Tips for Dealing with Social Anxiety and Shyness at College

Social anxiety and shyness can be very difficult for young college students. But as long as you take a few assertive steps, you can learn to enjoy your college experience in spite of your fear of social situations.

Join Clubs

Sometimes making friends is as easy as finding people with similar interests. If you are someone who has difficulty initiating social contact, try joining a handful of on-campus clubs or activities. Even if you think you will be too busy during the semester to keep up with all your activities, attending the first few meetings will help you meet people who have similar interests as you. Then you can propose meeting up for coffee or an activity related to your shared interest and potentially make a handful of new friends.

Make a Friend in Each Class

Shyness and social anxiety can be detrimental to your academic success if you let them. If you miss a class, and you have not spoken to any of your classmates, it will be difficult for you to get the notes and assignments that you missed. For this reason, it is important to make at least one contact in every class you take.

While talking to someone on the first day may seem daunting, the longer you wait, the more difficult it will become. It is best to arrive a few minutes early on the first day of classes and introduce yourself to someone sitting near you. Tell them that none of your friends are enrolled in the class and you would like someone to email when you miss class. Chances are that they will be more than willing to exchange email addresses with you and will be grateful to have a contact as well. It is likely that the other person was feeling shy and anxious as well, so don't worry about feeling awkward. You don't need to feel pressured to become best friends, just be relieved that you won't have to worry if you miss one class. If the two of you hit it off, you can also set up a study group and help each other prepare for big tests.

Find Low-Key Activities

Social anxiety can turn into panic attacks if you try to attend loud college parties. Many college parties are overcrowded and not ideal for a shy person or someone with social anxiety disorder. Instead of socializing at larger parties, try to find more relaxing activities on campus.

Avoiding large parties does not mean you cannot have fun and enjoy your college experience. Check out the student center for lists of events and activities hosted by the college or by student organizations.

Host Small Parties

If you like the idea of partying, but don't want to set off your social anxiety, try hosting your own parties for a more controlled atmosphere. You can throw a small cocktail party, or just invite a group of friends to hang out in your room and watch a movie. Hosting your own party means you can control both the number of people invited and the activities involved.

Study in Public Places

A pitfall of extreme shyness and social anxiety is the tendency the shut yourself away in your room. To make sure that you don't isolate yourself too much, try studying in public places, like the living room of your dorm, the library, or in the student center. That way you can get work done, without shutting yourself away from the rest of the world.

Social anxiety can sometimes feel like a huge disadvantage, especially at college, where socializing in a big part of life. But college is a wonderful place for young adults to learn how to deal with social anxiety and shyness and find ways to have fun despite it.

Sources:

http://www.socialphobia.org/