It is quite normal to feel nervous or even anxious when you are faced with a daunting social situation. Making a speech before a crowd. Trying to start a conversation with that cute stranger next to you at the bar. Being dragged onto the dance floor. It’s perfectly normal to feel nervous or agitated in any of these situations. In some people they can actually lead to severe physical and mental stress, commonly known as social anxiety. The first step in overcoming social anxiety is understanding why many of us react so strongly when facing social interaction.

There are many causes of shyness, but a few common traits and triggers are easily identified. People with low self esteem typically suffer from some degree of social anxiety. Fears of rejection and excessive concern over other people’s approval are also common drivers. The memory of a past social blunder can also result in feelings of anxiety that hinder a person’s ability to socially interact.

If you suffer from social anxiety, or even just common shyness, there are some tips that can be utilized to reduce or even eliminate nervousness in uncomfortable social situations.

Begin making little changes in your behavior

Acknowledge the people you encounter. Nod, smile, and say hello. Whatever’s appropriate.

Keep your eyes focused on the person you’re talking with. You come off as confident when you look a person in the eye.

Go out of your way to strike up a conversation with a co-worker. Nothing high pressure. Just talk about weekend plans or some other chit-chat subject.

By taking these small steps, over time you will begin to build confidence in your ability to socially interact.

Make an attitude adjustment

There are a couple of changes you need to make to the way you think and react in social interactions. Recognize and acknowledge that you will not ‘get it right’ every time. And that that’s okay. Also realize that people are not going to ridicule you when you do ‘get it wrong’.

You will occasionally trip when dancing. You will occasionally fumble your words when giving a presentation. And you will occasionally come off looking silly when trying to hit on a stranger in a bar. We all do.

Have stuff to talk about

Small talk drive you crazy? Become knowledgeable in current events and other areas that interest you. Have an opinion. Share it.

Become a better conversationalist

Don’t simply ask questions that lead to simple yes-no answers. Try to ask open ended questions or make broad comments that will encourage more discussion.

Speak in a slightly louder voice

If you are a shy individual, chances are you tend to speak a little more quietly or subdued than most people. Moderately raising your voice when speaking will communicate confidence and improve your presence.

Overcoming social anxiety can be as simple as adopting simple changes to your behavior. Beyond these simple changes, there are also a variety of social anxiety self help programs available. One of the most powerful self help social anxiety programs is Social Anxiety Secrets by Dr. Todd Snyder. His program utilizes both downloadable e-book and audio materials to provide a step by step plan to cure shyness and social anxiety.

Click to read a review of Social Anxiety Secrets.

Tags: Attitude Adjustment, Causes Of Shyness, Chit Chat, Co Worker, Crowd, Dance Floor, Excessive Concern, Fears, help for social anxiety, Low Self Esteem, Mental Stress, Nervousness, Overcoming Anxiety, overcoming social anxiety, Rejection, self help social anxiety, Small Steps, Social Blunder, Social Interaction, Social Interactions, Social Situation, Social Situations, Stranger

The symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks will vary quite a bit between people. In addition to that, the severity of the symptoms will be different as well.

This article will discuss the most common panic attack symptoms, how to tell the difference between this health problem and other conditions that mimic it, as well as the most successful therapies for anxiety attacks.

Before we cover the symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks, though, we first need to briefly talk about what occurs with this health problem so the symptoms and treatments make sense.

Within healthcare, an anxiety attack is actually classified as a psychological problem. But this is actually not really true, because this health problem is actually more of a problem with the nervous system than it is mental.

Stress is the most common trigger, but anxiety attacks actually occur due to how the person’s nervous system responds to that stress.

Basically, an individual who lives with anxiety attacks experiences a much more intense reaction to what would make many of us nervous. In order to understand this, we need to first have an understanding of the parts of the nervous system that are involved when we experience stress.

They are called the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). Instead of making this boring like a text book, let me tell you a story to explain how this works.

Let’s say that a bear enters the room as you’re reading this article. Your brain will perceive the bear as stress, because it threatens your life (and I don’t know about you, but I’m a little on the chubby side, so I’d make a pretty good meal for that bear).

