How To Readjust To Life After Lockdown When You Have Social Anxiety

We can finally look forward to easing of tough Coronavirus restrictions after a long, hard Covid pandemic. We can now do things we took for granted before Pandemic. But the easing of the restrictions isn’t exciting for everyone – for those with social anxiety, life after lockdown can be a scary prospect.

Social anxiety is a fear of social situations, that includes worrying about meeting strangers, how to act with groups of friends or family, work problems, ‘power’ syndrome and much more.

It can make everyday life extremely difficult for sufferers. When we add more than a year of isolation and social distancing to that, it can make people feel ‘disconnected’ and even completely ‘cut off’ from the real world.

Tips on how to cope with Anxiety after Lockdown:

Understanding Social Anxiety- FREE Workshop:

What can you do to help yourself if you suffer from Social Anxiety?

Here are my 3 tips on how to ‘readjust’ to life after lockdown:

1. Focus on the present, not on the future ‘what ifs’.

Worrying isn’t actually solving any problems – focus on what’s within your control only, right here, right now.

Try:

Set an appointment with yourself to WORRY. It may sound weird, but it WORKS. If your mind starts to wonder and worry, remind yourself you’ve got an appointment for worrying set. ALWAYS keep that appointment with yourself, even if by then you have nothing to worry about.

Learn Three Immediate Anxiety Relief Techniques That You Can Implement Into Your Life Right Now

*Free Immediate Access. The workbook Includes Focus Awareness (Mindfulness), Breathing Techniques & Negative Self-Labelling Impact*

Help Us Share This Message

2. Recognise patterns of behaviour that lead to self-defeating thoughts. Are you constantly scanning for threats (danger – negative judgement)? 

It takes a lot of energy to actually interact with people, without the added pressure of constantly thinking about what other people think of us.

Try:

Imagine you’re sitting on the train, watching the world go by. Now think of that countryside as your thoughts. You see them, you acknowledge they are there (you are not suppressing them), but you’re choosing not to give in to them or interact with them.

3. Turn the spotlight off you and on to others in social anxiety-provoking situations.

I call this ‘Focus  Awareness’.

Focus your energy on being interested in the other person. Listen rather than hear. 

Try:

Next time you’re facing a social situation, pay attention to where your focus is: 

What percentage is inwards (in your head), on the environment (things and people around you), and on the task itself (being absorbed in conversation)?

*For professional Anxiety support (Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy & Life Coaching), please book a complimentary consultation:

Further articles you may like:

708, 2022

The Art Of *Silence* When We Struggle With Social Anxiety

August 7th, 2022|

Oh, the Social Anxiety. It makes us QUIET when we'd love to say something, because we have all these negative thoughts about our communications skills, including: 1. I have nothing interesting to say. 2. Everyone will think I'm so boring. 3. I'd better not say anything- I might say [...]

1707, 2022

Anxiety And Procrastination At Work

July 17th, 2022|

Can Anxiety cause Procrastination? Absolutely. Anxiety and Low Mood can both result in Procrastination at work. In this article, I'm going to take a closer look at what Procrastination is, and how to help yourself if you struggle with Anxiety AND procrastination. Let's start with Procrastination: First of all, people mistake procrastination [...]

2606, 2022

Social Anxiety At Work

June 26th, 2022|

In this article, we are going to be looking at some of the most common symptoms of Social Anxiety at work. We’ll also look at the impact of untreated Social Anxiety on your career and professional relationships. What is Social Anxiety? Social Anxiety is a fear of Social Situations. [...]

405, 2022

9 Steps To Improving Your Assertiveness

May 4th, 2022|

I just delivered yet another Assertiveness Workshop and I'm feeling so pumped up! Buzzing, in fact. The amount of self-confidence it instantly gives you is amazing. So I've decided to give you my top tips (THAT WORK) on how to improve your Assertiveness Skills. There are 9 simple steps [...]

1204, 2022

How To Get A Grip On Procrastination

April 12th, 2022|

Today, I was inspired to write about procrastination by a long-term, young client of mine. We've been working together for the past 2 years (on and off), as he struggles with Social Anxiety and Low Mood. A big symptom of both is procrastination, or a 'lack of motivation' [...]

1809, 2021

How To Tolerate Uncertainty

September 18th, 2021|

Do we need to know EVERYTHING about events that haven't happened yet? One of the hardest things we have to deal with, when we struggle with Anxiety, is uncertainty of life. In other words, the fear of 'tomorrow' (or even the next hour, next few [...]

By |2022-05-07T17:02:48+01:00May 19th, 2021|Anxiety, Social Anxiety, top anxiety posts, Top Few|Comments Off on How To Readjust To Life After Lockdown When You Have Social Anxiety

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

Go to Top