If you have social anxiety, you experience heightened stress, self-consciousness, or fear when you’re around others. Often, your anxiety is strongest at purely social events, when there’s no other work or business to focus on. And, that’s exactly what happens at most holiday social events.
Whether your holiday calendar is filling up with professional events or personal gatherings, at this time of the year, your social anxiety might be flaring up, as well. How can you manage your mental health and still enjoy the festivities of the season?
At Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates, LLC, of North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Dr. Ronald P. Winfield treats new and existing patients who are coping with shyness and social anxiety. In this blog, Dr. Winfield offers some professional suggestions for keeping your social anxiety in check during the whirl of the year’s end, and into the future.
On the one hand, you don’t want to burn yourself out with too much socialization over the holidays. Rest is another important part of this time of the year, and you deserve the space to really relax and recenter yourself. When you’re constantly stressed, your mental health is likely to suffer.
However, you also don’t want to miss out on too many holiday events due to mental health issues. Work parties provide important opportunities for networking, and family gatherings let you reconnect with loved ones you may not be able to visit frequently.
Social anxiety may make it tempting to send your regrets and stay home, but it’s better for your mental health and quality of life to strike a balance between taking breaks from socialization and, in turn, putting yourself out there. Finding that balance is key to maintaining both your mental health and your ability to live your life to the fullest.
At social events, coping strategies help you recenter and stop your anxiety from spiraling. You may benefit from strategies like:
Once you’ve learned the strategies that work for you, whenever social anxiety strikes, you can simply reach for your anti-anxiety toolkit.
As you discover which approaches to anxiety management work best for you, you grow more confident in your ability to handle challenging situations like big parties or even public speaking.
While you can do a lot to overcome your social anxiety, at the end of the day, there’s nothing that compares to working with an experienced, understanding mental health professional. You don’t have to undertake this journey alone.
Dr. Winfield talks to you about your past and present experiences in order to learn more about your history with social anxiety. He recommends interventions, coping strategies, and therapies to reduce your symptoms.
You may benefit from talk therapy, medication management, professionally supported exposure therapy, or lifestyle changes. With the right care, you may even find that social anxiety ceases to trouble you much at all.
For personalized mental health care and support with your anxiety disorder, contact Dr. Winfield online or over the phone and schedule your appointment today.
