Time to Emerge from Our Social Anxiety Cocoons! – How to Overcome Post-Pandemic Social Anxiety

Zoom conferences, Facetime dinners, virtual birthday parties. We have tucked away our lives into an unreachable, sequestered cocoon for over a year due to the mass surge of the pandemic. Now, it is time to emerge from the chrysalis, but this process may be intimidating for some. 

As most health regulations have ceased, many are gradually returning to their normal lifestyle. However, due to such extensive periods of isolation and quarantine, many have lost their abilities to socialize and fraternize. 

Some individuals may read up on ways to cope with social anxiety or exchange views naturally in conversational situations after long periods of isolation. There are countless articles and resources online relevant to socializing. Regardless, the majority seem impracticable, generalized, and shallow.

This is not another facile how-to guide. This isn’t an article encouraging you to “be confident” or to “stop worrying”. This is an article written by an ambivert, a person who experiences both introverted and extroverted tendencies, and a person who has been struggling with similar issues for months.

Luckily, there are ways to help individuals feel more comfortable being in public. As restrictions abate, now is the time to start reacclimatizing yourself to the world around you. But how?

 

1. Taking The First Step 

Although this adage may be somewhat hackneyed, it is never quite off-target. Skills related to one personally and things that will be applied outside of one’s comfort zone always require the first step. Taking the first step is regarded as the most audacious and nerve-wracking stage of coping with social anxiety. Nevertheless, trying to ameliorate one’s social skills in the absence of initiative, stratagem, and valor can be difficult.  

Maintain Communication. Take the first step by conversing with others to contend with the struggles of social anxiety. Even if circumstances feel awkward and the tension of the room becomes thick as butter, take initiative by conferring with friends and other close confidants to gain some experience—block out time to make a phone call or a virtual meet-up. Strive and take the initiative, even if it is awkward. 

Embrace Your Awkwardness. Rather than feeling bashful, embrace the awkward situation by responding to it in an optimistic and jovial manner. Continuing to acknowledge the elephant in the room will only hinder one’s ability to improve their social skills. 

Train Other Skills Related To Socializing. Socialization requires other skills besides social skills, including active listening, effective communication, empathetic understanding, conflict resolution, and more. Start by attacking peripheral skills to heighten one’s efficacy and success with socializing with others. Active listening can be easily achieved by asking open-ended questions to prepare for appropriate responses. Share thoughts in a conversational situation to improve one’s communication skills. Being able to acknowledge the significance of such skills related to social skills will allow individuals to expedite their journey to defeating social anxiety.  

 

2. Realize That Things Are Different 

The pandemic has hampered social life significantly. Attending social events has become tremendously inconvenient due to health regulations and social distancing. 

A Little Change Is A Good Thing. It is crucial to acknowledge the major shifts in your social life. Realize that most of your previous social routines may have undergone conspicuous changes due to the pandemic. 

Communication Is Key. It is always important to communicate with other people regarding the changes in your social life, as well as one’s emotional changes. One might have become a little more sentient of a certain topic or disturbed by someone’s actions that might not have been much of a concern to them before the pandemic. Make sure that others are aware of your disquietude and always get to understand their concerns as well.

3. Go With The Slow 

If situations become too awkward or vexatious, start with settings or scenarios that are comfortable. Realize that this journey to coping with social anxiety isn’t anyone else’s to shepherd, but one’s own, meaning that it is ok to take things steadily and in one’s own good time.

Start Small And Tackle One Thing At A Time. This could be making small talk with a bosom friend or a jovial prattle with family. Regardless of the conversation’s topic, starting small allows one to start and ascend gradually from a steady base.

Give Yourself Time And Practice. Practice in limited amounts for the first few trials if necessary. Although taking initiatory first steps is an approving way to begin one’s social anxiety journey, those steps don’t necessarily have to be massive steps that make one feel strained or uneasy. Everyone goes at their own pace. 

 

4. You’re Not Alone 

Recognize the fact that you are not the only person falling down the social anxiety chasm. Others are going through the same hurdles, barricades, and blockades as you.

Help Others To Help Yourself. Use friendliness to cut the tension and awkwardness of the atmosphere. Realize that you are not the only person feeling awkward in these dire times of isolation. Some people may be in great desire of motivational support. 

We All May Be Socially Anxious, But That Doesn’t Make Us Identical. Don’t create assumptions about what other people may find comfortable or uncomfortable. This may only cause more discomfort in both you and the other individual, making it more difficult to socialize in future conversation

5. Getting Help Isn’t A Sign of Weakness But A Sign of Strength 

Seeking assistance from other individuals or other mechanisms is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of strength.

Seek Assistance From Stress-Relieving Mechanisms And Practices. Try coping mechanisms like deep breathing sessions, positive affirmations, coping statements, meditation, mindfulness, and journaling. Journaling is an efficient way to tackle underlying thoughts and emotions triggered by one’s social anxiety. Every day, record moments of your day and how things have gone for you. Through these small and progressive journaling sessions, one will be able to identify patterns and trends in one’s feelings and problems. Identifying repetitive sequences will make preparing for triggers in future encounters much more efficient.

Seek Assistance From A Professional. Seek assistance from medical professionals like a psychiatrist if you are avoiding social gatherings or activities due to the severity of your anxiety. Mild to moderate social anxiety can be gradually ameliorated by taking risks, but acute social anxiety may require succor from other individuals.

 

“During quarantine, I felt severely isolated and companionless,” said Yeji L., a freshman at AISG. “I had to rely on the internet and social media during such downcast times. Now that circumstances have eased, I don’t know how I’ll be able to go back to my vivacious self.”

Kay K., a parent that has just recently joined the AISG community and completed her two-week session of quarantine believed that quarantine and the pandemic have had an immense impact on her social life. “I never had social anxiety in the past, but now that life is so different compared to what it was like before, I’ve started noticing changes in my way of socializing and respecting the people around me – even with my own family.”

Social anxiety is more than just feeling taciturn or reticent. If you are currently in dire assistance regarding your social anxiety or are curious to learn more about how to overcome social anxiety after the pandemic, please consider talking to a certified therapist or psychiatrist.