thestorysofar- Offline

Do you know why it is that you feel like you have to look down and avoid eye contact? It's often down to "negative automatic thoughts", which, like the name suggests, are negative perceptions of yourself or certain situations that often come very quickly and make you react in a way to avoid a scenario when you would feel uncomfortable. Try thinking about it. When you walk into a crowd of people, say, do you fear them looking at you and judging you? Or is it something else?

Hm, would you be able to push that boundary? Like, try going through these situations with a friend, and try to get used to them that way, and then you can try on your own. You can do it.

Believe it or not, I used to do that too, and it took a long while for me to realize that talking to and meeting new people isn't as nerve-wrecking as one would think. As far as advice goes, you can either start the conversation in two ways: react to something around the environment, or take the direct approach and say "Hi my name is (your name). What's your name?" The reacting to something around the environment method is basically just reacting to what's going on around you, and talking to the other person that you want to start a conversation with about it. For example, let's say there's a guy in your science class that you want to approach (I'm just making up a scenario here). If you're in the class with him, and you realize that you really like the class, after class, approach him and say something like "Wow, I really find science class to be appealing." You have to just say it a natural way that you would normally say it to your friends. Just be relaxed and content. That way, he won't really have any suspicion that you might be trying to impress him. See what he says, be an active listener, and the conversation will flow smoothly. The second method is pretty much self-explanatory. It works sometimes, but personally, I prefer utilizing the first method as that's the more effective and easier way to start a conversation with someone.

Ah, I understand, that sucks. :/ I find that exposing myself to certain situations is generally the best way to overcome my fear of them. Could you try staying with a friend while walking through crowds such as those you'd find at school? If you feel less nervous when with a friend, it could encourage you to try it on your own eventually.

I'm just going to tell you right now that won't always happen. It sometimes does, but if you're the one that always expects someone to approach you and start a conversation, you'll get a bit frustrated. However, would you like some advice on how to start a conversation with anyone that you want to talk to?

Well, that's good, but it doesn't hurt to meet new people and make new friends.

Hey there! I replied to your thread about social anxiety, and just wanted to say that I'm here if you ever need advice with it.

Well, whatever floats your boat. I'm sure that you'll be great at it.

Really? That's cool. I'm actually taking Drama as one of my classes this year, and so far, it's been great. Well, hey, I get nervous before a performance too, but it just takes a lot of training and confidence to get over stage fright. If you're still motivated in performing, you should give it a go, but that's really all up to you.

Really? What did you get involved in performing arts? Awkward person taking pictures for yearbook. Now, I wonder how that'll work out well. Well, I'm sure that it'll be good.