As you know, I have had to face sudden changes in my circumstances and it has been hard to see what the next couple of months will look like which as you can imagine is quite scary. Also because of my social anxiety, unexpected social situations can be tough for me to handle or even things on social media can trigger my insecurities.

I am not claiming to be an expert in how to handle these type of situations but here are a few things that I have learnt from my own experience:

1. Don’t blame yourself for not being prepared

I have often been guilty of unjustly blaming myself for not being prepared enough to handle crises especially new ones. I have only recently realised how irrational this is and that you can only learn how to handle a crisis until you experience it and you can make some adjustments to avoid putting yourself through a similar situation but you all know the cliche about life being a box of chocolates. Moreover, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for advice or share it with someone who needs it because not everyone is likely to have the same knowledge as you and in the right situations, good advice can be greatly appreciated.

• It can be helpful to think over the realistic truths about your situation

My recent situation has made me doubt my future prospects but in reality, I have many talents out with my academic abilities and as I have said before, the truths and positives can be hard to see when things seem dark. I also experience this when scrolling through my social media feed and I come across something that makes me feel inadequate because someone else seems a lot more talented, interesting or fun to be around. I often forget the things that I wrote about in Don’t Make Assumptions About Someone Else’s Giraffeness and that although I may come across as someone who seems to have everything altogether, that is often not the reality. I also need to remind myself that I am uniquely gifted and doing things differently can be no bad thing as that makes me interesting. If just thinking them over in your head doesn’t work, try writing them down as a way of remembering.

• Don’t be afraid to take yourself away from the situation

I have also been guilty of keeping myself in uncomfortable situations because I don’t want others to know that I am uncomfortable. Again, I am starting to realise how irrational that fear is because no one would blame me for being uncomfortable and keeping myself in that situation only increases my anxiety and it is only when you take yourself away and start slowing everything down that you start to think more rationally. This is why you shouldn’t have to be worried about accurately explaining how you feel to others right away if you can’t.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope that you find it helpful. As always, feel free to get in touch with any questions/feedback/thoughts, I always love to hear it. Stay tuned for the next instalment.

Until next time

Kathryn