Five Alarm Fire!

​Regardless of the specific situation, we all are afraid of being judged or humiliated. Most of us have three or four situations that cause overwhelmingly anxious reactions, and we will go to great lengths to avoid those things.

The triggers, or situations, make us so anxious that we behave differently to Avoid or Procrastinate or Control the situation in an attempt to not be anxious. But those ACTIONS, or behaviors, end up causing MORE anxiety. 

Other social situations may produce more moderate anxiety symptoms, but even these are unpleasant and make life more difficult than it should be. You don't have to live this way!!!

What makes you anxious? Situations that make us anxious feel like walking through thorny bushes. It's uncomfortable, painful, and requires a lot of effort. And just when you think you got it, you get snarled and feel all the feelings.

If you have social anxiety disorder, these types of situations are thorny bushes:

• Meeting new people.
• Talking with authority figures
• Conversations with extroverts
• Parties, especially if the social anxiety sufferer is attending alone
• Large family gatherings where not everyone is familiar
• Unexpected talking by others in public places (e.g., standing in line at the bank or grocery store)
• Being teased or kidded (people with social anxiety disorder tend to take teasing personally)
• Being watched while performing a new or unfamiliar task
• Being asked to speak in front of a class or a roomful of co-workers
• Speaking on the phone, especially with strangers
• Therapy sessions or support groups for social anxiety (it can sometimes be difficult for social anxiety sufferers to open up and discuss their feelings honestly in such settings)
• Performing in front of people.
• Taking or making phone calls.
• Using public restrooms.
• Asking for help in a public place like the library, at school, or at a restaurant. 
• Dating
• Answering a question in front of people.
• Eating in front of people.

These are just some examples of Triggers. It's a situation that triggers your anxiety. 

What do you do with a trigger?

First you have to know what it is. In our workbook, we walk you through it. You need to write it down. 

Once you have identified the situations that are unbearable, you can share them with the people that love and take care of you so they don't force you to be in those situations while you work through your anxiety. Besides showing they respect and love you, they can help you manage your anxiety at your own pace.

You will need to rank the situations, from hardest to mildly uncomfortable. 

With the information from, Actions, you will first work on positive coping skills. When you're triggered, you immediately go into "anything to stop this" negative coping skills. 

Choose the least uncomfortable situations to focus on using Positive Coping Skills.

Eventually, those extremely stressful situations will turn into your goals. Those are the situations where you can practice your plan to test it out. You'll use Emotional Regulation, Reframing, MIndfulness, and Positive Coping Skills to tackle your anxiety. 

So, track your triggers to eliminate them!