Social Anxiety | Do You Express Feelings Correctly?
People with social anxiety tend to not express their feelings correctly. Sometimes anxiety prone people don’t know what they are feeling and at other times are just afraid to express their feelings.
Feelings are a whole body experience, meaning if you are sad for instance, you may cry or your stomach might hurt. Feelings and emotions can be felt throughout your entire body.
Your feelings are a direct result of what you are thinking. They come from the way you perceive events around you.
Anxiety-Prone People Stifle Their Feelings
People with anxiety or social anxiety tend to stifle their feelings for fear of having a panic attack or an over-whelming feeling they can’t deal with.
Other times people with anxiety have a hard time expressing their feelings because no one has ever shown them how to do so correctly.
Discover exactly what or how you are feeling. Are you anxious? Depressed? Scared? Knowing exactly what you are feeling is an important step in expressing your feelings correctly.
If you are stuck, try to remember exactly what just happened or what you were thinking. Write it down if you have to and figure out what you are truly feeling.
Express Your Feelings Correctly
It is important to let these feelings go rather than stifle them causing tension and more anxiety. Talk to someone about what you are feeling.
If you are not comfortable talking it out or there’s no one available to talk to then keep a journal and write it out.
If you are feeling anger, it is best to not talk to the one you are angry at when your anxiety is sky high. Try to lower your anxiety first by screaming into a pillow, hitting a pillow, or anything physical to release some of the tension first.
Some people with anxiety tend to have anger issues and that isn’t good either. For help with anger issues, I recommend Anger: The Misunderstood Emotionby Carol Tavris.
If you suffer from anxiety or social anxiety it is important to express your feelings correctly. It is a learning process and one I am still working on, but practice makes perfect. Good luck!
We focus too much on expressing feelings/emotions, and too little on being aware of them.
There is no ‘incorrect’ way to express emotion, although there can be socially unacceptable ways (e.g. throwing things or screaming at people when you’re upset). There are a myriad ways/reasons for experiencing Social Anxiety – in fact, I suffer from a mild case of it occasionally. From my experience, I can confidently state that it has less to do with how you express your emotions, and everything to do with what you’re thinking when you leave your house.
I think the key lies in an open mind. Don’t feel bad because you feel a certain way; instead, simply be aware of how you feel, and try to go through your day as calmly as possible.
A lot of times though, people with social anxiety tend to let their feelings bottle up inside and that isn’t healthy either. If someone disrespects them over and over for instance, they should express their feelings rather than let it continue.
The sad part is, most would just let it continue. Thank you for your comment!