

How to Cure Your Social Anxiety in 30 Seconds - travelhead
http://wexnotes.com/cure-your-social-anxiety-in-30-seconds/
Instead of focusing on other people, focus on creating an internal positive state within yourself.
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mileszim
Wow! I had no idea that 2 ambiguously-phrased suggestions would completely
stop the biological processes causing my overactive amygdala!

This is it everyone, the field of therapy is dead. Let's destroy all the
benzodiazepines prescribed for anxiety, and simply give out a piece of paper
with this article on it to everyone who ever seeks help for panic attacks!

~~~
mkal_tsr
Metta-meditation (similar to what is described by OP) is starting to be
researched by the west (as well as general mindfulness and meditation
_without_ religious undertones) and is showing some promising signs -
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mett%C4%81#.22Compassion_medita...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mett%C4%81#.22Compassion_meditation.22_research)

Will this solve everyone's problems? Absolutely not. But, don't immediately
discredit a technique due to a knee-jerk reaction, look into it and form your
opinion after researching it, not before.

~~~
mileszim
Meditation, undertaken through rigorous discipline, shows evidence for
something. What that is, is still up for debate.

If you're referring instead to feedback techniques to curb anxiety responses,
that is used in legitimate therapy.

Neither of those represent the content of this article. Furthermore, it
suggests that anxiety can be simply reasoned away in 30 seconds. That is
insulting to anyone who has ever had anxiety.

~~~
mkal_tsr
I've had social anxiety for 25+ years.

> When you focus only on boosting your internal state, your social anxiety
> will disappear.

That is the line I drew the connection from. The first part of metta is to
focus on yourself before moving onto others. Again, I _explicitly_ said it
would not work for everyone (and I disagree with the word "cure" both in title
and text), but to outright dismiss everything about it is equally absurd.

Furthermore, one of the larger benefits that people find in meditation is that
they can more easily detach themselves from their emotions, which _could_
allow them to see that they are not _only_ their emotions and _may_ have more
control over how they respond to emotions than they previously had. _None_ of
that cures anything ... but, it _can_ help an individual in showing them that
they have more control over their internal state than they had previously
believed.

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mkal_tsr
Easier said than done, hehe, but still good advice. I'd definitely recommend
mindfullness and meditation to those that suffer from social anxiety, it's
worked wonder for me (and may or may not work for you ... ymmv)

~~~
travelhead
Yes, it definitely takes practice! :)

~~~
mkal_tsr
This is the Android app I've been using that has helped me more than any other
app or forum or any other resource -
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nwalex.med...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nwalex.meditation)
(I am not associated with this app at all, I'm just linking because it's
helped me so much).

The real win with it is that you can place a widget on your homescreen with 1)
the number of days in a row you've reached your daily-duration goals, and 2)
your all-time best chain. So simple but so effective.

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parasight
The title is nonsense. But I think there is some truth in this advice. I feel
a lot more secure when I am happy and relaxed. On the otherside I feel very
insecure around others when I am stressed out. I learned that I can actvely
influence the way I feel and it is something I can get better in. So I want to
add the advice: Learn what makes you happy and relaxed. Also learn what makes
you feel bad and stressed out.

~~~
WorldWideWayne
This is certainly true for me. I've convinced myself that feeling happy is
just a choice.

The philosophy has done wonders for me. When I'm paying the proper attention,
I can take a bad situation and make it positive just by deciding to relax my
body, release my concerns and realize that happiness is something I can decide
to feel no matter what else is going on.

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robobro
I'm a fan of the Buddhist way: breathe in, breathe out.

Vipassana, samatha, and jhana are a bit more complicated than that, but it's
enough.

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Houshalter
This is the most useless advice I have ever read.

1) Other people can tell you are having social anxiety.

Oh, ya, that makes me a whole lot less nervous.

2) Stop having anxiety. By thinking really hard about it or something.

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jbeja
I don't get or know any of the keywords expressed in this advice. A bunch a
words with no meaning given the context.

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ChrisAntaki
Yesss. This is right on.

~~~
travelhead
Yeah try it! It works wonders :)

