Stop Being Shy

Top Tips On How To Stop Being Shy

If you suffer from social anxiety and are nervous around new people, there are many ways to overcome your fears and stop being shy. Social anxiety or shyness is a problem many people face early in life, and some never overcome it and are shy throughout their lives. Many people are simply more introverted, or more interested in their own internal development than being around other people. For some people, shyness is not a problem, but if you feel that being shy has kept from enjoying life to the fullest, there are steps you can take to overcome shyness and improve your quality of life.

Work on Your Self-esteem

For a naturally introverted person, beginning with yourself and the root of your shyness is the logical start. Shy people can be overly self-conscious, have a negative view of their own worth, have low self-esteem, or feel like they are not worthy of attention. To combat both types of shyness, work on appreciating your own unique strengths as a person. Focus on the good aspects of your personality. Are you giving or kind? Do you love animals? Do you have a unique hobby or interest? All of these things can be reasons why you are worthy of attention and affection from other people, and you should feel good about the things that make you who you are. To improve self-esteem, make a list of these good things about yourself. Pick one thing to focus on every day and think about how the item on your list makes you a good person.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Practicing conversation is a great way to stop being shy. Open up to a friend or family member about your shyness problem, and ask that person to help practice conversation with you. Talking with someone that you are comfortable with can pave the way for conversations with strangers. You can also use internet chat as a way to get used to having conversations with people you don’t know. If you frequent an internet forum or other website, see if they have a chat room where you can talk with people who share your interests or hobbies. Chatting on the internet can take away a lot of the anxiety that comes with face to face conversations, while still allowing you to practice conversational skills.

Teach Yourself to Relax

When you start to feel anxious in a social situation, you can practice relaxation techniques to calm yourself. One way to relax is to take deep, slow breaths. You can also visualize calming energies coming in through your mouth and into your lungs with your breath. With your exhale, imagine that you are breathing all of your anxiety out and replacing it with calm and confidence with your next inward breath. If your social anxiety becomes too much to handle, remember that you can always politely excuse yourself and go somewhere private to breathe and relax. Just don’t stay there! Once you feel calmer, force yourself to go back into the social situation with your newfound calm.

Use Empathy

To stop being shy, it can be helpful to realize that other people aren’t that different. Every person is insecure to some degree, even if they hide it well, and everybody suffers from anxiety or embarrassment at some point in their lives. If you can understand that other people are going through some of the same things you are, you can relax around them. Remember that other people are just like you. Everyone has their insecurities and things that make them different. If you have empathy for those around you, you can relate to them and have anxiety-free interactions.