i haven’t dealt with social anxiety for awhileee but i had it pretty bad as a teen! (what helped me the most was bejnf drafted which i can’t reccomend at all)
anyway. ditto on all of these comments. clothing is super important not only with extravagant things but honestly just with like, your own comfort zone. if you’re younger and not picking your own clothes yet, just go out and get yourself like 1 hoodie, wear that for comfort. connect to your truer self.
anywho
tip 1 (by my therapist at the time):
slowly get used to the idea overtime. if you have a problem with retail (let’s face it, we all do), day 1 start by just walking by it. day 2 get closer. day 3 enter the store. honestly, take as long as you need. just slowly build up that tolerance, even if it seems silly, it’ll help.
tips 2 & 3 & 4 (by yours truly)
2- take a friend with you. or family, to those who feel calmer comfortable with that. having someone willing to take over if you’re at a breaking point, and just having someone you trust to back you up helps a ton.
3- don’t talk? ( p specific to retail but-) 99% of stores are just like you put the thing on the counter, pay, and leave. it doesn’t eliminate the anxiety but it could help a bit knowing basically you don’t really need to do anything. get in, pay, get out. if you can prepare the exact amount that needs paying beforehand i used to do that alll the time lol
and lastly, 4, this is a bitttt more extreme but if you have problems when talking to people and you have to, pre-write what you need said and just hand it over in written form. literally just give the person a piece of paper with what you want said instead of speaking.
to be fair tho, that’s aversion and you don’t wanna use it too much.