Socialanxiety

For somatic regulation: breathing and progressive muscle relaxation

For mental regulation: first, noticing what's going on and naming it. Then stopping the thinking (which is a process) and examining thoughts (snapshots of the process of thinking). You don't want to push the thoughts away (hence the differentiation between thinking as a process that can be stopped and thoughts as snapshots to be examined).

For example: I feel really anxious a couple of hours before an event and don't want to go. First, I notice it and name it ("Ok, I'm noticing I'm feeling anxious, especially tight in my chest, and it's hard to breathe"). Then, I do some deep breathing for 2 minutes or so. Finally, I visualize a stop sign (it's just something that works for me) and try to identify and challenge my thoughts.

Let's say I'm thinking "No one there likes me anyway, why go" - I might change that to "Realistically, I know at least one person there doesn't mind hanging out with me. I really don't know what everyone else thinks about me, and I might as well not make assumptions. This is a good opportunity for me to practice my skills. It's scary, and I can do this."