Do You Get Anxious Socially? Try This Technique To Relax You
Does the thought of entering a room of people you don’t know make you feel queasy and anxious? Would your heart race the first time you visited a new gym or book club? Is the idea of meeting a blind date your worst nightmare?
The you are not alone, a lot of women suffer with social anxiety which affects their lives at different levels. Some manage to cover it up and appear confident, others will avoid any situation where they feel uncomfortable.
A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia has come up with a technique that can help you to relax when you feel socially anxious.
It’s well known that performing an act of kindness for another person increases your happiness and self-esteem. The Canadians have shown that it can also reduce your levels of anxiety and stress in a social situation.
They took three groups of highly socially anxious students asking one group to perform good deeds such as washing a room mates dishes and mowing a neighbours lawn. The result was the group doing the acts of kindness became much less likely to avoid social occasions than the two other groups.
The reason for this was a positive shift in their expectation of the friends, colleagues or strangers they interact with. Doing the good deeds and getting a warm response had reduced their anxiety about interacting with others.
Next time you have a social event that you feel anxious about and are tempted to give it a miss. Try making a few kind gestures to those around you before you go and you might feel comfortable enough to let your hair down!
Do You Get Anxious Socially? Try This Technique To Relax You