I have been reading some articles and blog posts on people who have social anxiety issues and was unsettled to read about some people’s extreme cases of anxiety. I have some of my own, of course, and so do all people to a certain measure. Although, different people experience anxiety in different doses.
I believe that personality types have a high correlation to the level of anxiety that a person experiences. Typically, there are usually two types of people, extroverts and introverts, and of course there are ambiverts who are usually pretty much in between. People with deep anxiety issues are usually very much introverted.
First off, there are some tactics, however, that you can use to lessen the social anxiety such as consuming a few beverages before social events (it helps loosen oneself up), choosing and deciding to attend the less crowded events and so on. Many people over-compensate for some of their insecurities by over-prepping and presenting themselves well in public as a way to boost their levels of self-possession, but not everyone has the cost or time that comes with taking this approach (also, I do not beleieve this to be the most appropriate one for the long-term).
Secondly, if you experience social anxiety, I highly suggest you read the book “Quiet: The power of introverts” by Susan Cane. It’s a best seller and has quite some useful tips about overcoming anxiety or at least learning to better cope with it as well as with introversion (which usually comes hand-in-hand with it) and even learning to use it to your advantage. If you do not have the time or patience to read this, I suggest listening to the audiobook which is well-read.
Finally, I think that, at the end of the day, we mostly fear the unknown, and one of the best ways to overcome fear and insecurities is to prethink the major possible negative scenarios that may take place so that it becomes hard for you to be dissapointed from certain events.
Image Credits: Natural Knowledge 247
