Negative thinking contributes to anxiety in social and performance situations. Most therapies for social anxiety involve an aspect dedicated to changing negative thought patterns into more helpful and positive ways of looking at situations.

The key to changing your negative thoughts is to understand how you think now (and the problems that result) and then use strategies to change thoughts or make them have less effect. Usually, these steps are carried out with a therapist, but they can also be used as part of a ​self-help effort toward overcoming social anxiety.