There are many physical benefits of probiotics and fermented foods, like cardiac health and digestion. There is some research showing that probiotics can also have a positive impact on your mental health.
There was a study done that found that people consuming more fermented foods experienced fewer social anxiety symptoms. There is a lot of research that still needs to be done to solidify this link – and probiotics alone is not enough to get rid of social anxiety completely – but you need to add more probiotics into your diets because it can help a little.
Reducing caffeine and alcohol
While probiotics can help with your social anxiety, there are things that can make it worse – including energy drinks or the cup of coffee you take in the morning. Studies have shown that caffeine can increase feelings of anxiety or panic in people who have already experienced anxiety.
There was also an animal study that found out that high consumption of caffeine in adolescents resulted in higher anxiety in adulthood.
If you want to reduce feelings of anxiety, then caffeine is the worst option because it makes it worse. There are those who use alcohol to deal with anxiety. It can work in the short term and it is a social lubricant. If you make it a habit, then you are going to feel more anxious in the future.
Research has also shown alcohol can increase anxiety in shy people after they drink it. even moderate amounts of alcohol can affect your anxiety level and mood. You need to be careful when it comes to using alcohol for your social anxiety.
Talking with a therapist
You might have feelings of discomfort when you talk to a therapist one on one, especially if you are suffering from social anxiety. There are some alternatives that involve less one-on-one time.
VR-CBT (Virtual reality cognitive behavioral therapy) will allow you to face your fears – like giving a speech or striking up a conversation with a stranger – in a virtual landscape. You can start practicing in a lower-pressure setting.
VR-CBT has shown a lot of promise for people dealing with social anxiety, but you might not have it in your area. Another good option is biofeedback if you prefer more tech and less talk. This is also more accessible.
Group therapy is also good because it is going to take you out of your comfort zone. Research backs the effectiveness of this approach, give it a try and see if it works for you, contact Claritychi. There was a study on cognitive-behavioral group therapy for social anxiety that showed it helped people reduce their symptoms in the long term.
Practicing your smile
Smiling could impact shyness and mood.
When you are happy, you can easily find yourself smiling. You can also smile and feel happy. A study found that when children smiled when in scary situations, they reduce their social anxiety.
You don’t even have to smile to notice a change in mood. You can practice:
- Loosening the muscles in your face
- Good posture
- Relaxing your eyebrows
There was also research showing that people suffering from social anxiety might be already used to smiling more compared to other people. In another study, those suffering from social anxiety smiled more to mirror who they were talking with.
It is also okay if you feel exhausted by the idea of smiling more than what you currently do.
Moving beyond your comfort zone
You might now be thinking of how impossible this is. The trick is to set small and manageable goals for yourself.
If you want to start out running, the worst thing you can do is to start by signing up for a marathon. The best approach is to run only a minute at a time and walk for some time. This is also the approach you should use when you are dealing with social anxiety and shyness.
Set a goal that you know you can complete instead of taking more than you can handle. This is going to be different from one person to another.
A person might find that a good first goal for them is texting their friend and saying “hi”. For another person, it might be walking around the park when it has a lot of people.
You need to be honest with yourself about the steps you can take so you can identify the kind of goal you need. If you find that you usually put yourself through a lot of pressure, you might need to take things back a little back and make it manageable. Maybe you need to push beyond your comfort zone.
You are the expert when it comes to identifying what is possible when it comes to your shyness or social anxiety.
