You’re sitting in a crowded restaurant for a work party. You know some of these people, but that doesn’t matter. Feeling your sweaty palms and shaky limbs, you start to think of the questions always plaguing your thoughts in every social situation.

What will they think of me? What if I do something embarrassing? Will they see my face turn red? Will they laugh?

And the list goes on. The cycle begins and you have a horrible time, but can’t even think about that yet until you find a way out of there. As the walls seemingly close in around you, your unease grows unbearably.

This, my friends, is social anxiety. Plenty of people suffer from it. It may even seem surprising to you or you may be completely familiar with this problem. How to overcome social anxiety is a question many have.

Social Anxiety—What It Is

What happens when a person has social anxiety? This is a good question for anyone who feels they might have this issue or might know someone with it. Learning how to overcome it will come after the initial problem becomes understood.

First off, a socially anxious person will feel anxious in these types of situations:

• Meeting new people
• Being criticized
• Having the center of attention
• Doing an activity under surveillance
• Meeting important or authoritative people
• Being in a social situation, even with familiar people
• Participating in group discussions
• Engaging in close friendships or romantic situations

Secondly, in these situations, a person suffering from social anxiety will not be able to rid themselves of worry and doubt. Their cheeks may burn, conversations may seem stunted and awkward and they might seem on edge. They probably often wonder how to overcome their anxiety.

Many more people in the world suffer from a social anxiety disorder. Some may only feel anxious in certain situations, say giving a speech, while others feel a more general anxiety in a variety of situations that are socially related. It is common for sufferers to be aware of their issue but not be able to stop it.

How To Overcome Social Anxiety

You’d be happy to know that there is an answer for how to deal with your anxiety. There are several options. Much of it involves the mind and how a person thinks about a particular situation. This is why hypnosis can be might be a solution or a starting point for someone with social anxiety.

Hypnosis—What is it?

Hypnosis is a trance-like state in which a person can focus and concentrate better. While under hypnosis, a person typically feels a sense of calm relaxation and can have lowered blood pressure and heart rate. This allows them to concentrate intensely on a certain feeling, thought, memory or sensation without succumbing to any distraction. It’s an idea for how to overcome social anxiety because of this.

Also, while under hypnosis, a person is more open to suggestion. This environment can be used to change the person’s perceptions, emotions, sensations or behavior. It is done by licensed medical doctors, registered nurses, social workers, psychologists or others trained in hypnotherapy. Hypnosis by a professional, and not for entertainment, can improve a person’s health and mental health greatly. No matter how silly it all sounds, people can truly benefit from hypnosis. That is why it can be a solution for how to overcome social anxiety.

Typically, a professional hypnotist in a certified location will speak to a person to obtain a calm environment. Through this relaxed feeling, the therapist can talk through how to overcome your phobia. Depending on the severity of the person’s problem, the therapist will start at the root of the issue. The person under hypnosis can think through their anxiety in a whole new light. Repeated sessions of this can provide relief for some sufferers.

How to Overcome Social Anxiety Using Hypnosis

Whether it is at the grocery store or in the office, the anxiety a person feels is a subconscious part of your brain taking over a person’s actions. The stress associated with the situation causes the person to go into autopilot mode. This is when the strange reactions become visible to others, such as stuttered speech, quietness or hesitation.

Hypnosis has the capability to make a person with social anxiety gain confidence. That’s why hypnosis is a possible option for how to overcome social anxiety. Through proper treatment, it allows some people to view themselves differently or feel better about who they are. In order to do this, finding who you want to be is very important. So, that is the first step in hypnosis as therapy.
Once you have found a hypnosis professional you feel comfortable with, you are one step closer to creating the person you would like to be.

How to Overcome Social Anxiety On Your Own

One option for hypnosis is to see a professional. Many people these days, especially with a difficult problem like social anxiety, feel they would like to take a crack at healing themselves.
Remember how it was mentioned to find who you want to be? That still applies and is a major part of the self-hypnosis process in order to overcome your phobia.
Here are a few helpful steps to get going (how to overcome social anxiety):

• Write down positive things about yourself
• Start small and push away any negative thoughts
• Next, take note of a handful of situations that could improve without social anxiety.
• Remind yourself of these qualities and goals constantly.

Following these steps, you can begin the hypnosis process. These are the basics for how to overcome social anxiety with self-hypnosis:

• Find a quiet, peaceful place where you can go for at least 30 minutes.
• While sitting comfortably, close your eyes and breathe deeply, focusing on relaxing.
• Count down slowly from ten, imagining something like an elevator or cracks in a sidewalk.
• At count one, a door opens. Imagine whatever you need there and include your list.
• Continue to breathe deeply and say anything aloud if you think it helps.
• When you are ready, leave the room and count slowly upward to ten.
• At count ten, slowly open your eyes and feel the power in your own suggestions and calm.

Next time you wonder if you’ll ever feel comfortable socially, hypnosis may help you. It is even a solution for how to overcome social anxiety that you can do on your own.

Author's Bio: 

Kassie Lyne is the author of several self improvement articles dealing with ways to cure phobias, positive thinking and other related subjects. She is also the webmaster of Online Hypnosis Help which deals with these topics using hypnosis.