Social Anxiety [Social Phobia]

Recently, I saw something that actually made me so emotional that I ended up in tears.

Though I have never seen nor met this girl ever in my life, she amazed me beyond boundary. She is a very shy and timid girl that wouldn't look you in the eyes even for once when talked to for a long period. She spoke and directed her idea with more confidence than I thought she had. And that alone took me by surprise. I discovered she was suffering from social anxiety. Truth be told, It was a very emotional moment for me that day.

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This is one of the things I keep preaching against, lots of times actually because it seems to affect almost every one of us to the point it is self damaging.

Social Anxiety is an overwhelming and long-term fear of social situations. It is a fear that won't go away and so it affects the person's everyday activities, relationship, self confidence, and even work or school life. It is very common during the teenage years and can be very distressing.

Social anxiety is a serious problem and the lack of an open and free interactive society makes the issue more complicated. Expression of opinions and ideas, especially for the female gender is almost always frowned upon. Though I might not know the background of this girl, I can surely say there are traumatizing elements that took place in her life at some point. It could be the environment she grew up in, her friends or maybe the social anxiety might have been with her all along.

I took it upon myself to help her become better and I shared with her some tips to overcome her social anxiety which she applied and of course, still applying. As at today, I can boldly and undoubtedly tell you she is better off than that day i met her. Below are the tips I shared with her;

• I told her to try and understand more about her anxiety. I told her to always write down what goes through her mind and how she behave in certain social situations.

• I told her to always try some relaxation techniques and I recommended 'breathing exercises for stress' to her.

• I also told her to break down challenging situations into smaller parts and then, work on feeling more relaxed with each part of the broken challenging situations.

• Finally, I told her to always try to focus on what people are saying rather than just assuming the worst

Though this girl could be a discussion point, this is supposed to be an open way for a larger crowd of people who suffer from lack of confidence in themselves to start believing in themselves that they are worthy and are able to accomplish whatever they set their minds to.

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Stay safe and believe in yourself✊🏼.