Dealing with Social Anxiety After Quarantine

With the ups and downs of the coronavirus pandemic, some people are venturing back out into the world, itching to get back to life pre-quarantine. While these social butterflies are more than ready to be around people again, not everyone is prepared for life after quarantine, whenever that may be.

How to Cope with Social Anxiety after COVID-19 Lockdowns

Along with concerns over safety, getting back into socializing after months of lockdown can be daunting for many people. If you are feeling a little anxious about being around people again when COVID-19 concerns decrease, you are not alone. There are several people just like you who are unsure how to manage social anxiety after the lockdown is finally over. While it is a big concern for many people, these tips on dealing with social anxiety after quarantine may be able to help you in the coming months as things start to slowly get back to normal.

Take Your Time

Managing social anxiety after quarantine is about easing yourself back into these social situations. Start small by spending time with people you are closest to and slowly expanding this circle. Avoid diving back in with overwhelming situations like larger groups and new people initially.

Analyze & Change Your Thinking

Before or during an uncomfortable social interaction, you may be overwhelmed with negative thoughts about everything that could go wrong. Instead of letting this negativity run wild in your mind, try these cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. Take a moment to really examine your thoughts, and you will likely find some fallacy in your thinking. When you can recognize these harmful and unnecessary negative thoughts, you can change your thinking to be more positive and reduce your social anxiety.

Get Social Virtually

If jumping back into in-person interactions seems too overwhelming, start by becoming social virtually. Set up group video chats with your closest friends. If you start to feel uncomfortable, it is easy to blend into the background when there are a few different people on the call. The best part is you can start doing this now and get practice socializing before coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

Do an Activity

A big part of social anxiety for some people is struggling to know what to say or having an awkward pause in the conversation. Instead of going to dinner where conversation will dominate the night, do an activity together. Activities like bowling, mini golfing, axe throwing, or something similar can help resolve some of this stress as conversation is no longer the focus. To ease your anxiety even more, choose an activity that you have done before and are already comfortable with.

Get Help

Dealing with social anxiety after quarantine and months separated from others is not uncommon for some people, but when this social anxiety starts to interfere with your life, there may be a bigger problem at hand. Social anxiety disorder is a common mental health problem, but many people neglect to do anything about it. Instead of living in fear, our anxiety treatment in Boca Raton could help you feel more in control and reduce symptoms of anxiety.

It may be a long time before socializing becomes what it was before the coronavirus pandemic began.   As things start to open back up, just remember that this is uncharted territory for everyone and there are a lot of people just like you who do not know how to deal with social anxiety after coronavirus either. Together, we can make it through this.

If your mental health has drastically declined since the start of quarantine or you are watching a loved one struggle, get help. Our residential mental health facility in Florida helps people with various mental health disorders find relief and get control over their symptoms.

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By calling 888-280-4763Take the first step to a brighter future by calling 888-280-4763. At Banyan Mental Health, we are here to help.