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Unconventional Ways to Treat Social Anxiety

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Social anxiety is a very cunning and baffling condition that constantly frustrates us, and often it seems as if there is no way out. However, the Anxiety Support Network has provided multiple different ways for people to find a way out of anxiety. A few articles that provide you with specific steps to get out of anxiety include:

Today, I would like to present you with a few more strategies that are pretty unconventional in comparison to what you might be expecting to hear. Some of these strategies may sound like something that is helpful for you, while others may not. It is up to you to choose which strategies to try. Without any further delay, here are some strategies that I have either heard of or used on my own:

  1. Purposefully acting like a fool or buffoon. This strategy can be a great way to reduce anxiety, but only if you are willing to accept that other people will in fact think you are strange or weird. You might, for example, wear a very sensible and appropriate outfit to go out to dinner, but then wear a pair of clown shoes as a compliment. This will undoubtedly arouse people's suspicions about you. Or, you might walk into public with a leash tied around a plastic lobster (this one I recall hearing on a forum somewhere). People will definitely be giving you strange looks when you use this one. The point is that it is going to arouse your anxiety because you know that people will be thinking critically about you, and it gives you the chance to practice accepting that other people have their own thoughts about you, but that in fact is okay and is more their issue than yours. This strategy is really tough to implement.

  2. Challenge everything another person says. This is very similar to the first strategy, but instead of acting like a fool, you will instead challenge or contest every point another person makes. There are plenty of opportunities to do this in a sensible way - when you deal with customer service about a bill, when you do not like the food served in a restaurant, or if you and a friend simply see differently on a certain topic. You can also do this in an insensible way and challenge things everybody else accepts as valid. Call up customer service for your cell phone bill and tell them you are not paying this month. Insist that the rotation of the earth is driving you insane and therefore you are not able to pay the bill this month. Go to a restaurant and put your feet on the table. If asked politely to remove them, explain that you have a medical condition which requires that you sit only that way. Be clever and creative and come up with what you can. Do not break the law! When I talk about challenging, I mean doing so in a respectful manner. This will provide great opportunity to deal with other people's hostility, anger, and challenges to your assertion.

  3. Drink alcohol. Some astute readers may recall that in past articles I have discussed how alcohol actually increases anxiety, and it might appear that I am contradicting myself by saying this. However, as with most things, there is some gray area. I think that if you have a couple drinks just to catch a buzz and relax, that is okay. However, if you start pushing it into drunkenness, that is where you are really putting yourself in a potential spot to become dependent on alcohol to get you through. If you have a couple drinks to catch a buzz, you are not really totally relying on the alcohol to get you through, but more on your own wit. Enjoying life a little is okay. However, be sure to be careful of any complications this may cause with your medication. It is not necessary to drink alcohol to enjoy life, however, it can be an acceptable thing to do from time to time.

  4. Fire your boss. If your boss or job is a chronic source of anxiety for you in your life, fire them! Having a job that provides great money but at the same causes great stress is just not worth it to your health in the long run. Instead of tolerating that, it is time to be uncompromising and remove that obstacle from your life. Either interview for other jobs while working at your current job, or be sure you have enough finances to maintain your current lifestyle for a year while looking for the next job. The fear that will settle in, of course, is whether or not you will find a job that pays well and that you enjoy. I can assure that you can and will find just such a job, and you will thank yourself for having done so when you have found it.

  5. End harmful friendships. Is your friend constantly putting you down, trying to get something out of you, or trying to get you to do things that you do not want to do and know you should not be doing? If so, confront that person about his or her behavior. This person may or may not be accommodating to your response, but either way you win. On the one hand, this person may defend his or her actions, in which case you know no longer to hang out with this person. On the other hand, they might be apologetic and make up for their actions. Either way, your anxiety is reduced, which is the goal, and if you have to leave that friendship, then you will end up finding better friends in the future.

    These are all probably not-so-popular methods for reducing anxiety, but they can be effective if used properly. I encourage you to think about each one and consider where it might be effective in your life. Enjoy!


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