Do you communicate poorly with others? What is the reason for your behavior? Do you realize that you have problems establishing contacts? Fear of communicating with people is a common phobia. It is impossible to call it a disease in full. It is easy to get rid of a phobia if you make a little effort and a lot of desire to become better.
Causes
Any consequence has its own reason, and this must be understood. If you are faced with a psychological problem, then you need to think about what the true problem of your condition is. Fear of communicating with people in the soul of a person can arise for various reasons. Here are the most common ones:
- The hostility of criticism. A person does not want to communicate with others, as he believes that they criticize his activities too much. And it doesn’t matter whether people's opinion is objective or not. A person cannot admit his wrongness, and it is much easier for her to hide in solitude than to flaunt the result of her activities.
- Embarrassment. Modesty is another reason for fear of communication. A person cannot speak with strangers, since fear shrouds him inside. An explosive mixture of feelings out of fear, fear of doing something wrong, fear of saying something wrong and fear of being ridiculed does not allow the person to open his mouth.
- Mental stress. A person in whose life there is no certainty will be in an inflated state. It is natural that such a person would not want to communicate with anyone.
- Fear of being ridiculed. A person with low self-esteem is afraid to talk with others for the reason that he does not want to be laughed at. Such a person with low self-esteem is more comfortable living in his cocoon and not talking to anyone.
Problems come from childhood
Almost all psychological problems of a person are laid in him at a young age. A person may not even be aware that her parents are being crippled. Often this happens unintentionally. Adults act as they think right. They may not think that with their actions and words they lay down a program with which individuals will have to exist all their lives. For example, the harmless phrase "do not talk with strangers", which is uttered 10 times a day, is delayed in the mind of the child. It is not surprising that, growing up, it is difficult for a person to get to know people. After all, individuals each time have to overcome parental prohibitions. How else do adults cripple the lives of children? They scold the kids because they are too open, naive and friendly. Children begin to lock themselves in, and parents are quite happy with this. The child does not hang out under his feet, he can find something for himself and enjoys spending time alone. This alignment of things begins to scare adults only when the child becomes a teenager. But at this age the situation is already difficult to fix.
Manifestation
How does a person suffering from a phobia of fear of communication with people look and behave? Manifestations of this mental illness are:
- Silence A person who is afraid of others will be silent. It will be difficult to talk. If he agrees to answer questions, the answers will be monosyllables. A person will not strive to build a trusting relationship and silence will not bother a person a bit.
- Passivity. In the company of cheerful and active people, a person who suffers from social phobia will be visible. Such a person will not show any activity. He will try to hide behind the bright and open people.
- Speech defects. A person who is afraid to talk with others can stutter, stutter, swallow endings, or skip letters in words. Speech defects like this will greatly affect your hearing.
- Fussiness. An insecure person who does not feel at ease will constantly twist something in his hands, look around, fidget in place, or shift his foot from foot to foot. All signs of excitement will be perfectly expressed in his gestures.
Types of fear
Fear of communicating with strangers is not normal. If a person does not feel self-confidence, then he can suffer from various types of fear. What are they like?
- Anxiety. This is a mild form of fear that is felt more subconsciously than consciously. The person understands that she was in an unpleasant situation, but so far there was no danger and there is time to figure out how to get out of the circumstances.
- Fright. The person realized that she was in an unpleasant story, and now all her efforts are aimed at somehow getting out of the situation.
- Panic. A person loses his mind and commits rash acts. Such a reaction may be a response to someone’s action or to someone’s words.
- Phobia. The stage of fear that lives on the subconscious. Phobias can haunt a person all his life if he does not bother to solve his psychological problems.
Can fear be overcome?
What is the fear of communicating with people called? Phobia is called sociophobia. Is it possible to fight it? Like any acquired mental disorder, it can be cured if a problem is detected in a timely manner. A person who understands that he is afraid to communicate with people should go to a therapist. A specialist will help to identify the cause of fear and eliminate unpleasant consequences. If there is no time or desire to communicate with a specialist, you can help yourself. But in this case, you need to understand that a person will have to make more efforts to achieve a satisfactory result. And the older the person, the more effort he will have to make. Changing oneself is not easy, because breaking and redrawing one's consciousness is hellish labor.
Boost your self esteem
Do not know how to get rid of the fear of communicating with people? Who is afraid to communicate with others? Unsure people. Are you one of them? Then it's time to work on yourself. Think about what your problem is and why you lack self-confidence. Does anyone around you belittle your dignity? Then it was time to say goodbye to this ill-wisher. Your parents in childhood have told you that you can’t achieve anything in life? Write down all your successes in a notebook and think: if you were able to achieve everything that you wrote about, why can't you fulfill your other desires? In life, there is nothing complicated and impossible. It is only necessary to choose the right vector of development. Raise self-esteem. It will help you understand that you are an interesting, smart and positive person. When you can realize these truths, you can understand that the people around you will be happy if you become their friend or acquaintance. People with high self-esteem have nothing to fear from the opinions of others, so they easily make new acquaintances.
Gain experience
Looking for an answer to the question of what is called the fear of communicating with people? Psychotherapists called her sociophobia. People who cannot and do not want to make new acquaintances suffer through life because they cannot communicate with others. How can you solve this problem? Communication experience will help such individuals get rid of problems and phobias. The first thing to do is to communicate more with your friends and acquaintances. Developing communication skills will make it easier for you to communicate with strangers. When you can maintain a dialogue with your loved ones for a long time, begin to reach a new level. Make short conversations in public transport or in the store.
How to overcome the fear of communicating with people? The more you communicate, the better. Remember that the experience of passive communication is as useful as the experience of active conversation. If you are still shy or afraid to talk, then listen to those who manage to do it well. Learn from these people, and then soon you can get rid of the phobia.
Take training
Do not understand how the masters of the word communicate well with others? To overcome a phobia (fear) of communication with people, it is not necessary to go to a psychotherapist. You can attend specialized courses to help you become more relaxed. Specialists will tell you how to behave, how to present yourself and what and with whom to talk. In practical classes you will be given the opportunity to master theoretical knowledge. Do not be afraid to change yourself. The worst thing is to come to the first lesson. After the first visit, you will notice the result, and therefore with pleasure continue your training.
Cultivate
Fear of communication with people arises among those people who have nothing to talk about. If you consider yourself a boring person, then why should others think of you differently? You need to do your self-improvement. They are drawn to smart people, they are respected and supported. It is nice to talk with an interesting person; he can tell something unusual or non-trivial. You need to become that person. It is clear that to know everything and everything is impossible. Nevertheless, try to constantly expand your horizons. Do not neglect the latest news. You can recognize them both from the TV, and from social networks. Do not limit yourself, be a versatile person,
Get out of your comfort zone
How to get rid of the fear of communicating with people? To get the result, you need to start doing things that you did not do before. Are you sitting at home and want your life to change by magic? You have to make an effort to become better. More often go where you do not go. For example, if you are interested in art, then visit exhibitions and meet new people there. Do you like designing? Sign up for a hobby club and go there. Make it a rule to do something every week that will help you get out of your comfort zone and get closer to your dream.
Don't wrap yourself up
Fear of communicating with people arises from those who think too much about upcoming events. Sometimes people wind themselves up so much that they are filled with fear, and they cannot open their mouth at the right moment. No need to worry about a crowded event. Just believe that everything will be fine. There is no need to cheat yourself and imagine the most tragic consequences of the event. It is better not to allow negative thoughts, then you will meet with a positive attitude. And in a good mood, you can overcome shyness. It’s great if you can still find the motivation to further cheer yourself up.