Have you ever had this experience: when speaking in public, your heart beats faster, your lips become dry, and your voice trembles; when attending a party or date, you worry that you will say the wrong thing or make embarrassing moves that will make others look down on you; when interacting with strangers When people communicate, I feel like I have nothing to say, I don’t know how to break the silence, and I just want to escape from the scene. If your answer is yes, then you may have social phobia.
Social phobia is a common psychological disorder, also known as social anxiety disorder. Its main characteristics are intense tension, fear, and uneasiness in social situations. Severe attacks are accompanied by autonomic reactions such as dizziness, nausea, tremor, and sweating. Patients adopt avoidance behaviors to avoid exposing their shortcomings. Social phobia often begins in adolescence and affects study, work, interpersonal relationships and quality of life, and even leads to serious consequences such as depression and suicide.
So why do some people suffer from social phobia? What personality traits and psychological factors are related to it? This article will reveal the causes and risk factors of social phobia, help you better understand yourself and others, and how to effectively overcome social phobia.
The relationship between personality traits and social phobia
Personality refers to a person’s stable characteristics and tendencies in thoughts, emotions, behaviors, etc. It is affected by various factors such as heredity, environment, education, etc., is formed in childhood, and gradually becomes fixed with age. Personality plays an important role in a person’s social adaptability. Different personality characteristics will lead to different social methods and results. Here are some personality traits associated with social phobia:
Introverted, emotionally unstable
Introverts are quiet, introspective, and do not like to interact with people. They prefer to think and do things alone rather than communicate and cooperate with others. They are sensitive to external stimuli and easily disturbed and stressed, so they feel uncomfortable and nervous in social situations. People with unstable emotions are prone to anxiety and react too strongly to various stimuli. After being emotionally aroused, it is difficult to calm down. Their expectations of themselves and others are too high, they are easily disappointed and frustrated, and their evaluation of social situations is too negative and pessimistic. When interacting with others, strong emotional reactions affect normal adaptation.
perfectionism
Perfectionism refers to the psychological tendency to have excessive expectations of oneself or others and not tolerate any mistakes or shortcomings. Perfectionists want to be perfect in front of everyone, on any occasion, and in all aspects, and to be praised and recognized by others. But no one is perfect, and this will inevitably lead to repeated self-defeat, and eventually becoming nervous and fearful when meeting people. Perfectionists are also often overly sensitive to the evaluation of others and worry that their performance does not meet the expectations of others or that they will be criticized and ridiculed by others, so they feel uneasy and fearful in social situations.
Low self-esteem
Self-evaluation refers to a person’s judgment and feeling about his or her own value and ability. It is an important part of individual self-understanding and affects an individual’s self-confidence and self-esteem. People with low self-esteem have low self-esteem and depreciate themselves. They believe that they lack social skills and abilities, are inferior to others, and are not worthy of being liked and respected. In social situations, they are afraid of causing bad reactions from others or being rejected and excluded by others, so they show nervous and avoidant behaviors.
Hypersensitivity
Hyperesthesia refers to a person’s excessive focus and amplification of their own and other people’s feelings and reactions, causing unnecessary worry and annoyance. A person with hyperesthesia feels that others can see that he or she is nervous or unnatural, or that others dislike or hate him or her or that he or she is unnatural, and does not want to continue talking to him or her. Even more nervous and scared. People with hyperesthesia are also prone to misunderstanding the intentions and attitudes of others, believing that others are deliberately making things difficult for or ridiculing him or her, thus creating hostility and distrust, which affects the establishment and maintenance of social relationships.
How to overcome social phobia
Social phobia is a psychological disorder that can be cured. As long as appropriate methods are adopted, the symptoms of social phobia can be effectively improved, social adaptability can be improved, and social fun can be enjoyed. Here are some tips for overcoming social phobia:
Accept yourself and increase your confidence
Accepting oneself means recognizing and accepting one’s own strengths and weaknesses, without overly denying or exaggerating one’s shortcomings, and without overly pursuing or relying on the approval of others. Accepting oneself can help a person establish a correct self-evaluation, enhance self-confidence and self-esteem, and reduce self-stress and anxiety. Ways to accept yourself include: listing your strengths and achievements, giving yourself some positive affirmation and encouragement; identifying your shortcomings and deficiencies, formulating a reasonable improvement plan, and gradually implementing and testing it; learning to forgive your mistakes and failures, Treat them as opportunities and experiences for growth; respect your own feelings and needs, and don’t overly accommodate or sacrifice yourself, nor overly rely on or please others.
Change your thinking and eliminate your fear
Changing thinking means adjusting and improving one’s way of thinking and attitude, eliminating irrational beliefs and ideas, and replacing negative and illusory thinking with more positive and realistic thinking, thereby reducing fear and tension. Methods to change your thinking include: check whether your thinking is reasonable and accurate, find out your thinking misunderstandings and biases, such as exaggeration, generalization, over-responsibility, denial of positive evidence, etc.; challenge your thinking and use facts and logic to prove or Refute your own thoughts, such as asking yourself ‘What evidence do I have to support or refute my thoughts?’ ‘What are the consequences of my thoughts?’ ‘Are there other possible explanations or perspectives?’; Replace your thinking with more positive ones Replace negative and illusory thinking with realistic thinking, such as convincing yourself that ‘social networking is not a test, there is no need to be perfect, just be yourself’ ‘Social networking is an interaction, not a performance, you don’t need to worry about other people’s evaluation, as long as Pay attention to other people’s feelings and needs. ‘Social communication is a kind of fun, not a burden. There is no need to escape, just enjoy.’
Practice skills and increase experience
Practicing skills refers to learning and mastering some effective social skills and strategies, improving one’s social abilities and effects, and increasing one’s social experience and confidence. Methods to practice skills include: observing and imitating other people’s social behaviors, learning other people’s social skills and styles, such as language, body movements, expressions, etiquette, etc.; formulating and executing some social goals and plans, from simple to complex, from familiar to unfamiliar , gradually expand the scope and depth of your social interactions, such as greetings, greetings, chats, invitations, rejections, etc.; feedback and evaluate your social performance, face up to your strengths and weaknesses, give yourself some reasonable praise and suggestions, and do not criticize or overly criticize or Praise yourself.
Ask for help, get support
Seeking help means actively and actively seeking help and support from others when encountering the troubles and difficulties of social phobia, reducing one’s own stress and loneliness, and enhancing one’s courage and motivation. Ways to seek help include: confiding your feelings and difficulties to relatives, friends or trusted people, seeking their understanding and encouragement, or inviting them to accompany you to participate in some social activities to give yourself some sense of security and confidence; participate in some social phobia programs Self-help groups or online communities, exchange your own experiences and feelings with other patients, learn and support each other, and make progress and recovery together; consult a professional psychologist or psychological counselor, receive some effective psychotherapy or drug treatment, and improve your own psychology Conditions and symptoms of social phobia.
Conclusion
Social phobia is a treatable psychological disorder and it does not make you a less human being or a failure. As long as you have the will and courage, you can overcome social phobia, enjoy social fun, and show your charm. I hope this article can give you some inspiration and help. I wish you get rid of the troubles of social phobia as soon as possible and have a happy and fulfilling social life.
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