7 social anxiety tattoos (& their meanings)
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This blog answers: Which are some social anxiety tattoos? What is social anxiety? What are the signs and symptoms of social anxiety? How to manage social anxiety using self-help techniques? How to manage social anxiety using other methods?
What are some social anxiety tattoos?
Even though we speak a lot about mental health these days, not all of us are willing to talk about our difficulties. And it’s absolutely understandable. Anxiety has long been associated with “worrying excessively.”
But the psychological state is health, and like physical health, it is sometimes out of our control. As there is so much fresh air, you can’t ask someone with asthma to breathe harder. It’s not surprising that people suffering from mental illnesses would rather be lonely than be judged or underestimated.
That is why getting mental health tattoos is daring. Whether the wearer is a survivor of anxiety or simply an advocate, the tattoos make others feel less alone.
As each journey is unique, a meaningful mental health tattoo may be intensely personal. But they all have one thing in common: they want to increase awareness by saying their own stories.
They send the message that it’s not your fault if you’re struggling mentally.
Some tattoos made in relation to social anxiety are:
In this tattoo, social anxiety is depicted as a demon that the people outside cannot see. It’s only people who experience anxiety who understand how emotionally and mentally exhausting it might be to experience anxiety in social situations.
This is another tattoo speaking about the necessities of hope and courage as a fighter of social anxiety and other anxiety-related disorders.
Even though the challenges and symptoms of social anxiety can be very overwhelming people must keep going with a sense of hope to win the battle against the mental health condition.
This tattoo indicates how people with social anxiety look at the world as an unsafe place. Despite the fear of embarrassment and humiliation from the world people with social anxiety do consider life worth fighting the mental health battle for.
Though not a physical battle, mental health condition is no less than a battlefield where an individual fights all the negative thoughts, emotions, and feelings by themselves without anyone noticing. Making them a true fighters.
Mental health conditions such as anxiety involve detrimental amounts of overthinking. These thought patterns are usually negative making an individual’s condition even more severe.
There can be many reasons that lead people with social anxiety to think negatively all the time.
What is social anxiety?
Individuals experiencing social anxiety might feel uncomfortable being in social situations to an extent that it hampers their daily functioning, it’s sometimes referred to as a social phobia.
Individuals consider public spaces as potential spaces of humiliation and embarrassment. Social anxiety affects how a person Interact with the world around them.
Social anxiety can be differentiated from shyness. In that shyness does not affect an individual’s daily life and functioning, moreover shyness is short-lived.
On the other hand, social anxiety is persistent and negatively impacts various aspects of an individual’s life like their ability to work productively or even develop or maintain close bonds with people outside their family.
What are the symptoms of social anxiety?
The symptoms of social anxiety can be both physical and psychological.
The most significant physical symptoms of social anxiety are:
- Nausea
- Excessive sweating
- Shaking or trembling
- Lightheadedness or feeling dizzy
- Increased heart rate
The psychological symptoms that individual experiences during a social anxiety attack are:
- Excessive and intensive worry about the social situation
- Worrying days or even weeks ahead of an important social event
- Trying to camouflage themselves in the background or the need to avoid the social situation on a whole
- The need for intoxication to face a social situation
- The constant worry of being observed by others
In addition to these individuals with social anxiety may avoid social interactions such as asking another person a question when in doubt, potential job interviews, shopping, using public services like transport or washrooms, carrying out activities in public such as speaking or even eating in that matter.
How to manage social anxiety using self-help techniques?
Lifestyle changes
Apart from therapy and medication what works best to manage social anxiety is certain lifestyle changes. These may include:
- Regular exercises
- Having a balanced diet,
- Socializing and talking to people about their anxiety,
- Journal writing to express and understand one’s feelings and
- Avoiding alcohol or drugs.
Take control of your breathing
It is normal for anxiety to bring about changes in your body, for instance, increased breathing. these changes often make an individual feel uncomfortable.
One can take control of this discomfort by carrying out a few simple steps such as holding one’s breath for two seconds and slowly letting it out through their mouth.
Repeating this step several times until one feels relaxed. This is most effective when one sits down in a comfortable position with their back straight.
Carry out progressive muscle relaxation
Research indicates that certain activities such as walking, or jogging can help in killing anxiety. Another effective technique to kill anxiety is progressive muscle relaxation.
Progressive muscle relaxation involves flexing and releasing a group of muscles in one’s body which helps to maintain their attention on the feelings of this contraction and relaxation.
Prepare ahead of situations
It is best advised that people who experience social anxiety must plan ahead of these situations that make them nervous to increase their confidence.
Start small
to kill social anxiety people must start small. In that individuals must avoid big social situations and start with the situation that they are compatible with.
For instance, one can start by going for lunch with friends and family members rather than with a set of individuals that they’re not familiar or confident with.
Push back negative thoughts
One very effective way to kill social anxiety is to focus and work on one’s negative thoughts actively.
Think about the negative thoughts that one has about a particular situation and write them down. Following which the person is required to write down positive thoughts that challenge the negative ones.
Sensory awareness
One’s senses can help them calm down while they feel anxious in any situation. For some people trying to look at photographs that give them a sense of happiness or using a particular scent that can help to distract them from the negative thoughts and reconnect with more positive ones can help to kill the anxiety at the moment.
How to manage social anxiety using other methods?
Like other physical conditions, even social anxiety has different approaches for its management and treatment. Some people might only need a single type of treatment while others might require a combination of approaches.
Some of the ways to manage or treat social anxiety disorders are:
Cognitive-behavioural therapy
Cognitive-behavioural therapy helps an individual to control their anxiety by using strategies like relaxation and breathing. It works on the principles of replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.
Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy is a kind of therapy in which an individual is exposed to a particular situation that they usually fear in a graded manner.
It usually starts with exposing the individual to a situation that is least triggering when the individual gets comfortable with this situation introduced or exposed to them with each session individuals become comfortable with a real-life situation that is otherwise anxiety-provoking.
Group therapy
As the name suggests group therapy usually involves two or more individuals who are experiencing similar symptoms and problems.
It is based on the principle that when an individual interacts with other people who are suffering from the same condition or fears they might not feel left alone or isolated.
This kind of therapy also helps in developing and maintaining social skills or techniques to interact with people in other social settings.
Prescribed medication
Social anxiety can also be treated with the help of medication prescribed by a health professional. There are different types of anxiety medications each with its benefits and side effects.
Online therapy
Individuals with social anxiety can also seek therapy online. This would involve interacting with the therapist one-on-one over an audio or video call.
Some individuals with social anxiety might be more comfortable seeking help through this mode than others while in a different case some might prefer face-to-face therapy sessions.
Conclusion
Tattoos can act as a great source of awareness and support for people experiencing and witnessing mental health conditions. However, people must seek help actively through therapy to get rid of their life altering condition
Citations
57 Inspiring Mental Health Tattoos With Meaning
https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/tips-for-living-with-social-anxiety
https://www.verywellmind.com/work-anxiety-4692762
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