How to Make Friends With Social Anxiety

Making friends can be a challenge, especially now that many of us are restricted due to COVID-19. Having social anxiety does not make this process any easier. Sometimes, just getting out and being active in the community feels impossible with social anxiety.

What are some tips that you can use to make friends with social anxiety?

If you are having a hard time meeting new people, don’t worry. Here are some steps that you can take to start making new friends.

Learn Coping Skills for Your Social Anxiety

Before you begin trying to make friends, you should find coping skills to control sudden boughts of anxiety. This will make the process of making friends easier on you.

Breathing exercises can help you calm down when you experience a panic attack starting. Counting out loud in your head, breathe in for seven seconds, hold your breath for four seconds, and slowly let your breath out for eight seconds. This forces youar heart to slow down to compensate for your relaxed breathing.

Fidget toys can also help if you begin to feel anxious while out in public. Fidget cubes, fidget spinners, or other stimulating items can relieve tension and keep you grounded while you’re engaging in a stressful situation.

Of course, you should also recognize when a panic attack is setting in so that you can act before you start panicking. Shallow breathing, quickened heart rate, and dry mouth are just a few signs of an oncoming panic attack that you should watch out for. Pay close attention to your own specific symptoms to help you recognize an anxiety attack.

Try Alternative Types of Social Interaction

You don’t have to only make friends when you are out in public! There are plenty of alternative methods of social interaction that you can do if being out in public is too stressful. Online interaction, phone calls, and texting are just a few forms of social interaction that you can engage in.

There are plenty of online communities geared towards various hobbies and interests. Just find the ones that you share and start chatting with people!

Control Your Imagination

The hardest thing to deal with while making friends with social anxiety is keeping yourself grounded. It’s easy to start imagining the worst possible scenarios; once you start down a track of negative thought, getting out of it is near impossible.

Focus on the here and now when you are trying to make new friends. Your imagination often plays tricks with you when you’re in social settings. Do not let it control you or stop you from talking to others!

Prepare Your Introduction

It can help to have a thought out conversation plan to go through before you go out in public. That way, you have some measure of control over how the conversation plays out. While you should be open to the conversation taking different turns, you can still have some topics thought of ahead of time.

Have a set way to introduce yourself. Share your name, a few facts about yourself, and any other tidbits that you think help describe you. Once that part is out of the way, you and your new potential friend can move on to more interesting topics.

You should also have some questions for the other person lined up- you shouldn’t make the conversation all about you, after all! Ask about their own hobbies and interests, their family life, and any other information you feel would connect the two of you.

Visit Certain Places Regularly

The best way to meet new people is to continuously visit the same locations. Coffee shops, bars, parks, and other public places are great places to go to make friends. The more often you visit, the more likely you are to get recognized and have a chance of making friends!

This rule isn’t restricted to physical interaction. Regularly returning to certain websites or chat rooms will also help you get noticed by others. Try to visit and interact with others on various social platforms to help you make more friends!

Meet Your Friend’s Friends

Odds are the friends that you have already share many of your interests. That means that their friends likely share some of the same interests as well. Your current friends can help introduce you to their other friends, thereby increasing your friend pool.

Understand How to Maintain the Friendships You Make

Meeting people is just one step on your journey to making friends. You will also need to take steps to maintain your friendships once you have made them. That means keeping up with communication and potentially meeting up with your new friends.

Make plans with your new friends and stick to them. Try to avoid dipping out on the plans you make, as you could risk resolving your new friendship; while there are some instances where you will have to take a raincheck on your plans, try not to let it happen too often!

Start Making New Friends Today

Social anxiety doesn’t have to keep you from meeting new people. Understand your mental illness and know that it doesn’t control your life- you do! Use these tips to start making new friends online and in person today.

Are you struggling to make new friends and meet new people due to social anxiety or other mental disabilities?

We’re here to help. Contact us with any questions or concerns you have about our online dating services and continue reading our blog for more helpful tips today!