity and experimentation.
There is so much fun and freedom that awaits when suddenly you have permission to be your little gremlin self, gremlining around the world, living your little life, laughing at how absurd we ALL are, and how absurd this ALL is.
I went from spending all of my teens and twenties a shivering, tearful, avoidant, self-hating, isolated shell of a person, to turning 30 this year feeling strong, capable, free, and light. For the last 2 years I have been doing all of the above. My life has radically shifted. The world has opened up. I have developed strength in muscles I didn’t even know I had.
I am a super weird person, but I am rocking it. You can, too!
Depends on the cause.
Give up caring
Absolutely not alcohol. Drinking to self medicate social anxiety is a very slippery slope towards alcoholism, or at least a very reliant and unhealthy relationship with it.
Cant have social anxiety if you never socialize 😎 /s
Constantly exposing yourself to it. I know it sounds dumb but over time you will get use to the anxiety and it will become normal like everything else.
Gradual Exposure: Start small — say hi to a coworker, ask a stranger for the time, etc. Little wins build confidence over time.
Therapy: Especially Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can give you practical tools to reframe anxious thoughts and reduce that inner panic.
Practice Mindfulness: Simple breathing exercises or meditation help you notice anxiety without letting it take over.
Positive Self-Talk: Sounds cheesy, but reminding yourself that mistakes are normal and people aren’t always judging you helps cut down the “everyone’s staring at me” feeling.
Support Network: Friends, family, or online communities can be huge in sharing tips and encouragement.
Everyone’s journey is different, but a combo of gradual exposure and therapy often works wonders. If it feels overwhelming, talking to a professional can really fast-track progress.
half an ecstasy tablet
The only way to overcome it is to put yourself in those situations that make you uncomfortable