Socially Anxious Teens

Socially anxious teens desperately want to interact and connect with their peers. Sadly, “wanting” is not “doing.” These teens struggle with a challenging and painful irony: the desire they have to belong, to fit in, to be more in-sync with their peers leads to the very feelings of anxiety they are trying to avoid.

With family gatherings, holiday parties and New Year’s Eve get-togethers just days away, support your socially anxious teen with these strategies.

1. Make a commitment to overcome your social anxiety
   Changing your social anxiety will be difficult.  You need to be ready, willing, and able to take action even when you need to confront situations you fear.
2. Expect fits and starts
   Be kind to yourself when your progress is not linear.  Rather, you can expect to take two steps forward, one step.  This is how change of any kind takes place.
3. Focus on personal benefits of overcoming social anxiety
   Based on your own values and goals, identify your own reasons for changing.  Perhaps your goal is to have closer friendships, rather than being more comfortable in a crowd.  You are more likely to succeed if the goals are yours.

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