If
you suffer from anxiety, you know it's hard to control what you're
thinking about all the time.
Social
phobia and stress seems impossible to control, but there is a way to
win the battle with uncontrollable thoughts .
You
can try to battle your anxiety the hard way, which is using your will
power.
Using
will power is very tiring and never lasts long enough to make any
changes in your life.
The
best way that works instantly is reprogramming your thinking so that
instead of being stressed out of your mind, you feel happy, or at
least you don't feel stress...
How
to do this?
Imagine
that you are in stressful situation, let's say you're at the party
and your friend is telling the funny story about you, and everyone is
looking at you .
First
thing you probably feel is embarrassment, followed by lower self
confidence, feeling insecure and general thinking that you're being
judged by the others.
Now..
people with anxiety disorder tend to get stressed almost instantly,
and it doesn't really matter if there is a huge or small danger of
being publicly embarrassed.
''Normal''
people deal with those situation in a different way, but most of the
people who suffer from anxiety have really huge self-consciousness
which makes it really difficult to deal with social situation, even
though they tend to have higher IQ, and better social skills
(really!), their emotions do not allow them to use their skills
fully.
I've
heard many ways how to deal with anxiety, they sometimes work, but
not for very long... Here's an example:
- imagine that people around you are naked
- think about something else (put yourself in a happy place)
- try to believe that you're only dreaming
- (Know that you are a great person)
Having
healthy self esteem is one of the most important things in your life,
you have to remember that you are equally awesome as everyone else,
this helps a lot when dealing with shyness .
- (Accept the fact that we are all different)
We
all have different minds, habits and preferences. Someone once told
me that if We all were the same, the world would be a very boring
place...
Being
different than others, makes you special!
- (Positive Reappraisal)
When
the shit happens, that's the time when you have to stay positive.
Giving
up, and being depressed will not help you get through hard times.
So
every time you catch yourself feeling down, remind yourself of
something good, find a positive in the negative. Don't judge
yourself... Praise yourself!
- (Do not avoid stress, Deal with it!)
Avoiding
stressful situations is as hard as dealing with them. The more you
practice how not to stay anxious, the easier it gets. Avoidance will
not make you a stronger person, and you don't want to wake up at the
age of 60 and regret how much you've missed because of your anxiety.
- RELAX !
From
evolutionary point of view, stress is useless in today’s modern
world. It was necessary when we had to escape from wolves and other
dangerous animals, but we don't need it now. Once you understand that
stress is only a side effect of evolution, you should be able to see
things differently.
And
one last thing... :)
