Runaway, racy negative ANTs thinking should be caught, stopped, and labelled as being untrue. This is the first step in learning new thinking habits. Catch, stop, and label the ANTs for what they are. Then, find something better to do and get your brain away from negative thinking.
https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/control-life-cognitive-therapy-social-anxiety-disorder

The Social Anxiety Mailing List being e-mailed to approximately 10,000 people right now. This list features a new article concerning the differences between shyness and social anxiety disorder.
If you are not on the monthly mailing list, you can sign up here:
https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/social-anxiety-newsletter

Your beliefs and thoughts CAN be changed. It must be done in the right way because we only want PERMANENT changes in the way we believe and think. The brain is malleable and "plastic" when it comes to making changes. Automatic negative thinking can gradually change into rational thinking.
https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/changing-thoughts-and-beliefs

Avoiding situations and circumstances is what keeps the horrible feeling of anxiety in control. How to reduce anxiety? Stop avoiding everything, but proceed in only a gentle, step by step approach. One small step at a time. No flooding, no big amounts of anxiety. https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/step-by-step-progress-against-social-anxiety-disorder

Social anxiety interferes with one's ability to do many things in life, from basic to advanced. It can make us appear less proficient at tasks than we really are, and it can restrict our ability to open up to others emotionally.

It also keeps our focus on our anxiety, rather than on the tasks that are before us. It interferes with our feelings of self-worth and self-love, and causes us to "automatically" think lesser of ourselves, sometimes without us even being aware of it.

https://www.socialanxietyinstitute.org/top-10-list-things-social-anxiety-prevents

Unfortunately, almost every therapist today says they can do "cognitive-behavioral therapy". We are specific as to what we mean and do when we say we use cognitive-behavioral therapy. To treat social anxiety successfully, cognitive therapy must be specific to social anxiety and it must be comprehensive in nature. See
https://www.socialanxietyinstitute.org/comprehensive-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-social-anxiety-disorder

Although social anxiety disorder and panic disorder are two separate, definable conditions, both of them are classified as anxiety disorders. There are major distinctions between the two.
https://www.socialanxietyinstitute.org/differences-between-social-anxiety-and-panic-disorder

All day, every day, life is like this. Fear. Apprehension. Avoidance. Pain. Anxiety about what you said. Fear that you said something wrong. Worry about others' disapproval. Afraid of rejection, of not fitting in. Anxious to enter a conversation, afraid you'll have nothing to talk about.
https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/living-with-social-anxiety

The human brain itself is "neutral". It doesn't know what is "right" or "wrong" for you regarding mental health. Sometimes, social anxiety is reinforced because we continue to believe irrational things from the past that "seem" correct, but are really not rational. It's important to open our mind up to new ideas and explanations concerning our belief systems, so we can learn to believe what is really rational.
https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/self-fulfilling-prophecy-breaking-cycle

"It's not fair I have social anxiety!" That is a true statement, but if you sit around in dejection saying it over and over, it doesn't help you get better. It may not be fair, but (unfortunately) that's the way it is. Get over social anxiety instead.
https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/therapy-taking-initiative-and-being-proactive

Relax, focus outside yourself, engage with other people and other events. Focus on life and all that is going on around you. (Never focus inwardly).
https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/focus-externally

The brain changes and we overcome social anxiety as we "overlearn" cognitive strategies that reduce anxiety. Repetition, reinforcement, and overlearning cognitive strategies...
https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/blog-successful-social-anxiety-groups