5 Ways to Manage Social Anxiety While Nurturing Friendships

Social anxiety can make staying connected feel exhausting, even with people you care about. Fortunately, you don’t have to choose between protecting your mental health and nurturing friendships. 

Sarah Wilczewski, CRNA, APNP, offers five practical strategies to help patients at Revival Infusion Madison form and nurture friendships despite social anxiety symptoms, supporting happier, more fulfilling lives.

1. Be open

Be honest: There’s probably more than one time when you’ve canceled plans simply because you feel too exhausted or overwhelmed by the thought of being social. Not surprisingly, that doesn’t usually go over well with the other person or people involved in those plans.

You can mitigate some of that disappointment (and annoyance) by opening up about your anxiety and providing context that lets friends understand a bit better where you’re coming from. 

You don’t need to give them your life story, but sharing that you experience anxiety — and how it affects your energy or availability — helps friends understand that creating distance isn’t personal or intended to cause frustration. Most friends appreciate clarity and feel closer when they understand better what you’re dealing with.

2. Connect in ways that feel comfortable

Friendships don’t need to revolve around spontaneous plans or high-energy interactions to thrive and deepen. If social anxiety makes certain activities or environments feel stressful, let your friend know and suggest activities that feel more comfortable. 

When you feel relaxed and at ease, you're more likely to engage in a more positive way — one that supports your friendship as well as your own needs. Over time, positive experiences in low-stress settings naturally strengthen confidence and deepen bonds.

3. Choose quality over quantity

We all know people who seem to have an endless circle of friends — and enjoy good relationships with all of them. That’s great for them — but if you have social anxiety, trying to maintain too many relationships at once can feel overwhelming and lead to avoidance rather than participation. 

On the flip side, a smaller, supportive group of friends often feels more manageable and emotionally rewarding. Focusing on a smaller group of friends helps reduce social fatigue and reduce the feeling that you need to “perform” or live up to specific expectations in social settings.

Perhaps most importantly, stop comparing your social life to others’ experiences. Redirecting your energy toward building your own small circle relieves stress and leads to much greater rewards over time.

4. Be kind to yourself 

Replaying conversations and social interactions is common with social anxiety, and so is being self-critical. Instead of providing insight that can help you grow, you likely fixate on moments that felt awkward or “weird,” increasing your sense of failure and distress rather than building confidence. 

Next time, make an extra effort to change up that narrative, reminding yourself that mistakes happen, no one is perfect, and to be honest, what felt very awkward to you has probably been long forgotten by the other people involved. 

Bottom line: Friendships don’t require flawless interactions, and a little mindful reflection is far more helpful than harsh judgment. Acknowledge what went well, focus on what you learned, and understand that people are usually focused on their own behaviors rather than nitpicking someone else’s. 

5. Explore ketamine therapy

Finally, while therapy and medication can help many people with social anxiety feel more confident and happy, for others, these therapies fall short of what they promise. If you fall into that latter group, ketamine infusion therapy is worth exploring.

Ketamine works differently from traditional medications, targeting brain pathways involved in mood regulation and emotional processing. Better still, it works quickly, with many patients reporting improvements shortly after treatment. Infusions can also be repeated to maintain your results indefinitely.

Enjoy a more relaxed, fulfilling social life

Remember, managing social anxiety while nurturing friendships is about finding balance, not forcing yourself to be someone you’re not. With patience and the right support, it’s possible to build long-lasting connections that feel meaningful, rewarding, and — yes — relaxed and natural, too. 

If social anxiety is interfering with your quality of life, ketamine infusion therapy could be the solution you’ve been looking for. To learn more, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Revival Infusion Madison in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, today.