Many people get nervous or self-conscious on occasion, like when giving a speech or interviewing for a job. But for some people just the thought of being in a room of people they don’t know or speaking in front of complete strangers scares them so much that they completely avoid those social settings.
But when you attend college, there is no way of escaping those social settings. With socializing dorms, booming dining halls, classes that are participation-based, it is hard not to feel overwhelmed at times. But when you are dealing with social anxiety on top of all those things that make up a college environment it makes college even more stressful. (And trust me it is already stressful enough)
You may feel like your social anxiety in unmanageable but the good news is that it doesn’t have to be. Whether you are diagnosed or undiagnosed, there are ways to make sure it doesn’t define your college experience.
What is Social Anxiety?
Social anxiety, or social phobia, is more than just shyness and your occasional nerves. With social anxiety your fear of embarrassing yourself is so intense that you avoid situations that can trigger them. Social anxiety is the ‘extreme fear of being scrutinized and judged by others in social or performance situations,” according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA).
Social anxiety is actually very common within people. Some people experience anxiety in most social and performance situations, which is known as generalized social anxiety disorder. Other people who have social phobia it’s connected to more specific social situations, such as speaking to strangers or going to parties.
Know Your Triggers
There is no exact cause of social anxiety. Generally, anxiety orders deal with a combination of factors and genetics. Negative experiences such as family conflict or bullying can also contribute to social anxiety.
When talking about social anxiety there are hundreds, if not thousands, of triggers, so let’s briefly discuss a few common ones and how you can cope with them:
Meeting New People/Social Engagements
Nothing triggers social anxiety like a room full of strangers. Unfortunately, that is a big part of college. You have classes where you don’t know a single soul and you may go to parties or football games and notknow anyone. If you suffer from social anxiety this can have a big affect on your college life. You want to meet new people so there are ways you can get over this fear.
The key is to identify why you fear this and to meet it head on. Start off slow like introduce yourself to your classmate next to you or the person nearest to you at a party. You can take bigger steps such as answering questions in a classroom or talking to a group of people at party. The more you do this the less your fear of meeting new people will become.
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Public Presentations
When taking college courses, public speaking, is in a lot of them. Whether it is a speech gen Ed class or a class that you have to give a PowerPointpresentation in, it is something you are going to have to face at one point in your college career.
This is something that is going to take time, your first one may not go as smoothly as you like, but the more and more you do it the easier it should be for you. Just remember to stay calm and say positive things to yourself before you present.
Try talking to your professor and asking him or her if you could present it to themduring office hours to help take the edge off. You can even practice in the room that you’ll be presenting in if there is no class in there at that time. Running through your presentation a few times in front of other people will also help you become more comfortable with what you are saying before you present.
Speaking in Class or Meetings
In college many classes have a participation component and if you suffer from social anxiety this can be extremely stressful to you. You maybe afraid you are going to say the wrong answer or sound stupid but don’t let those fear stop you. Take the time to write down your thoughts or answers before speaking so you know what you will say before you speak.
If you are worried about what your classmates might think of your opinion you can ease into participating by asking a question first.
I think it is also important to meet with your professor at the beginning of the semester and explain how you suffer from social anxiety. He or she will most likely help you out in anyway that they can.
More Coping Skills
One thing you can do to help your social anxiety is to challenge your negative thoughts. Instead of telling yourself, “People will think I’m stupid” tell yourself that people will think your intelligent and even if you are nervous people are not going to think you are dumb. Every human being gets nervous, always remember that.
Another way you can prevent social anxiety is to learn how to control your breath. Many changes happen to your body when you become nervous. One of the first changes is usually you will begin to breath more quickly. Learning to slow your breathing down can help you bring your physical symptoms of anxiety back under control.
A third treatment you can practice to help social anxiety disorder is to face your fears. Avoidance keeps social anxiety disorder going so when you face them the easier things will get for you. The more you do something, the easier it becomes. So raise your hand in class more, start up new conversations, do something that will help you face your fears.
Remember that it is going to take time to get over your fears in social settings but practice does make perfect. Don’t start with your biggest fear, start from your easiest fear until you reach your biggest fear. And always remember to stay calm when you are using your social anxiety tools.
Sometimes self-help is not for anyone and your social anxiety is so severe that seeking professional help may benefit you. Penn State Berks offers free short-term counseling in Room 10 of the Perkins Student Center for students.