What are the jobs for teens with social anxiety?

Some jobs for teens with social anxiety are:

1. Restaurant staff

Teenagers with social anxiety can work as restaurant staff without directly interacting with many people. Many restaurants hire workers to clear out and wash dishes or even prepare food. These jobs help the teenagers to stay in the kitchen Without having to interact and face and anticipate humiliation from other people.

Food preparation, dishwashing does involve some amount of interaction with a coworker but wouldn’t require teenagers to handle customers or their complaints. To avoid any confusion with the role provided at the restaurant the teenagers should check for the job description before applying for it.

2. Stocker

As a stocker, a teenager is responsible for arranging all the products and getting the merchandise ready for sale along with help in its display. other duties of a stocker might include doing an inventory of products and helping with cleaning the store.

Many stocker positions prefer high school diplomas and require an individual to be at least 18 years of age.

3. Cleaner

Many laundry and cleaning services prefer teenagers though some companies might have a minimum requirement of a candidate being 18 years old.

As a cleaner a teenager might have to work washing windows, cleaning bathrooms, dusting, sweeping, mopping, collecting, and washing towels or linens.

If a teenager is comfortable with carrying out these duties, they can consider a cleaner job as it requires much less interaction with other people.

4. Tutor

Another job for teenagers with social anxiety could be tutoring. Many children require distance studying. here the teenager might be required to teach students over an online medium a subject that they excel in, and a student has a demand for.

Considering the nature of the job and duties of the teenager as a tutor that is very little scope for humiliation or rejection.

Many tutoring companies require you to be at least 18, but some do hire teenagers if you’re old enough to work and have the necessary skills.

5. Kennel assistant

Teenagers who feel calm around animals and working with a pet as of kennel assistant or attended can consider a similar job profile.

Kennel assistants work at veterinary clinics, animal shelters and carry out duties such as helping bathe the pets, working and playing with their pets, feeding, and providing pets with water, cleaning cages.

Working at the kennel or shelter can also offer teenagers a future career as a vet or a pet groomer.

6. Library page

As a library page, a teenager will spend most of their time working independently in the library shelf books and shelf reading to help keep books and other materials where they belong.

Other responsibilities might include checking books, helping prepare the librarian for storytime and other events.

working as a page might be a great fit for those teenagers who are looking for a job that requires very little interaction with other people.

7. Childcare assistant

Childcare jobs may involve some amount of interaction with the parents but often teenagers with more training and experience speak to the parents only when required.

8. Warehouse associate

Warehouse associates spend most of their time working independently and carrying out duties such as placing boxes, performing quality control, and moving products.

9. Work with a friend

Teenagers with social anxiety can also consider starting up a business with their friends. Having the support of someone that they trust can make it easier for them to get comfortable interacting with strangers in new setups.

when teenagers with social anxiety try to search for jobs, they must keep in mind that avoiding interaction completely is not possible. Apart from that avoiding interaction might also not contribute to overcoming one fear of judgment, criticism, and rejection.

What are the symptoms of social anxiety experienced by teens?

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 all we 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 other people
To avoid social contact an individual might also miss out on school or work.

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 call mom using public services like transport or washrooms, carrying out activities in public such as speaking or even eating in that matter.

How can teens 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 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.

Conclusions

Teenagers with social anxiety spend a lot of time worrying about critical judgments from others. A job provides teenagers to confront their fears of rejection, criticism. Apart from this it also provides other benefits such as experience for future jobs, a paycheck, and an opportunity to make new friends.

Although the number of jobs available for teenagers with Anxiety is very limited there are a few jobs that might provide teenagers with an opportunity to overcome their fears and provide some sort of financial stability that in turn improves their confidence.

However, if finding a job for teenagers with social anxiety gets very difficult yet is important for a living it is best to seek help from a professional to get back to a normal functioning

Frequently asked questions

What kind of jobs should I get if I have social anxiety?

Working with animals is a great opportunity for those with social anxiety. This involves much less communication with other people and the chances of humiliation or rejection. Apart from this working with animals can be beneficial for an individual’s mental stability.

Can a 16-year-old have social anxiety?

Social anxiety affects about one out of three adolescents between 13 and 18 years of age. Over 19 million people across America tend to suffer from social anxiety. It is one of the most common anxiety disorders and the third most common mental health disorder in the country.

How many teenagers deal with social anxiety?

It is estimated that about 9.1% of adolescents have social anxiety disorder and an estimated 1.3% have a severe impairment.

Why are some teenagers socially awkward?

Some teenagers might seem socially awkward because of their physical or mental health diagnosis and their appearance. other possible reasons for their social awkwardness could be their background, family situation, and financial struggles

Citations

https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/jobs-for-teens-with-social-anxiety#kitchen-staff

https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/tips-for-living-with-social-anxiety

What are the jobs for teens with social anxiety?