Social Anxiety Solution: Being perceived

This solution will also help if you struggle with being watched, observed, judged, or analyzed.

Everyone has unique reasons why this is an issue but the root cause for many is the conscious or unconscious idea that being watched/observed is dangerous in some way. Why you view this as dangerous is unique to your psyche and something we encourage you to reflect on. A few potential reasons are:

• people may form undesirable opinions of you from what they see
• you may do something imperfectly while others are watching

Overcoming this trigger–being perceived–will require you to see that, regardless of why you see being observed/watched as undesirable, you don’t have to view being perceived as unacceptable or a reason to be anxious. This can be easier said than done, especially if there are or could be consequences from others watching you.

To overcome this trigger, you can’t view any consequence as unacceptable or something you should be anxious about. You can dislike something–like the consequences–without feeling bad about them if they were to happen.

Strategize how to avoid undesirable consequences

This change in thinking allows you to shift focus and use your goals to strategize how to avoid consequences you prefer not to face. Keep in mind that at times, the consequences from your actions help you learn so you can make more effective decisions in the future. Other times, there are consequences you don’t genuinely care about but think you should face because of experiences in your past or what others say.

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