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Social anxiety issues
I have social anxiety around women. When I make eye contact, my anxiety increases and my attention goes in directions I don’t want, which makes me very uncomfortable and ashamed. I want help managing the anxiety and attention.
Answers (12)
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It needs to be addressed asap otherwise it may get complicated.
Social anxiety can affect your confidence and focus which can hamper your professional performance.
It can be well treated with counseling sessions and homeopathic medicine effectively and without any side effects.
It needs to be treated in a holistic approach for complete recovery.
You need an expert Psychologist who is a good homeopathic physician.
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I have been working as a Homeopathic Psychiatrist and Counseling psychologist for the last 17 years of experience. You can contact me through an online appointment for further assistance.
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This sounds like social anxiety with intrusive attention and shame responses. These are anxiety driven, not intentional, and can be managed with therapy.
Next Steps
Consult with me for focused counselling therapy to work on anxiety regulation and attention control.
Health Tips
Limit self monitoring, practise slow breathing during eye contact, and gently shift focus to neutral cues instead of judging thoughts.
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Hi,
It's understandable to feel anxious around women and during eye contact, and many people experience similar feelings. Managing social anxiety involves gradually building confidence and learning to control your attention and reactions. Techniques such as deep breathing, mindfulness, and grounding exercises can help you stay calm in social situations. Practice making eye contact in a comfortable setting and for a few seconds at a time, gradually increasing as you feel more confident. Focus on your breath or on a neutral object to redirect your attention when your mind starts to wander or feel overwhelmed. Remember, itâs okay to take things slowly and be patient with yourself. If your anxiety feels overwhelming, seeking support from a therapist specializing in social anxiety can provide you with personalized strategies and help you build more comfort and confidence in social interactions.
Next Steps
Consult
Health Tips
seek help
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Social anxiety with women is very common and highly treatable. I’ll explain this clearly and practically, step by step.
What it is
Social anxiety with women means:
Fear of being judged, rejected, or embarrassed
Physical symptoms: sweating, fast heartbeat, shaky voice, blushing
Avoidance of talking, eye contact, or social situations with women
Overthinking after interactions
Best-proven treatments
Psychological treatment (MOST effective)
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) – first-line treatment
CBT helps to:
Identify negative thoughts
“She’ll think I’m stupid”
Replace them with realistic thoughts
“I don’t need to impress her”
Reduce avoidance
Practice safe, gradual exposure
Usually 8–16 sessions
Long-lasting improvement
No side effects
Exposure therapy (part of CBT)
Gradual practice, for example:
Making eye contact
Saying hello
Small talk
Longer conversations
Avoidance maintains anxiety; exposure reduces it.
Next Steps
Connect with psychologist
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Your problem can be treated with a psychologist by regular therapy sessions .....But before that the psychologist will analyse your previous life experiences and your thought process...Events of your life and a lot more details ....Based on those your sessions will be designed......Problem will be solved from the roots level not the upper level.....
Next Steps
consult a psychologist and hypnotherapist
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Social anxiety can intensify self-awareness and intrusive attention during interactions, especially eye contact. This can cause discomfort, shame, and loss of focus. Importantly, these reactions are anxiety-driven and not intentional or a reflection of character.
Next Steps
Anxiety management techniques such as grounding, controlled breathing, attention redirection, and gradual exposure to eye contact can help calm the nervous system. Cognitive strategies reduce fear-based thinking and self-judgment.
Health Tips
If the anxiety is persistent or distressing, working with a mental health professional—particularly through CBT or anxiety-focused therapy—can bring significant improvement. With proper guidance, this condition is highly manageable.
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Hi, Consult a psychologist
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Hey
Let me educate you on this
Social anxiety can strongly amplify self-monitoring and unwanted attention shifts, especially during eye contact, and this does not mean there is anything wrong or inappropriate about you. When anxiety rises, the brain goes into hyper-alert mode and attention becomes intrusive and difficult to control, which then creates shame and further anxiety, forming a self-reinforcing loop.
The discomfort you feel is a common anxiety response, not a reflection of your character or intentions, and it can be worked with safely and respectfully in therapy through anxiety regulation, attention retraining, and cognitive restructuring. With the right psychological support, this pattern can reduce significantly and your confidence in social situations can return. Take therapy. You can connect with me on nine two six six seven two six zero six five.
Next Steps
Connect so we can assess and plan therapy sessions
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Hi,
Seems like you are experiencing discomfort around women feeling awkward and having difficulty maintaining eye contact when you try with increased anxiety. It's understandable that when you feel anxious you might unintentionally act more awkwardly. These feelings of shame could further aggrevate the anxiety.
Id like you to know that it's okay to feel uncomfortable when you experience feelings of shame and anxiety. They are difficult feelings to sit with.
They could be associated with a negative experience in the past now generalised to events in the present anticipating the same results.
It's normal to feel this way when this connection can accidentally happen due to stressful situations.
Please reach out to a psychologist you can help you reframe these associations and help you be less restrictive in your current life.
Next Steps
reach out
Health Tips
you can reach out on insta : SereneMindPlace
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If symptoms feel overwhelming or impact daily functioning, seeking regular sessions with a mental health professional can provide structured support to help you gain confidence and reduce anxiety
Next Steps
connect
Health Tips
consult
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Ms. Aditi Dwivedi
Psychologist
2 yrs exp
Delhi
This experience looks like social anxiety combined with hypervigilance and intrusive attention, not a reflection of your character or intent. When anxiety rises, the brain scans for threat and control, and attention can move in directions you neither choose nor agree with, which then triggers shame and self-blame. That shame further fuels anxiety, creating a loop where eye contact becomes emotionally loaded rather than neutral. The key issue here is not inappropriate attention, but an overactivated nervous system and harsh self-judgment around it.
Next Steps
The next step would be to focus on anxiety regulation before trying to control attention. When the body is calmer, attention naturally settles. Working with a therapist on social anxiety can help you gradually reduce fear around eye contact, challenge catastrophic interpretations of your thoughts, and desensitize the shame response. Therapy can also help you separate thoughts from intent, so you stop treating anxiety-driven mental reactions as moral failures.
Health Tips
Some helpful tips include practicing brief, intentional eye contact paired with slow breathing to retrain safety, grounding your attention in conversation content rather than self-monitoring, and reminding yourself that thoughts are not actions and do not define you. Reducing avoidance is important, but it should be gradual and compassionate. Mindfulness practices that emphasize noticing without judging can help you observe where your attention goes without panic. Most importantly, replacing self-criticism with self-compassion will weaken the anxiety–shame cycle and make social interactions feel less threatening over time.
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Ms. Daksha Dhariwal
Psychologist
1 yrs exp
Bangalore
Social anxiety is a debilitating experience. It happens when the individual feels that they are unable to express, communicate or even be themselves freely in a social setting around people. They have a constant fear of being judged.
Anxiety shows up as physical symptoms like increased heart rate, sweating, tremors etc. Symptoms also include expecting the worst out of the situation, excessively worrying about how one might appear to other people.
Since you experience it particularly around women, it might be important to explore your relationship with women in the past with therapist.
Next Steps
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY WORKS GREAT WITH INDIVIDUALS WITH SOCIAL ANXIETY
Schema therapy is also helpful if past childhood experiences have revealed to cause this anxiety
Health Tips
Please contact an MPhil registered clinical psychologist for therapy. You may contact me as well for therapy.
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Disclaimer : The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.