Lifestyle and home remedies

Although social anxiety disorder generally requires help from a medical expert or qualified psychotherapist, you can try some of these techniques to handle situations that are likely to trigger symptoms:

• Learn stress-reduction skills.
• Get physical exercise or be physically active on a regular basis.
• Get enough sleep.
• Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet.
• Avoid alcohol.
• Limit or avoid caffeine.
• Participate in social situations by reaching out to people with whom you feel comfortable.

Practice in small steps

First, consider your fears to identify what situations cause the most anxiety. Then gradually practice these activities until they cause you less anxiety. Begin with small steps by setting daily or weekly goals in situations that aren't overwhelming. The more you practice, the less anxious you'll feel.

Consider practicing these situations:

• Eat with a close relative, friend or acquaintance in a public setting.
• Purposefully make eye contact and return greetings from others, or be the first to say hello.
• Give someone a compliment.
• Ask a retail clerk to help you find an item.
• Get directions from a stranger.
• Show an interest in others — ask about their homes, children, grandchildren, hobbies or travels, for instance.
• Call a friend to make plans.

Prepare for social situations

At first, being social when you're feeling anxious is challenging. As difficult or painful as it may seem initially, don't avoid situations that trigger your symptoms. By regularly facing these kinds of situations, you'll continue to build and reinforce your coping skills.

These strategies can help you begin to face situations that make you nervous:

• Prepare for conversation, for example, by reading about current events to identify interesting stories you can talk about.
• Focus on personal qualities you like about yourself.
• Practice relaxation exercises.
• Learn stress management techniques.
• Set realistic social goals.
• Pay attention to how often the embarrassing situations you're afraid of actually take place. You may notice that the scenarios you fear usually don't come to pass.
• When embarrassing situations do happen, remind yourself that your feelings will pass and you can handle them until they do. Most people around you either don't notice or don't care as much as you think, or they're more forgiving than you assume.

Avoid using alcohol to calm your nerves. It may seem like it helps temporarily, but in the long term it can make you feel even more anxious.