SickJoke
Well-known member
Our beliefs are the root cause of social anxiety. Medication can dull the symptoms, but it's not a cure.
Here's an example from another thread to illustrate my point.
Problem: It feels like others see something in me that makes me less worthwhile than everyone else. Is this social anxiety or am I just boring?
Solution: That's definitely a huge cause of social anxiety. After getting so many reactions like that, you start to perceive yourself that way, and you internalize the belief "I'm less worthwhile than everyone else." And any time you enter a social situation, that belief lurks in your subconscious - instead of enjoying the interaction, you'll be searching for evidence to reinforce your belief that "I'm less worthwhile than everyone else."
You mentioned that you also perceive yourself as boring, so that's another belief: "I am boring." And during interactions, you'll look for evidence to reinforce that belief as well.
What happens is you'll actually start to behave like you're boring and not worthwhile, simply because you have those beliefs in your head.
So you've identified 2 limiting beliefs, that's a good start. Now you can start going to work on yourself to remove those beliefs. You can form 2 new opposing beliefs: "I am worthwhile" and "I am interesting."
How can you form those new beliefs? Well, what would it take for you to see yourself and worthwhile and interesting? Set some reasonable goals, and start working toward them. As you work toward the goals, remind yourself that every day you are becoming more worthwhile and interesting.
As soon as your brain accepts that your new beliefs are stronger than your old limiting beliefs, you'll have a realization: "OK, I've been improving myself. I'm ready to consider myself worthwhile and interesting," then BAM you'll have a paradigm shift, you'll see yourself differently, and you'll see the world differently. Our minds are incredible.
Here's an example from another thread to illustrate my point.
Problem: It feels like others see something in me that makes me less worthwhile than everyone else. Is this social anxiety or am I just boring?
Solution: That's definitely a huge cause of social anxiety. After getting so many reactions like that, you start to perceive yourself that way, and you internalize the belief "I'm less worthwhile than everyone else." And any time you enter a social situation, that belief lurks in your subconscious - instead of enjoying the interaction, you'll be searching for evidence to reinforce your belief that "I'm less worthwhile than everyone else."
You mentioned that you also perceive yourself as boring, so that's another belief: "I am boring." And during interactions, you'll look for evidence to reinforce that belief as well.
What happens is you'll actually start to behave like you're boring and not worthwhile, simply because you have those beliefs in your head.
So you've identified 2 limiting beliefs, that's a good start. Now you can start going to work on yourself to remove those beliefs. You can form 2 new opposing beliefs: "I am worthwhile" and "I am interesting."
How can you form those new beliefs? Well, what would it take for you to see yourself and worthwhile and interesting? Set some reasonable goals, and start working toward them. As you work toward the goals, remind yourself that every day you are becoming more worthwhile and interesting.
As soon as your brain accepts that your new beliefs are stronger than your old limiting beliefs, you'll have a realization: "OK, I've been improving myself. I'm ready to consider myself worthwhile and interesting," then BAM you'll have a paradigm shift, you'll see yourself differently, and you'll see the world differently. Our minds are incredible.
