If you ever watched the movie Crash, you know how intense some of the interactions between the characters were in it.  That’s my sense of the flavor of how ours have been the last 12-plus months in Covid and how strange re-emerging from this can feel for those with any degree of social anxiety.  Will life ever be the same?  Will I ever feel normal in my human interactions?  I will try to answer these questions below…

Social Anxiety Has Worsened Because of Covid

Make no mistake, if you think you had social anxiety before Covid, you’ve probably really got it now.  This is something so many more people are having to struggle with now after over a year of social distancing and relative quarantine.  The awkwardness and strangeness of social interactions has only worsened because of lingering questions about new customs such as mask-wearing and social distancing.  Sure, some people seem to be more comfortable than others just reaching out and hugging others, but this can be as much a reaction to having been isolated for so long and doesn’t come without its potential second-guessing later on.  

The Unprecedented and Related Trauma Has Impacted Social Anxiety As Well

For the past year, we’ve been hearing about how this and that are unprecedented, so much so that the concept of what’s normal has been blown out of the water.  That was certainly part of the theme of the movie Crash, which I keep thinking about even 16 years after it came out.  It was so full of super-intense interactions that were life and death and certainly had their trauma-tinged edges, much like some of the interactions we see captured on the TV news all around us and perhaps in our own lives.  We don’t have a lot of interactions with others outside of our household most probably, but the ones we do have added significance because of how unusual they can be.  This is either because of the space we’re in, or the space the other person(s) are in, but they’re bound to be more memorable regardless.  Coming out of watching that movie you get a feeling for how potentially life-changing any of our day-to-day interactions can be.  

How to Not Let Social Anxiety Pin You Down After Covid

Coping skills are the key to navigating the sometimes treacherous waters of life, and they will be even more important coming out of Covid.  Simple things like using deep breathing, which gives you the chance to control one of the only things you may have control over at any given moment, can be a very crucial thing to do.  Focusing on gratitude, which allows you to see how things are somehow working out for you to help you on your personal road of recovery, is an ever-important way to combat hopelessness.  Reaching out to others for friendship and support may seem like a huge effort to get started, but seeing as you don’t know who you might wind up having so shelter in place with or get life-sustaining help from, it can mean the difference between life and death.  That was just as true for Matt Dillon and Thandie Newton’s character in the overturned car in Crash who he had sexually assaulted not long before that:  she wouldn’t have chosen him to be her rescuer, but this was what wound up saving her life.  Forcing yourself to do things that you know are in your best interest is key, too.  Just like Newton’s character in the movie when she let Matt Dillon’s character help her out of the car about to explode.  

What if Social Anxiety Keeps You Frozen

In some cases, people may stay frozen in the situation they’ve been in with social anxiety and live their lives in more or less complete isolation.  It is definitely cases like this that you may need to reach out for professional help.  I am available for both in person and online therapy to help you get unstuck and back to living your life.  I’ve helped a great many people overcome anxiety, including social anxiety.  It doesn’t need to rule your life:  you get to have a life regardless of what social anxiety would have you do.  The main thing is that you do reach out for help.  I have a variety of ways to help you reconnect and have a life worth living in all its splendor.   Call the number at the top of the page or fill out the inquiry form below for a free 20-minute phone consult if you like. If there is one thing Covid has taught us it’s that we need to live our lives while we have them because we don’t know when something like this will happen again.  Let me help you get the most out of the life you’ve got.  

Visit our page on anxiety therapy to find out how Scott can help you overcome social anxiety.  

About the author:  Scott Kampschaefer, LCSW is a private practice therapist in Frederick, Maryland.  He has an extensive background in working with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder at a clinic for older adults with these disorders in Austin.  He now works with adults and adolescents 14 and up in private practice. His new book is entitled The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery and is available for purchase on Amazon and in paperback on this website.