Dealing with Crowds

[MikeDewar]

Went out the other night to dinner and bar and overcame with anxiety from surrounding people! Distracted myself by talking with friends but still ate at me! Anyone have tips or suggestions to calm anxiety while in crowds! Thanks

[FK123]

I understand how you feel, sometimes all the people/chatter/noise just sort of overwhelms your senses. Good on you for sticking through it and not making a quick exit. When you start to avoid certain situations (ie busy bars) you allow your imagination to run wild and come up with over dramatic scenarios which make them all the more unpleasant. If you are feeling a little anxious, just take a moment and step outside. Have a breather for a few mins, no one will think anything of it!
If you find yourself in a situation you can easily get out of, just acknowledge your anxiety, all it is is your body reacting to an imaginary threat. Try to bring your thoughts back to the here & now. If you are out with friends like you mentioned, don't feel like your anxiety is something you have to hide. Perhaps you dont feel like spilling all your thoughts to them, but I find just a simple 'I'm not feeling so great, want to move over there where its a little quieter?' suffices and my friends are usually pretty understanding.

Hope that helps!