Intimidating situations can heighten anxiety and contribute towards shyness. However, Very few situations are actually threatening or intimidating. Unnecessary intimidation can be the result of wrong perceptions and subjective opinions.

Intimidation and anxiety

Intimidation causes fear and apprehension of personal safety and security. For shy people, intimidating events lead to embarrassment and anxiety. Some also use it as an excuse to escape from certain social situation. Some intimidating events are natural. But most are created by the individual's misconceptions. For instance, shy people get intimidated by talkative individuals. Any kind of intimidation leads to anxiety, which in turn heightens your level of shyness.

How to avoid intimidation

To avoid intimidation you need to control your thoughts and emotions. Never associate new situations with your past similar experiences. This not only prevents you from independently analyzing the situation but also provides scope for detecting intimidating events. You can also weigh the situation against your feelings and decide whether your anxiety is justifiable. Also understand whether your anxiety is positive or negative. Some kinds of stressors are positive in nature. Stress felt during an interview is an example of positive stress. Yet, the mere symptoms of stress makes one feel intimidated leading to fear and unnatural shyness. Evaluating your feelings is highly necessary for this purpose.

You can ask yourself simple questions like, what am I feeling exactly? Is this actually intimidating? you can also avoid intimidations by clearing your doubts about a particular situation or a person. Many a times doubts and uncertainties leads to intimidating thoughts. This specially happens in work places and business meetings. In such cases, you can remove fear only by clearing your doubts. Avoid getting intimidated by superficial qualities. This happens when we feel inferior in presence of rich, glamorous or beautiful people. It is important to evaluate people irrespective of their status and position. Another way to avoid intimidation is by boosting your self-esteem. The better you feel about yourself, lesser the chances of getting intimidated.

By avoiding intimidation, you can bridge barriers, control your anxiety and eventually overcome your shyness.