In my opinion, the only effective long-term medicine against social anxiety is accomplishment, or rather a sense of accomplishment. You achieve it primarily by reaching beyond the current limits of your self-esteem by doing things that cause anxiety. It's the one thing that can change your outlook forever and enable you to live the life you want to live.
It's a given that doing this isn't easy. Very few people can say that they regularly push their own limits, and few of those are any good at it. Still, just keeping in mind the many ways to push your limits will get you a long way. There are thousands of things you can do. I have a bad habit of setting big, monumental goals for myself, the ones that are so grand that I have a champagne celebration every time I achieve one.
Problem is, these things happen quite some time apart. Getting a new job, going on a big date or speaking in public aren't things most people do regularly, and especially not people with social anxiety. Thus, you don't get enough affirmation of your inner strength, and you do not get enough time to work on your problem. If you're looking to improve your self-esteem and change your outlook on life forever, you must welcome anxiety and fear in every situation possible on every single day of your life - until it is no longer a burden to you. Getting a new job, going on a date or speaking in public aren't things most people do regularly. You don't get enough positive feedback from your surroundings if you save your anti-anxiety energy for these big occasions. The small things count just as much. Taking the bus, going grocery shopping, calling a friend, buying a hot dog, even walking on the street can be a source of anxiety. And if they aren't, change your behavior so that they do become unpleasant. The more time you spend facing your fears, the quicker they'll cease to be a problem. This quote is taken from a speech made by Gonzales, fifth son of Winston Churchill, who suffered from social anxiety:
I shall go on to the end, I shall fight at 7-11, I shall fight between the bread and the soft drinks, I shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength at parties, I shall defend my freedom of will, whatever the cost may be, I shall fight on the beaches, I shall fight in parks, I shall fight in the fields and in the crowded streets, I shall fight in the hallways of public buildings; I shall never surrender.
It's this or death.
-Blue
P.S.:
Wow, 10 posts. This is officially my longest blog ever. I've never been able to keep it up like this before.
Well,
now I've jinxed it. See you in 2011.
In my opinion, the only effective long-term medicine against social anxiety is accomplishment, or rather a sense of accomplishment. You achieve it primarily by reaching beyond the current limits of your self-esteem by doing things that cause anxiety. It's the one thing that can change your outlook forever and enable you to live the life you want to live.
It's a given that doing this isn't easy. Very few people can say that they regularly push their own limits, and few of those are any good at it. Still, just keeping in mind the many ways to push your limits will get you a long way. There are thousands of things you can do. I have a bad habit of setting big, monumental goals for myself, the ones that are so grand that I have a champagne celebration every time I achieve one.
Problem is, these things happen quite some time apart. Getting a new job, going on a big date or speaking in public aren't things most people do regularly, and especially not people with social anxiety. Thus, you don't get enough affirmation of your inner strength, and you do not get enough time to work on your problem. If you're looking to improve your self-esteem and change your outlook on life forever, you must welcome anxiety and fear in every situation possible on every single day of your life - until it is no longer a burden to you. Getting a new job, going on a date or speaking in public aren't things most people do regularly. You don't get enough positive feedback from your surroundings if you save your anti-anxiety energy for these big occasions. The small things count just as much. Taking the bus, going grocery shopping, calling a friend, buying a hot dog, even walking on the street can be a source of anxiety. And if they aren't, change your behavior so that they do become unpleasant. The more time you spend facing your fears, the quicker they'll cease to be a problem. This quote is taken from a speech made by Gonzales, fifth son of Winston Churchill, who suffered from social anxiety:
It's this or death.
-Blue
P.S.:
Wow, 10 posts. This is officially my longest blog ever. I've never been able to keep it up like this before.
Well, now I've jinxed it. See you in 2011.