Your brain is hard-wired for survival, so in this instant, it has to make a decision – do you run from the bear or fight it? Either way, the body needs to be ready for this extra activity, so your brain will turn on the Sympathetic Nervous System.

This part of your nervous system prepares your body to either fight or flee – so your blood pressure increases (you need lots of oxygen going to the muscles so they can make you run fast or fight), your heart beats faster, you breathe more deeply, and many other things.

Once the bear is gone, the brain turns on the other part of the nervous system that I mentioned (the Parasympathetic Nervous System), which does the opposite – it calms you down.

When a person lives with anxiety attacks, this reaction is intensified – so, there might only be 1 bear in the room, but your brain thinks there’s actually 5 bears. This is where the problem occurs.

So, with that said, what are the panic attack symptoms? Well, the symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks are different for each individual, and they can be experienced to different degrees.

Some people will have very minor anxiety attacks, so may not even realize what is occurring. Others have full-blown, very intense attacks that make them fear they may be dying.

Click here (panic attack symptoms) to continue reading this article, where you’ll discover the most common symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks, as well as the most successful treatments available for relief from this health problem.

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Believe it or not, over 20 million people in the United States alone suffer from panic attacks, but many more are living with this problem and aren’t even aware of it. In fact, panic attacks are one of the most commonly mis-diagnosed health conditions within healthcare.

how can I tell if I’m having an anxiety attack? This article will discuss the most common signs of anxiety disorders, how to know the difference between this problem and other health conditions that mimic it, as well as the most effective treatments for panic attacks.

Before we talk about what an anxiety attack feels like, though, we first need to briefly talk about what happens with this problem so the symptoms and treatments make sense.

Within healthcare, an anxiety attack is actually classified as a mental problem. But this is actually not completely the case, because this problem is actually more of an issue with the nervous system than it is mental.

Stress is the most common trigger, but panic attacks actually occur due to how the person’s nervous system responds to that stress.

Basically, an individual who suffers with panic attacks experiences a much more intense reaction to what would make most of us nervous. In order to understand this, we need to first have an understanding of the parts of the nervous system that are involved when we experience stress.

They are called the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). Instead of making this boring like a text book, let me tell you a story to clarify how this works.

Let’s say that a bear enters the room as you’re reading this article. Your brain will perceive the bear as stress, because it threatens your life (and I don’t know about you, but I’m a little on the chunky side, so I’d make a pretty good meal for that bear).

Your brain is hard-wired to survive, so at this moment, it has to make a decision – do you fight the bear or run from it? Either way, the body needs to be prepared for this additional activity, so your brain will turn on the Sympathetic Nervous System.

This part of your nervous system prepares your body to either fight or flee – so your blood pressure raises (you need lots of oxygen to the muscles so they can make you run fast or fight), your heart beats faster, you breathe more deeply, and many other things.

Once the bear is no longer a threat, the brain turns on the other part of the nervous system that I mentioned (the Parasympathetic Nervous System), which does the opposite – it calms you down.

When an individual suffers with panic attacks, this reaction is intensified – so, their may only be 1 bear in the room, but your brain thinks there’s actually 5 bears. This is where the problem happens.

So, with that said, how can I tell if I’m having an anxiety attack? Well, the signs of anxiety disorders are different for each person, and they can be experienced to different degrees.

Some people will have very minor panic attacks, so may not even realize what is happening. Others have full-blown, very severe attacks that make them feel like they may be dying.

Click here (how can I tell if I’m having an anxiety attack) to continue reading this article, where you’ll learn the most common signs of anxiety disorders, as well as the most successful treatments available for relief from this health problem.

Tags: anxiety attack, Anxiety Disorders, Brain, Classified, Decis, Health Conditions, Intense Reaction, Mental Stress, Mis, panic attacks, Parasympathetic Nervous System, Parts Of The Nervous System, People, Rsquo, Signs, Sns, Sympathetic Nervous System, Symptoms Of A Panic Attack, Symptoms Of Panic Attacks, Typical Symptoms, United States