Social Anxiety | Dating Success!

If you suffer from social anxiety, you are probably looking at the title and saying, “Yeah, right; dating success!”  Yes, dating can increase anxiety for just about anyone, and it can downright cause a panic attack for someone with social anxiety, but dating success can happen.

I posted something similar about social anxiety and dating at Anxiety Madness.   At that post, I concentrated more on where to practice conversing and suggestions for a first date.

This post is actually about asking someone out on a date.  That isn’t easy for most people, but for someone with social anxiety, it can be terrifying.  You are actually putting yourself out there, and you may be defeated.

Try to ask open ended questions.  For instance, instead of “are you busy Saturday,” say “I’ve been wanting to try that new restaurant on Turner, have you been there yet?”  This way, you can strike up a conversation about the new restaurant and get a feel if they are interested in going.  This example can work for different scenarios.

Another way is to strike up a conversation with someone perhaps in class or at work and just be honest.  Tell them you’ve enjoyed their conversation in the past and ask them out to dinner for more conversation.

Always look for ways to bring “dating” into the conversation if you are interested in going out on a date with that person.  There are subtle ways of asking someone out, and sometimes it is better to be subtle.

If you do get turned down, be mature about it, and leave the door open should things change and dating in the future would be a possibility.  The reason for getting turned down probably doesn’t have anything to do with you.

If it does, and the person just doesn’t want to go out with you, don’t fret.  As they say, there are always other fish in the ocean, and that means more chances for dating success!