social anxiety

[kyranwhitehead]

i hav recently been lookin into social anxiety because i get extremely nervous over simple social events and i beleive that i have it. for example im learnin to drive, im having 1 lesson a week. a day or a couple of hours before the actual lesson i start to feel really nervous. but when im actually havin the lesson im fine and enjoyin it. despite this, before every lesson i still get nervous even though i know i'll be fine. does anyone hav any tips on bein able to ease my nervousness a bit. i wuld really apreciate it thank u

[Whisperer]

Just because you have anxiety once in a while doesn't mean you have an anxiety disorder. Now I'm not saying you don't, just try not to jump to conclusions. Now it sounds like before your driving lessons you are having anticipation anxiety. For something like driving, that's completely normal. Driving is very stressful and can cause anxiety. Emotions don't always make sense but there are ways to deal with them. For example, try telling yourself you've done this before and it was all fine so you can do it again. Also use deep breathing techniques. You can breathe in and tense up your whole body then breathe out and relax as much as possible. You can also count to 10 breathing in then count to 10 breathing out. This forces your body to slow itself down when it is speeding itself up due to your emotions. I hope it gets better soon.
Let me know if you want to talk at all,
Alessa

[kyranwhitehead]

Hi Alessa,
Thank u for the tips u have given me. I used driving lessons as an example cuz thats the main thing thats been affecting me recently. even get togethers with family members make me nervous too, i tend to just keep quiet and let everyone else talk. im not an easy person to make a conversation with, im scared that if i say something i might humiliate myself for some reason.

thank u again for the tips, i really appreciate it
Kyran