In a world that’s constantly connected via devices, real, human connection is becoming more and more difficult to form and maintain.
Having a device handy gives you an excuse to disengage, stay in your shell and withdraw from the world.
Over time, this can compound into social anxiety; social anxiety will make you uncomfortable in the company of others, hinder your ability to form healthy relationships, and keep you feeling alone, misunderstood and craving love and attention.
In this post, we’ll explore how to overcome social anxiety and heal your relationships.
Table of Contents
What is Social Anxiety
To truly understand how to overcome social anxiety, we must begin by understanding what it is and where it comes from.
Social anxiety is a form of anxiety that arises in social situations.
It usually shows up as fear of judgment and a fear of not fitting in that may be fueled by past social exclusion. This fear prevents you from being your authentic self, setting healthy boundaries and forming deep friendships.
Where Social Anxiety Comes From
Social anxiety and anxiety in general stem from an overactive mind – the feeling of replaying a conversation in your head for the tenth time, wondering if you said the wrong thing is your overactive mind at work.
Out of the 5 vrittis or activities of the mind, you’ll notice there are two favourites: regretting the past, and worrying about the future. The moments when your mind is fully in the present moment are few and far between.
This very tendency of the mind to overthink creates anxiety. When you put that together with other people, the mind goes on overanalyzing people’s words, intentions and actions based in fear more often than reality.
This is a recipe for getting lost in negative thoughts and emotions, making it even more difficult to overcome social anxiety.
How Social Anxiety Affects your Relationships
Having an overactive mind can easily damage your relationships by causing you to project your insecurities onto other people. For example, you might assume a friend is upset with you because they didn’t respond to your text messages right away, and instead of asking them directly, you withdraw or over-apologize—creating unnecessary tension. You may hesitate to form or deepen relationships because of these exact stories, assumptions and doubts that aren’t rooted in reality.
Perhaps the most critical side-effect of having an overactive mind is the potential to lose trust in yourself, lose sight of your inner compass and become disconnected from your intuition. You might find yourself saying yes to plans, commitments, or relationships that don’t feel aligned to avoid conflict or fit in and then later feel drained, regretful, and frustrated with yourself for not honoring your own needs.
This happens when you can’t stop overthinking, get caught up in spiralling thoughts, and allow the whims of your mind to dictate your words and actions.
In fact, once you stop hearing your inner voice and heeding its guidance, you will truly become like a leaf in the wind, drifting aimlessly in the currents of the world.
How to Overcome Social Anxiety and Heal your Relationships
The secret to overcome social anxiety and heal your relationships is to heal your relationship with yourself.
Once you’re able to reconnect to your inner wisdom, you’ll gain a deep acceptance for who you are and what you need to feel safe, loved, and fulfilled.
From this space, you’ll be able to make better decisions, heal your relationships with the people close to you and navigate the world in a way that feels safe and supportive of your needs.
Overcome Social Anxiety
Stop letting your racing mind hold you back. Work with us 1:1 to reconnect with yourself, find peace in the present moment, and build relationships that feel safe, supportive, and deeply fulfilling.
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