Dealing with Anxiety and Learning how to 'Change the Narrative'

While reading the chapter out of Brené Brown's book, I came to realize she was basically summing up every mental conversation I have ever had with myself before experiencing a panic attack. The social aspect of my anxiety always begins with me projecting my insecurities onto strangers and their first impressions of me (e.g. They think I'm weird, they probably think I don't belong).

The thing is, I know I am not the only one who suffers through this. In a world where everything is filtered and where people are meticulous on how they portray themselves on social media, misinterpreting social cues has become something of second nature. With each new innovation in the social media world, we are at risk of losing rational thinking when it comes to face-to-face social interaction. Maybe this is because we can't filter natural conversation; when the ugliness of reality rears it's head, we can't use a blur tool to make it more acceptable. I believe this is why we're seeing a rise in social anxiety disorder. When we have to interact with "real" people, we have to come to terms with the fact they are about to get to know the real, unfiltered version of ourselves. This then leads to what Brown describes as creating a narrative and trying to deny the truth behind our over-emotional response. I feel like if more people who suffer with anxiety were to "reckon with their emotions" as Brown suggests, we can begin to become better and more adept at handling stressful, social interactions.