Recently,Naomi Osaka, the 4 times grand slam tennis champion withdraw from the French Open because she felt her attempts to preserve her mental well-being were a distraction to the tournament.
A tweet on her Twitter profile shows that she never wanted to be a distraction and that she has suffered with long bouts of depression since she won the US open in 2018. She stated that she is introverted and experiences social anxiety.
Naomi posted that she is not a natural public speaker and gets huge waves of anxiety before she speaks to the world’s media. She gets nervous and finds it stressful to always try to engage and give the best answers she can.
Being in the spotlight doesn’t always mean you enjoy it
I applaud Naomi for making her mental well-being her priority and knowing when to walk away. Just because someone’s skills thrust them into the spotlight, it doesn’t mean they enjoy the attention it brings. For someone who experiences social anxiety, the fame that their talent affords them can ruin the enjoyment of their craft.
Whilst social anxiety and introversion are not synonymous with each other, if you are an introverted senior leader and experience social anxiety, it can be stressful and worrying. Your role automatically thrusts you into the spotlight and you are expected to perform in front of your audience.
Not all leaders are comfortable being in the spotlight, neither do they want to hog it. They are the face of their organisation or department and because it is a requirement of their role, they push themselves to do it.
Society has become so celebrity focused, wanting every bit of those who are in the spotlight, and social media glorifies this. But not every leader wants this celebrity like status. Many believe in their cause, want to make a difference and an impact, but not be the centre of attention, and that is ok.
Suppressing social anxiety may only make it worse
If leaders don’t find a way to manage social anxiety, it can take its toll and negatively affect their mental health. Some leaders try to suppress social anxiety believing that doing so means they won’t give attention to it. But this can make them feel worse. Trying not to focus on it makes them think about it more, creating even more anxiety. Dismissing it and suppressing it may only serve to magnify it.
Keeping a thought journal and writing down your thoughts when you feel anxious, examining what is going on for you when it occurs can help you explore them in a non-judgemental way. When you feel overwhelmed and it makes you feel anxious, breaking down what it is that you need to do and writing it down can help you to put things into perspective.
In the moments when you feel the anxiety rising, breathing exercises that regulate your breathing can help you to feel calmer.
Changing how you view and respond to social anxiety can help to change how you feel. Rather than dismissing the anxiety, accept that this is how you feel. Sitting with it and exploring where in your body you feel it and acknowledging the sensations it brings can help to dissipate the intensity of it. The less intense it is, the less control it has over you. Coaching can help with this.
Depending on the level in which you experience social anxiety will determine the best way for you to manage it. If you find it debilitating and that it severely impacts your quality of life, or if you experience depression as well, contact your GP. You may benefit from psychotherapy or some other intervention your GP recommends.
Because it is a topic that doesn’t often get talked about openly, if you experience social anxiety, it can be easy to feel isolated and as if you are the only who gets it. Naomi Osaka’s actions to protect her mental well-being may just give others who experience it the confidence to protect their mental well-being too.
If you experience social anxiety and have learnt how to manage it, what are some of the techniques that you use? Please share below, you might encourage someone else who is going through it.
First published on LinkedIn.
Photo credit Carine06
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