How do I overcome fear of socilizing after long time at home? I have experienced it many times before (holidays, vacation, winter break) but now it's the virus situation, so why is it?
4 Answers
Last Updated: 11/30/2021 at 6:59pm
Moderated by
Tracy-Kate Teleke, PsyD, M.A., LMFT
Marriage & Family Therapist
I assist adults and couples in CA experiencing relationship challenges and interpersonal struggles including anxiety, depression, and a myriad of other life challenges.
Top Rated Answers
You could try looking at the last few times you've experienced a fear of socialising, and how you got over it. Looking back at your past situations and how you've overcome them may help you make better observastions/decisions with regards to your fear of socialising.
If you've felt a fear of socialising in the past, how did you overcome it/stop the fear? If not, what would you tell a friend in your situation? It may be worth taking things slowly, and building up to social events/meeting with many people.
Small, achievable goals seems like the best thing to start with here. You could try sitting and talking to someone in your house to start, and then building up to calling someone/video-calling a friend, and keep working your way up. If you're ever in need of a 1-on-1 chat, feel free to message me
Maybe you can invite a family member or a close friend over for a movie, or maybe invite them out for coffee! Maybe someone you are close with first and test the waters.. see how it goes. If it goes well, maybe invite another friend or family member over/out and go from there. The more you go out the less anxious you will feel and eventually you'll start looking forward to it. I am in sort of a similar situation myself. I moved out of state around 7 years ago, got married and recently gave birth to my daughter. I still chat with some old friends but I haven't seen them in years. I get to visit my home state often and mostly visit family, but every now and again I will meet up with some old friends. At first it's a little awkward since we haven't seen each other in so long, but after a few minutes it feels like nothing has changed!
As I am going through the situation right now, a reason could be that isolation made us feel more comfortable being alone, that the thought of socializing with others feels scary, as many things could have changed during lockdown and we fear judgement by people.
Try your best and start small. you do not have to be the life of the party right after you have spent many days or even months inside unable to really get that personal connection with someone. take it at your own pace, even if its simply going to the grocery store and responding to the cashier and if you are comfortable maybe even ask them how they are doing/start a small talk conversation. starting these interactions could be the start of a new confidence in yourself and your abilities to speak with someone without being prompted to do so.
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