Ending The Pain of Social Anxiety – Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

Social anxiety can feel painful. You know you are fully capable of thinking and talking yet in those social moments that anxiety takes grip and you find yourself trapped within your worry and panic.

It’s no wonder that if you struggle with social anxiety, you may do all you can to avoid social situations and those uncomfortable feelings.

Yet it isn’t always possible to avoid others, after all, you would probably like to enjoy spending time with others and doing the things you want to do and you may want to progress in your career and contribute to things that are important to you.

As a former sufferer of social anxiety, I know all too well the torment it brings, how it can rob you of enjoyment from social things and how it feels like you can’t be the real you around others. So what can be done about social phobia?

 

Quick Summary

Many people with social anxiety experience:

– fear of being judged
– overthinking conversations
– avoiding social situations
– physical anxiety symptoms
– difficulty being themselves around others

This article explains how social anxiety can keep people trapped in a cycle of worry and avoidance, along with some practical ways to start breaking that pattern.

You can also read real client experiences here: Hypnotherapy Reviews in Ely.

 

When Social Anxiety Strikes

If you struggle with social anxiety, you probably do all you can to avoid situations in which you may feel uncomfortable. You may want to go to that party or meal yet another part of you is desperately thinking about how you can get out of it or have an ‘escape route’ planned.

I know that when I struggled with that anxiety I would often cancel at the last minute or, if the anxiety was too bad, even feign illness. Where possible I would have a couple of drinks to try and calm the social anxiety monster so I could be more relaxed and be more me.

It would drive me nuts that with one or two people such as close friends I could have a great time talking and joking. Yet put me in a bigger group or with people I didn’t really know that well or in a work meeting with senior staff and I became frozen with fear.

You may do similar things to how I did things – I would worry about how I looked, what I was doing and saying and what others were thinking about me. Sometimes if I had something to say I would spend so long trying to get the words just right in my head that by the time I was about to speak it was no longer the right moment so I stayed quiet (while criticising myself in my head). If someone else said what I was thinking it would be even worse.

Sometimes in work meetings I would tell myself that I was ok because someone else there hadn’t said anything – but then when they did I would feel anxious about needing to be seen to say something and it would be ten times worse. Then after group or social situations I would replay all the worst bits in my head and feel worse.

It felt like I was running round and round on a hamster wheel, desperate to break free yet still trapped by the social anxiety.

 

Looking for Help With Social Anxiety?

If social anxiety has been affecting your confidence, relationships or enjoyment of life, support is available.

You can learn more here:

• Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely
• Social Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

Or arrange a free consultation to discuss what might help.

 

Break Free of Social Anxiety 

I know from personal experience and from working with hundreds of people that hypnotherapy can be an extremely effective way to overcome social anxiety. No matter how bad you think your social phobia is right now, you really can stop worrying about what others think, stop feeling bad in those situations and start feeling relaxed just being yourself.

To start this process here is one thing you can start doing now to loosen the grip of your social anxiety:

a) Close your eyes, focus on your breathing and just relax. Start to allow your out breath to be slightly longer than your in breath (you can count 7 as you breathe in and 11 on the out breath). Do this for a few minutes and feel comfortable and relaxed.

b) Staying relaxed, imagine watching yourself in those social situations looking calm, relaxed and comfortable around others. Watch yourself looking calm in your posture and in the expression on your face. You can run through a specific situation or a number of situations yet make them more vivid in your mind each time. You really can train your mind to link feeling calm and relaxed with those social situations with everything going ok.

In addition, in social situations themselves make sure you relax your breathing (use the 7/11 method mentioned above) and start to switch your focus from what’s going on inside your head to what is going on around you. You can do this by noticing things in the environment, for example, notice the pictures on the walls, you could spot the colours in what someone is wearing or take notice of the details of what is on the table. Make a conscious effort to notice what is going on outside you and you will have less focus on all those anxious thoughts inside.

 

Related Social Anxiety Articles

You may also find these helpful:

• What Social Anxiety Really Feels Like
• Why Social Anxiety Feels So Exhausting
• Social Anxiety and Self Criticism
• Why We Think People Notice Us More Than They Do
• Social Anxiety vs Low Confidence
• How to Stop Overthinking in Social Situations
• Anxiety and Worrying What Other People Think
• What is Social Phobia? Understanding Social Anxiety

You can also explore the Anxiety in Ely hub, which brings together articles covering social anxiety, panic attacks, overthinking and other common anxiety experiences.

 

Social Anxiety Support

As someone who struggled with social anxiety myself, I know how frustrating it can feel when anxiety stops you being the person you know you can be.

The encouraging thing is that social anxiety is not who you are. It is a pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that can change.

If social anxiety has been causing worry, avoidance, overthinking or fear of judgement, support is available.

A free initial consultation gives us the opportunity to talk things through and understand what might help.

To your health and happiness,

Dan Regan

Social Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

 

Struggling with anxiety, stress, worry and fear and need some help? Find out how I can help with a Complimentary Hypnotherapy Strategy Session. Learn more here: Appointments

Find out what dozens of other people have said after their hypnotherapy sessions with Dan: Hypnotherapy Testimonials

And check out these powerful hypnosis downloads that can start helping you right away with anxiety, confidence and more: Hypnosis Downloads