Holidays are stressful for most of us, indeed, but the holiday season can wreak havoc on the emotions of a person with social anxiety. Fear, sadness, hurriedness, anxiousness, and extreme nervousness are just a few top contenders for messing with you during the holiday season. However, the top 2 New Year’s Resolutions, last year, of people who suffer from social anxiety included: (1) feel more confident (58% of people) and (2) meet new people (47% of people). So now is the time to start working on these resolutions.
Why do the holidays make me more anxious?
Being put into more situations that provoke feelings of anxiety push your nervous system into a heightened state called “fight or flight”. Anxiety comes from a very fast processing speed in the brain, like the mile a minute thought behavior an anxious person experiences. By feeling more anxious more of the time, you get stuck in this fast state making it difficult for the brain to slow down.
Knowing if your brain pattern has an inclination toward this fast anxiety pattern can help you prevent this heightened state in the first place. A qEEG Brain Map can show you if your brain is at-risk for social anxiety and if so how fast your brain is speeding. If it is stuck in a fast pattern, then there are strategies you can use to prevent and overcome social anxiety by bringing the speed down.
5 Ways to Prevent or Overcome Social Anxiety
- Mindfulness and Muse Calm Meditation
- Exercise
- Nutritional Supplements: As an affiliate clinic of the Amen Clinics, Leigh Brain and Spine endorses the nutritional supplement line, Brain MD, created by the renowned Dr. Daniel Amen. Brain MD Mood Support boosts serotonin levels in the brain creating an overall calmer feeling and greater ability to deal with social situations.
- Neurofeedback Therapy: If your brain is stuck and you are not being successful at using DIY strategies to bring the energy down, then it is time to seek out help from an FDA regulated neuroscientific high-tech approach using feedback to your brain that helps it learn to be and stay calmer so you feel better.