I completely relate to social anxiety and anxiety in general. A friend told me, and I agree, that a lot of it comes from lack of confidence in myself.
When panicky feelings hit, tell yourself things like,"I can handle this. I'm strong and I can handle anything. I'm awesome." Be real egotistical until the nervousness goes away. Notice how people with tremendous egos don't usually have social anxiety?
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I've gotten rid of stress related chest pains by engaging in this ultra confident type of thinking for a few minutes.