How do I stop feeling so afraid of social interactions?

Go and face them. This is the most effective way of dealing with the fear within you. If its hard, do it step by step. Whatever fear it may be: fear of height, fear of water, fear of crowd, just face it and it goes away.They are just like monkeys. They come behind you and threaten you, you run, they run behind you. But as soon as you stop and face them, you see them running away.

The only way to get better at interacting with people is to interact with people. It might be time to slowly introduce yourself to some people! :)

Start slowly. Talk to a person, or a few people, privately. Start with people you know and trust, like family. If it's people your own age that make you uncomfortable, speak to a therapist or teacher. Build up your interactions, before trying them out in a conversation.

Try to focus on why you want to go, and try to make that a very conscious goal in your head. For example, visualise yourself walking up stairs and at the top of the stairs is achieving your goal. If you're feeling anxious on the way there, try some breathing techniques or consciously unclench all of your muscles. Remind yourself that you will feel infinitely proud of yourself after that social interaction, and that that pride, and your goal, is completely worth it.

I learned that other people's judgments of me don't need to influence how I feel about myself. Knowing that at the end of the day, I would still love myself, took off a lot of the pressure for me to fit in and conform to other people's opinions of me. That release of pressure took away my fear and anxiety of social interaction.

It's important to keep an open mind when dealing with social interactions. You have to get out of your comfort zone, take the first step and be confident. Introduce yourself and try to radiate a positive vibe. Tell yourself, that social interaction is healthy. Human beings are social creatures, social interactions will make us grow as a person and make us learn to connect with more people :)

This can be hard, I know from experience. Try starting off with hanging out with a small group of friends, two or three people. Try this for a week and if you're comfortable, try going out to maybe a small shop. I hope this helps!

I’ve felt like this many of times. It’s like everything is so big and scary. Mindfulness helps a lot. Fofboc helps. Sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor (or you can stand up). And just let your thoughts float by like buses driving past you. Do this for 2 minutes and you will so much calmer.

I find visualisation most helpful. Try visualising a social event that goes smoothly and imagine yourself feeling positively about interactions. Use positive affirmations such as "Everyone is friendly" and "I am happy to be in this situation." If you find visualising something like this too difficult in your present state, then I would suggest taking one step at a time. I started a course that I was extremely nervous about and I was trying not to think about all of the people that would be there. During the drive to the venue, I found myself nearly talking myself out of it. So I told myself that I was going to do it. I was in no mind to visualise, so I repeatedly told myself "I can do this, I can do this," in my mind, in a voice that was stronger and louder than the negativity.

Ease into it little by little. Go with someone you know and trust. Start with small groups. Practice in the mirror so you can see how you are saying things so you can be more confident when in front of others. Try to be yourself. Be calm. Try to find like minded individuals so the conversations will be easier and more comfortable at first. Don’t he too hard on yourself. You can also start online or texting it can be easier because you are not actually in front of the person and tend to be less shy in those situations