来源：《卫报》
原文刊登日期：2021年3月15日
[A] Think about other people
[B] Focus outwards
[C] Nobody can tell how you’re feeling
[D] Ease the pressure
[E] You can’t lose social skills
[F] Build confidence gradually
[G] Some social anxiety is normal
If the limit of your conversational skill this past year has been to grunt through Zoom meetings, discuss dinner plans with your flatmate, you may feel out of practice now that large gatherings look within reach. Perhaps you’ve quite enjoyed this period of government-mandated introversion, and dread the idea that you may be expected to socialise. Either way, if all goes according to plan, this era of social distancing may be starting to close. For those feeling a little daunted, here’s how to ease yourself back in.
如果在过去的一年里，你的谈话技巧局限于参加Zoom会议、和室友讨论晚餐计划，那么现在大型聚会似乎触手可及，你可能会感到疏于练习。也许你很享受这段政府强制的内向时期，害怕被要求参加社交活动。不管怎样，如果一切按计划进行，这个保持社交距离的时代可能正开始结束。对于那些感到有点胆怯的人，以下是如何让自己放松下来。
1. ______________
It is part of being human, says Emma Warnock-Parkes, a clinical psychologist and researcher on social anxiety disorder at Oxford University. “We’ve all been socially deprived this last year, and when you haven’t done something for a while, it can feel a bit strange going back into it.” The social rules may also have changed – do you hug? Do you need to wear a mask? “Some anxiety is understandable, so we need to give ourselves a bit of a break.”
2. ______________
“We acquire most of our social skills between the ages of zero and seven,” says the clinical psychologist Linda Blair. “Sometimes they’re hard to get at and we have to dig way down, but they’re there.” It may take a reminder of what is socially acceptable, but your fundamental skills won’t have withered irreparably. Also, remember that the changes to restrictions will be gradual, she adds. “You don’t have to brace yourself for something that feels like a tsunami.”
3. ______________
Note down some small goals that you would like to achieve in the coming weeks, advises Warnock-Parkes. It could be “reaching out to people online, or arranging to meet someone for a walk, or doing an online course”. If you feel you are struggling, there are effective treatments for social anxiety. “Social anxiety starts early in life – most people describe it starting in early adolescence – so if you’ve always lived with it, you often think it’s just who you are. But there are really good treatments that can really change someone’s life.”
4. ______________
One worry for people with social anxiety is that it’s obvious. “People often assume, because their heart’s racing or they feel sweaty, that others can see that,” says Warnock-Parkes. “But we know from our research, when we look at how socially anxious people come across on video, is that this just isn’t true. What’s happening in your own body might feel magnified to you, but it’s often invisible to others.”
5. ______________
They’re probably feeling uneasy, too. “Even extroverts are wondering: ‘Have I lost my skills?’” says Blair. “Rather than worry about yourself, you can think: ‘How can I reassure others? How can I make myself calm enough that they will feel at ease when they talk to me?’ That is a really good way to automatically calm yourself down – your fear reaction goes down – and then you can think more clearly.”
答案：1G 2E 3F 4C 5A