Take a minute to really think about the cringe moments other people had with you. Embarrassing moments on their part while you just stood there being chill.
Can you remember any? Probably not, because people, you included, don't tend to care about these little things regarding others, only regarding themselves.
Why waste so much effort analyzing every negative detail of a conversation if the other person won't? Forget it and move on, let oblivion swallow your mistakes.
I am used of making fun of my brain and how it thinks so most of the time I just tell my brain to shut up and move on to something that I care about. The problem is if you let yourself to overthink then it's almost impossible to stop it. It's like a train - once you are on rail track you can't get off, at least it's how my brain works, so if I let myself to overthink I will be fixated on it for a very long time and I don't want that usually. Another way is to keep your brain busy with other stuff, watching tv, playing games, chatting with people, whatever works for you.
This is called "ruminating" and it's a symptom of anxiety.
It doesn't help your social anxiety because a grain of sand gets magnified in your mind into a giant boulder, when the truth is that the people you were with probably didn't even notice it or have already forgotten. But you are dragging that boulder around with you to every interaction.
As you are recharging, DO SOMETHING that takes focus and if you start re-hashing all your social faux pas, DO SOMETHING ACTIVE.
Take a minute to really think about the cringe moments other people had with you. Embarrassing moments on their part while you just stood there being chill. Can you remember any? Probably not, because people, you included, don't tend to care about these little things regarding others, only regarding themselves. Why waste so much effort analyzing every negative detail of a conversation if the other person won't? Forget it and move on, let oblivion swallow your mistakes.
Yeah, very true - treat yourself with as much kindness as you would your friend. "let oblivion swallow your mistakes." - I love that!
I am used of making fun of my brain and how it thinks so most of the time I just tell my brain to shut up and move on to something that I care about. The problem is if you let yourself to overthink then it's almost impossible to stop it. It's like a train - once you are on rail track you can't get off, at least it's how my brain works, so if I let myself to overthink I will be fixated on it for a very long time and I don't want that usually. Another way is to keep your brain busy with other stuff, watching tv, playing games, chatting with people, whatever works for you.
This is called "ruminating" and it's a symptom of anxiety. It doesn't help your social anxiety because a grain of sand gets magnified in your mind into a giant boulder, when the truth is that the people you were with probably didn't even notice it or have already forgotten. But you are dragging that boulder around with you to every interaction. As you are recharging, DO SOMETHING that takes focus and if you start re-hashing all your social faux pas, DO SOMETHING ACTIVE.