Tips to Overcome Social Anxiety As A Teen
What if?
What if I embarrass myself?
What if I come off as awkward?
What if I don’t know what to say?
What if they think I am ugly?
These are just some of the questions that come into every teens mind if they deal with social anxiety. The what if sends us from what we are currently doing into a future that is uncertain and almost always negative. Maybe in your mind you know that these are silly questions but you still can’t shake the fears that these thoughts tend bring up. When we let these fears dictate what we do, it creates a cycle of worry, avoidance and isolation.
So what are some ways you can begin to overcome your social anxiety?
Make a list of all the What if’s you have
Sometimes just writing out all the scary what-ifs we have can get it out of our head
Challenge your What if’s with the truth
Often times what we think is going to happen has no real basis in anything that HAS actually happened to us before. Ask yourself, is this true? Has this happened before? If it has, what was the outcome? What is my evidence for and against this thought?
3. Use mindfulness to help calm yourself
Mindfulness is a technique that helps us take ourselves from worrying about the future to bringing ourselves to the present moment.
This can look like using a breathing technique like box breathing.
Inhale through nose for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, breathe out through the mouth for 4 seconds, hold again and repeat for 6-8 cycles.
4. Make small measurable goals
Make small goals for yourself. This might look like just going to a very small social events at first. With each goal that you achieve, your confidence will grow. What at first seemed to be scary with just be something that USED to scare you.
Practice these tools as frequently as you can. It takes time to be comfortable with the things that make us scared but with time and practice you can feel more confident and overcome your social anxiety.
If you feel you need someone to talk to and help overcome your social anxiety feel free to give a call and book an appointment with us at True North Counseling here.
