Having social anxiety at work? Living with social anxiety can cause additional stress in your daily life. You may feel apprehensive about being around other people in public places and worry about how they perceive you. Individuals with social anxiety often find it difficult to attend school or work because they are frequently surrounded by others. Large group settings, like classrooms or offices, can intensify the social anxiety experience.
If you are struggling with social anxiety at work, please know you are not alone. Mind Connections wants you to know that you can take control of your anxiety and find healthy coping mechanisms. Keep reading to learn more about managing anxiety and thriving in the workplace.
What is Social Phobia or Social Anxiety at Work?
If you identify with the questions below, you may be dealing with signs of social anxiety disorder (SAD) or social phobia.
- Encounter high levels of stress in your daily life that you may be judged or humiliated
- Participating in class, maintaining casual conversation with strangers, or even entering a crowded place make you feel very anxious
- Experience not only an emotional reaction to this fear but a physical one as well, such as blushing, trembling, etc.
- Fear and anxiety lead to avoidance that can disrupt your life
- After a social interaction, spend significant amount of time analyzing your performance and ruminating about your flaws
When someone has social anxiety it can make each day a struggle. Social anxiety makes people fear that others may scrutinize them or make a fool of themselves. In turn, this constant worry leads to dread and even avoidance of social interaction.
How Does Social Anxiety Affect Me in the Workplace?
Social anxiety causes individuals to fear being the center of attention or being perceived and judged by others. Apparently this could lead to self-isolation and avoidance of large group settings. However, many professions require interacting with people regularly, which can be challenging for those with social anxiety. For instance, if you aspire to be a doctor or work in a helping profession, you will likely interact with people throughout the day.
Don’t let social anxiety determine what you can do with your life. If you have always wanted to be, for example, a doctor, do not let your social anxiety prevent you from pursuing your dreams. You deserve to fulfill your aspirations while managing your stress.
If you experience social anxiety at work, you may constantly feel nervous about how you are perceived and judged by your colleagues and supervisor. That is, you may worry about being mocked, criticized, or doubted about your job performance. Additionally, you may struggle to interact with customers or patients due to these fears.
Common Thoughts of Work-Related Social Anxiety
- “Everyone is judging me right now they must think I’m doing a horrible job”
- “My boss hates me and he’s going to fire me because he noticed that mistake I made 3 weeks ago”
- “My coworker seems upset with me- I am anxious! What did I do?”
- “I have to make a phone call to a customer I’m very nervous I wish I could just be home by myself”
- “My job evaluation is coming up and I don’t want to meet my boss. I am very fearful of what they will say and how they are judging my performance”
- “What if someone doesn’t like the work I did and leaves a mean review about me online? How will I defend myself? Will everyone hate me?
How to Deal With Social Anxiety At Work?
1. Practice Relaxation Techniques
If you’re experiencing anxiety, it can be helpful to practice relaxation techniques. For instance, deep breathing exercises can calm your nervous system. Specifically, it entails taking slow, deep breaths and exhaling slowly. Another relaxation exercise is progressive muscle relaxation. You simply tense and relax different muscle groups in your body, promotes physical and mental relaxation. Visualization techniques can also help alleviate anxiety. It is fairly simple to practice as well. Just close your eyes and imagine yourself in a calm and confident state. By doing so, you can help you to stay calm.
2. Challenge Negative Thoughts
Social anxiety often stems from negative thoughts or self-doubt. By challenging negative thoughts, you can develop more realistic and balanced perspectives, reducing social anxiety at work. A typical example is social anxiety during job interviews. How to challenge these thoughts? Here are some strategies:
A). Identify the negative thoughts:
First of all, pay attention to the thoughts that arise before and during job interviews. That is, notice any self-doubt, self-criticism, or negative predictions about the outcome of the job interview. Some negative thoughts could include “They can see how nervous I am”; “I’ll say something stupid”; “They think I’m incompetent”; or “I won’t get the job”.
B). Question the evidence:
Second, ask yourself if there is concrete evidence supporting your negative thoughts. Often, social anxiety leads to distorted thinking. Are your negative assumptions valid? For instance, about the negative thought “I’ll say something stupid”, what’s your track record of saying anything stupid in the past? If you never had such an experience, what is the likelihood you would do it this time?
C). Consider alternative explanations:
After questioning the evidence, you may generate alternative explanations or interpretations for the situation. Literally ask yourself, “Is there another perspective that is more balanced or realistic?” Challenge the automatic negative interpretations with more positive or neutral ones. For example, anxiety might impact your confidence temporarily during the interview, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will say something foolish.
D). Evaluate the impact of the thoughts:
Next step is to assess the impact of your negative thoughts. Are they helping you perform better or hindering your performance? Recognize that negative thoughts are not necessarily accurate or helpful.
E). Gather supportive evidence:
Last but not least, recall past successes or positive experiences in similar situations. Remind yourself of your skills, qualifications, and strengths. Focus on the evidence that contradicts your negative thoughts. Recall moments when you have spoken confidently and articulately in professional or social settings. Remind yourself of positive feedback or successful interactions you’ve had in the past.
3. Gradual Exposure
Overcoming social anxiety at work can be achieved through a strategy called gradual exposure. This involves facing situations that make you anxious in a gradual manner, starting with less challenging scenarios and progressively moving on to more difficult ones. To some extent, this is like building a fear ladder for you to gradually climb till you feel comfortable with all challenging situations.
For example, if you have social anxiety in team meetings, you can begin by having small conversations with colleagues you are familiar with and then gradually work up to more complex interactions. Before you know it, this gradual approach helps you become less sensitive to social situations and increases your confidence over time.
4. Seek Support
As a matter of fact, it can be very beneficial to seek help from people you trust, like colleagues, pals, or mental health experts, when dealing with social anxiety. They can offer empathy, motivation, and advice on coping methods that work best for you. It’s reassuring to have someone to confide in and rely on during challenging moments, which can significantly improve your mental and emotional health.
5. Prioritize Self-Care
Obviously, overcoming social anxiety in the office requires taking care of your physical and mental health. To achieve this, prioritize getting enough rest, engaging in regular exercise, maintaining a healthy diet, and participating in activities that bring you happiness outside of work. By practicing self-care, you can reduce stress, promote relaxation, and improve your resilience in dealing with social anxiety.
6. Treatment for Social Anxiety or Phobia
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Social Anxiety
As we all know, individuals with social phobia often exaggerate the potential adverse outcomes of events and expect the worst. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a helpful approach to help them view the world in a less intimidating way and positively manage anxiety. CBT enables clients to restructure their beliefs to be more realistic, making social interactions less overwhelming and more manageable for individuals with social anxiety.
Mindfulness-Based therapy
Managing social anxiety disorder can be done through mindfulness meditation. This involves being aware of your thoughts and emotions without reacting or judging them. Guided meditation can help you stay in the present moment and reduce over-analysis. Additionally, a grounding exercise can be effective in managing anxiety quickly. If you experience fears in social situations, you can redirect your attention to focus on your senses, which is an effective
Exposure in Behavior therapy to Treat Social Anxiety at Work
As. mentioned before; exposure therapy is a behavior therapy technique that effectively treats fear and anxiety, including social anxiety. It uses habituation to reduce fear by gradually exposing people to their fears in social settings using a Fear Ladder.
Call now to learn more about how therapy can help you learn how to deal with social anxiety at work!
Content Creator, Victoria Gallo; Reviewed by Dr. June Cao