Originally Posted by Freebase Dali

When my social anxiety was bad, it often helped to remind myself that most people really aren't scrutinizing and judging me, and I wasn't under a microscope, simply due to the fact that most people are relatively unaware of what's going on around them while they're preoccupied in their own little lives. Incidentally, this is probably also supported by the sheer number of car accidents and shopping aisle blockages.
I always remark on how little people are actually aware of around them, and I certainly don't remember ever remarking about someone's unusually perceptive actions.

Keeping that in mind took the edge off.

What got me a LOT better, so far permanently, was having to take a speech class in college. It's the absolute most terrifying situation to be in when you suffer from social anxiety. What I began to notice was I wasn't the only one who was nervous up there, although stage fright isn't really a disorder and is common. So that helped a bit, but only in the short term. The entire semester was mentally brutal for me.
What happened, though, was I actually made it through and did well. I didn't notice that I was no longer so anxious in public until I had finished the semester off.
Overcoming that class has made the more mundane things seem like a cakewalk. Now I'm actually outgoing in public in situations where I'd just be pretending boredom or being silent.

I guess it's the equivalent of exposure therapy, but in a terrifying dose that assures you of your ability to handle every day stuff after "surviving" it.