Social interactions form an essential part of our lives, and can largely impact our confidence levels and perception towards ourselves. Our worries about people's judgement and rejection, as well as intense nervousness may lead us to feeling fearful towards social situations, which in turn may make us anxious over what other's think of us. Social anxiety is the fear of interaction with other people that brings on self-consciousness, feelings of being negatively judged and evaluated, and, as a result, leads to avoidance. It leads to feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, embarrassment, humiliation, and depression.
Individuals with social anxiety know that their anxiety is irrational. Nevertheless, knowing something is not the same thing as believing and feeling something. Thus, for people with social anxiety, thoughts and feelings of anxiety persist despite facing it every day. They tend to have irrational and negatively skewed belief systems from years of negative experiences, thoughts, and expectations.
To make belief systems rational we need to reprogram the thoughts. Absolutist thinking like "I can never do that", "That is too hard for me", "I can't speak in front of people", "I'll never be able to do the job I want to do", or "I'm way too anxious", is irrational and our brain tends to start believing it when told ourselves over and over again. If you say you can't do something, you will always feel you can't do it. Over time it becomes a belief. When you believe you can't do it, you are caught up in a negative self-fulfilling prophecy.
Focusing on ourselves and understanding the value of what we think about ourselves would help boost our self-esteem and self-confidence. Keeping our mind open and not closing it off with negative, irrational beliefs essential. Things which may cause anxiety in the present will not remain forever. Hence opening our mind up to all possibilities is crucial in this process.