How to Treat Situational Anxiety

Situational anxiety affects every person at one time or another, but it can affect some people so much that it greatly affects their work or private lives. The medical terminology for situational anxiety is Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) or social phobia according to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America website. People may experience SAD in only some situations; for instance, they may cope quite well at work situations, but avoid office parties. They may have intense fears of making a fool of herself or of being humiliated. Asking someone on a date, borrowing a public phone and speaking to a stranger in an elevator can bring much dread to the person suffering from SAD. Typically, they are aware the fears are unreasonable and desire to treat these debilitating symptoms. There are many ways to deal with SAD.

Things You'll Need

• Journal
• Pen or pencil

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Instructions

• 1

  Join a free support group. Realizing many others have the same unreasonable, elevated fears can be beneficial in dealing with the symptoms.

• 2

  Exercise on a daily basis. Just make your body move, whether it is cleaning house or going for a pleasant bike ride. Exercise will give you a heightened feeling of well-being.

• 3

  Write in a diary or a journal; documenting the thoughts that occur with situational anxieties may help point out the triggers that bring on the attacks. Rationalizing how unrealistic these fears are will help the person control and analyze their thoughts.

• 4

  Talk with trusted friends. They probably experience their own irrational fears and just sharing these feelings can help.

• 5

  Eat a healthy diet; keeping the body at its optimum health will help you deal with these anxieties. Document whether caffeine exacerbates the problem; it is a common trigger.

• 6

  Seek the advice of a physician. Some people with SAD are actually clinically depressed and may need prescription medication or counseling from a psychologist to help relieve the symptoms.