My social anxiety has worsened over the years to the point that even just seeing people in person makes me nervous and anxious. When other people are in the elevator, my hands sweat and my heart races. Any ideas on how to mitigate this anxiety?
Have you tried grounding techniques? I thought it was all a bunch of BS but was kind of shocked how it made a difference in some situations. It's not the cure-all by any means. But it does something.
No, I haven't. Do you have any that you recommend?
Lol I used to take buspar and propranolol for it back in the day (like 5+ years ago) but I stopped bc I wanted to try to manage the anxiety by myself. It's gotten a lot worse tho, I think quarantine was a factor in it. I grew used to not having to see or interact with people anymore, and I enjoyed it. Ugh I wish I could've stayed in lockdown/ isolation forever. That was my comfort zone
It largely depends on where I'm at. But I'll focus on things I can see, touch, smell, hear, etc. I know it sounds weird, I think psychologically it just switches on different parts of the brain to shift your mind away from the anxiety. Probably something to do with focusing on your senses.
Not saying you have to go touch/smell random things lol. For example, if I'm in an elevator, I might look for the buttons, then, imagine what the button would feel like. Then I might notice the braile, then wonder what those bumps would feel like. I will listen for sounds like the dings the elevator makes, the noise of it moving, the person next to me wheezing? Again, it sounds really weird, but there's something to it. Next thing you know, ding, your floor, now you can get away from the people :D