If you are a very shy person, the thought of talking to strangers may make you extremely nervous. There is an instant uneasiness if you think about talking to new people. Extreme amount of shyness can cause social inhibitions which lead to disruption of normal social interaction with people. This problem is called social anxiety and it affects millions of people at some point in their life. Cognitive behavioral treatment is one of the best therapies for curing this disorder.
Earlier on, scientists used to attribute the family environment to the emotional growth and development of a child. Now it appears that nature has programmed people’s personality towards being shy. This disorder is overcome by many people, while at the same time, a number of them actually live with it till their old age. Today’s generation lives in a world which needs less social contact and therefore this contributes to the underdeveloped social conditioning of some people. Internet and its related aspects like email interaction and computer based games, lead to risk of people becoming less social. If you happen to suffer from this disorder, there are a number of things you can do to overcome it.
First and foremost, identify what triggers shyness. Every situation does not lead to shyness in all the people. What time do you feel anxious? Ask yourself the question about when do you feel shy. Do you have negative thoughts and predictions automatically? Before you start believing that the negative assumption you are making is fact, try and challenge your thought process.
A shy person should start thinking in the direction that their thoughts are nothing but guesses. Do not put too much attention on information that confirms your belief in anxiety. One good way would be deflect your thoughts to something useful which disproves your negative thoughts. Everyone cannot be pleased all the time.
Put yourself right in the front and confront the negativity. It is a good idea to expose yourself to the situation as you yourself intentionally put yourself in situations which make you anxious. One of the best ways to deal with this is to constantly start facing situations so that the anxiety softens its grips and erodes away. The end objective should be to attract what you are fearful of and to realize that it isn’t a big deal. You may have a rumbling feeling in your stomach, but it is worth doing as soon as possible. The more you delay it, the more you will torture yourself.
Shyness is classified as a personality characteristic and is not considered to be a psychological or emotional disorder. It has various degrees of shyness. There is a category of people who feel nervous when they face an audience; some are extremely shy in so much as they start living reclusive lives. This is not how one should be living their life. For some people, shyness becomes some sort of a shell. It is quite safe, secure, warm and quiet for them. The flip side is that is can become highly dark, desolate, and confined.
Ask the family and friends to support and guide you. When faced with difficult situations, rely on them to seek pointers and guidance. When you are aware that there is someone out there to support you, life becomes much easier. Slowly and gradually, you will see that you are losing your fears and inhibitions. After gaining a social life, it will be interesting to see how easy it is to meet new people.
In order to overcome shyness, you can try out multiple things. If you want to make shyness a thing of past, start taking one step a day or week. While these pointers are good, there is more that can be done to erase shyness.
You can learn some wise insights in a free course at Wisdom Self Help Insights. Hans S Delane teaches words of wisdom courses and you can learn more at Self Help Courses.