Surviving John

Is Social anxiety affecting the quality of your life? Feelings of apprehension and nervousness are natural when you’re at the center of attention. People who experience extreme anxiety and fear however during these situations are likely to have social phobia disorder.

Social phobia is an anxiety disorder is normally developed from a young age and affects absolutely millions of people. Therapies have been highly effective in the treatment of social anxiety disorder. Although symptoms of social phobia can be treated with medication there are better long term options.

People with social anxiety can apply lots of self help methods to reduce their own anxieties and help them confront their fears. Daily practice of visualization and breathing techniques can do wonders for sufferers. Because the brain sees vivid imagination the same way as it sees a real life experience you can essentially rewire it without having to lift a finger.

Our thoughts have a lot of control over our emotions. You might feel anxious and scared just by thinking of something you fear. But the imagination can be used to produce positive behaviors as well as negative ones. Like riding a bike the brain makes stronger connections each time until it becomes a subconscious ability.

Top athletes train their mind as much as they train their bodies. Champion tennis players practice their swing over and over again in their heads. Each time they create stronger connections and perfect their ability. By using the imagination you can change your behavior. The amazing thing is it can be used for practically anything including overcoming social anxiety in specific situations.

Let’s imagine that you have to give a presentation in a few days. When told this, thoughts of embarrassment spring to mind and you become very nervous. You might experience anxiety symptoms such as hot flashes, sweats, trembling and a pounding heart. When the day comes you’ve worked yourself into an anxious and terrified state and the meeting goes as badly as you imagined.

When a social anxiety sufferer constantly focuses on the worst that can happen it’s easy to see how it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. By using positive visualizations and affirmations it is possible to break from old habits and learn new ones. With regular practice fears and phobias can be overcome.

Start practicing being confident and in control now. Sit down in a comfortable place with your eyes closed. Start to inhale and exhale slowly and deeply, and relax your muscles on each out breath. Imagine seeing yourself full of confidence and able to tackle any social situation. Visualize in detail the way you would speak and walk if you had this confidence. See yourself being respected and talked about in a positive way by other people.

In your mind take the new confident you into all areas of your life and see how great it would be to not suffer from Anxiety Symptoms. Let that internal voice in your head tell you positive things. Tell yourself how confident and strong you are. Now, visualize the next presentation going beautifully right to the very end. Imagine everyone reacting positively and you full of confidence and charisma.

Play this visualization over in your head a few times and then finally stir yourself out of deep relaxation. You should feel wonderfully relaxed and confident. If you gave a presentation now would you feel as scared or embarrassed as usual? Practicing this everyday can do immense good. Part of putting on a great performance is acting. What’s more, even when you feel anything but confident inside, project it on the outside. Just remember to stay calm, breathe and remember it will get easier each time.