Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

Anonymous
Anonymous asked in HealthMental Health · 12 months ago

How to stop having paniac attacks in social situations?

I try and practice with random video chat with random people but I get sooo lost in my thoughts on what to say

1 Answer

Relevance
  • 12 months ago
    Favorite Answer

    Handbook of Self-Help Therapies, which reviews studies of books and programs, says that the writings of Dr Barbara Markway help people with moderate social anxiety. Her most recent book is Painfully Shy.

    I can tell you something you can try, but I have a feeling that you should see a professional about your problem.

    The kind of therapy used most often for phobias is exposure therapy - exposing the person to what's feared. Ideally, the way to do this is to start with something fairly easy and gradually progress to things that are more challenging. There's a type of exposure therapy that involves imagining what's feared. 

    What you might do is get good and relaxed and imagine a social situation. At first, it could be something very easy, but in the following sessions you could make the situations you imagine more and more difficult.

    Here's a really good way to get relaxed. 

    Two psychiatrists, Brown and Gerbarg, say a 10 or 20 min slow breathing exercise - 5 breaths a min - is good and 20 min twice a day is a therapy for anxiety. The exercise is inhale and exhale gently, 6 seconds each.  

    You can use breathing to calm down before a social situation and during one.

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.