How To Overcome Social Anxiety

How can you go about naturally treating your social anxiety disorder? (Or perhaps a friend or family member you know who suffers from the condition?) Here are 10 tips that can help you to control the symptoms of anxiety attacks and general anxiety disorder to make steady progress towards happiness.

1. Do not avoid public settings. Even if you’re only eating with a close relative, try and visit public places with people on a regular basis.

2. Try and make it a goal to make eye contact with someone and be the first to say hello. Once a conversation has started it’s relatively easy to keep it going.

3. Prepare for a new conversation in advance. If you’re not sure of what to talk about start reading the newspaper and form an opinion that you would like to share.

4. Give someone, a stranger or acquaintance, a sincere compliment. They will almost always respond favorably!

5. Show an interest in other people. If you are afraid to talk about yourself then ask people about their life; their home life, their relatives and hobbies.

6. Fake your way through a conversation just for the experience. Make a goal of asking someone for help just for the experience of meeting them face to face. For instance, you could ask a retail clerk questions about a product or you could ask a stranger for driving directions.

7. Exercise regularly. Exercise can release endorphins which are like natural pain relievers. This is a much healthier alternative than seeking solace in alcohol or drugs.

8. Set realistic goals and let someone close to you help you achieve them. Remember to smart small, as too many lofty goals all at once may scare you into doing nothing.

9. Learn about yourself and about what frightens you. On your own, or with the help of someone else, determine what some positive defense mechanisms are to counter your worries.

10. Meditate. Meditation could involve anything from repeating stress-relief mantras to deep meditational concentration to even religious prayer. Whatever your choice, this meditation is a healthy form of relieving stress and getting in touch with your inner-peace and reduce symptoms of anxiety attacks.