Hey lovelies,
This week I wanted to write about something I have struggled with for most of my life, something I feel most of us have felt at one point of our lives. Social anxiety.
In college, we are constantly surrounded by people. Waking up, there's your roommate, sleeping across from you. Going to brush your teeth, there's your friend from across the hall. Going to get dinner, people from all five of your classes. There. Are. People. Everywhere.
Not that seeing friends or acquaintances often is a bad thing, sometimes you just need a break. In college, there never seems to be time for breaks. The cycle of conversations seems to be never-ending.
With this post, I'll share techniques that have proved helpful for me with my social anxiety. Hopefully some, if not all, of these are helpful for you!
DISCLAIMER: This post will probably make me seem like I am this huge ball of anxiety, which is absolutely NOT true (most of the time, anyways lol)
For what seems like my whole life, I’ve struggled with anxiety, both in social settings and in a more general sense. There’s been times where it got worse or better, but in some capacity it has always been there. When I’m having one of my bad days, I get in my head over everything I say or do. I tell myself I’m not good enough, that my friends don’t love me, that I’m weird and just shouldn’t talk. None of those things are true, but telling myself that doesn’t help my anxiety lessen. Trying to rationalize anxiety is a very irrational thing to do, because anxiety is not rational in nature. To fight my anxiety, doing things that nourish my body and spirit really helps me.
While I'm in a social situation that is taxing to me, I do deep breathing (nonchalantly, in a way people can't tell). Slowing down my breathing helps calm my body and mind and is a simple easy way to calm down any jitters you may have.
Essential Oils have been SUPER helpful for me. I keep a small travel bottle with me at all times, and when I am feeling overwhelmed in a social setting, I will excuse myself to somewhere secluded and pull out the oils. You can either keep an actual small bottle with you and drop some onto your wrists and below your nose, or keep a plastic tube (what I have) that stores the oils in them. You pull out the tube that is holding the oils, and either smell inside of the bottle or the tube itself. This has been amazing for calming me down when I feel overwhelmed.
So far, when I am in social settings themselves, these have been the only things that have proven helpful to me. I'll share some things I do either before or after social events that have calmed the pre or post social anxiety jitters.
What calms me when I’m struggling with never ending thoughts is meditation. People usually think that meditation involves not thinking at all by forcing yourself into a calm state. Forcing yourself not to think is a thought itself. True meditation involves sitting in peace with your thoughts, not controlling what you do or don’t think, not judging yourself, and by letting everything be. Just because a thought enters your mind does not mean you need to associate with it. You are so much more than your thoughts. Personally, I like to listen to guided meditations because they give me, sometimes it is hard for my mind not to race. Here is one of my favorite meditations to do when I feel overwhelmed, I hope this help anyone who is struggling!
On the other end of the spectrum, being active also really helps me fight my anxiety. Personally, I love doing yoga (as some of you probably already know from previous blogs). Being active allows me to release any anxious jitters I may have, and usually gets me into a relaxed mind state when I allow myself to exercise long enough.
I hope you all have an amazing rest of your week, and never feel bad for taking the time you need to take care of yourself! Peace!
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