Category: Trouble Making Friends

How Mentoring Transforms the Life of a Young Adult with Social Anxiety: A One-Year Progress Report

If you’re a young adult struggling with social anxiety, you’re not alone. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, social anxiety disorder affects about 15 million adults in the United States. The good news is that there are many resources available to help you manage your anxiety and improve your quality of life. One of the most effective resources is mentoring.

Mentoring is a powerful tool for young adults with social anxiety. A mentor can provide guidance, support, and encouragement as you navigate the challenges of social anxiety. By working with a mentor, you can learn new skills, gain confidence, and develop a sense of belonging.

So, what can you expect from mentoring as a young adult with social anxiety? Let’s take a look at some of the benefits you can experience after one year of mentoring.

Improved Social Skills

Social anxiety can make it difficult to form and maintain relationships. You may feel nervous or self-conscious in social situations, and you may avoid socializing altogether. However, with the help of a mentor, you can learn new social skills and techniques to manage your anxiety. Over time, you may find that you’re more comfortable and confident in social situations, which can improve your relationships and overall quality of life.

Increased Self-Awareness

Mentoring can also help you become more self-aware. Your mentor can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, as well as your goals and values. With this knowledge, you can make more informed decisions about your future and develop a stronger sense of identity.

Greater Resilience

Living with social anxiety can be challenging, but with the support of a mentor, you can become more resilient. Your mentor can help you develop coping strategies for managing anxiety and overcoming obstacles. Over time, you may find that you’re better equipped to handle difficult situations and bounce back from setbacks.

Stronger Support Network

Mentoring can help you build a stronger support network. Your mentor can introduce you to new ways of meeting people that works for you and help you develop relationships with others who share your interests and values. By building a supportive community, you can feel more connected and less isolated, which can improve your mental health and well-being.

If you’re a young adult with social anxiety, mentoring can be a valuable resource for improving your quality of life. By working with a mentor, you can learn new skills, increase your self-awareness, develop resilience, and build a stronger support network. If you’re interested in mentoring, reach out to Mentoring Young Adults through the link below to learn more about how you can see if mentoring is the right way forward for you.

When you a ready to see if Mentoring Young Adults is the right step for you, click here.

From Anxiety to Confidence: Parental Strategies for Helping Young Adults with Social Anxiety

Social anxiety can be a challenging condition for young adults, impacting their ability to make friends and engage in social activities. Although the best success is though a professional mentor who specialized in working with young adults, we want to offer some things you can try at home on your own. Here are three things parents can try at home to help their child with social anxiety, based on the insights from MentoringYoungAdults.com.

  1. Encourage Socializing: Parents can encourage their children to engage in social activities that align with their interests. This will help the child to feel more comfortable in social situations and make friends with similar interests.
    Challenge: This works best when a mentor has built the frame-work to be ready for this. Don’t get discouraged!
  2. Create a Safe Space: Parents can create a safe and supportive environment at home for their children to share their feelings and experiences. This can help to build trust and confidence, and help the child to feel more comfortable in social situations.
    Challenge: If you use a space like the dinner table to “interrogate” your child (you thought it was just asking how their day was… they perceive it as interrogation), you must find a safe space that is NEVER used for “interrogation”.
  3. Model Healthy Social Behavior: Parents can model healthy social behavior by demonstrating how to engage in social situations and maintain healthy relationships. We all learn best by example, and seeing healthy social behavior modeled by their parents can help them to develop these skills themselves. That also means eliminating confrontational dialogue in the face of home challenges and learning active listening to employ in ALL situations at home.

Remember, helping your child overcome social anxiety is a process that requires patience and persistence. By encouraging socializing, creating a safe space, and modeling healthy social behavior, parents can provide their children with the tools and support they need to build friendships and feel more comfortable in social situations. And if you feel that your child needs additional support, consider connecting them with an online mentor who can offer personalized guidance and encouragement. Together, you can help your child develop the skills and confidence they need to thrive socially and emotionally!

When you a ready to see if mentoring is the right step for your child, click here.

Making Connections: How Mentoring Can Help Young Adults Overcome Social Anxiety and Build Friendships

So many parents who want their child to try mentoring come up with the challenge of encouraging their young adult to try mentoring, especially when of the main issues is social anxiety and making friends. Here are some ways to suggest to your child why mentoring could be beneficial.

Highlight the positive impact that mentoring can have on social anxiety. Explain how mentoring provides a safe and supportive space to help them build confidence and self-esteem, as well as work on communication issues.

You can also point out that since it is online, it is an easy space to practice socializing in a controlled environment.

Moreover, you can point out that these mentors are there for them and will work on whatever the wish to work on, effectively allowing them to be in charge of the process. Explain that a mentor can help them improve their communications skills, work on different forms of anxiety and help them deal with the outside world in a slow steady progress, based on what would feel comfortable to your child. The mentor is there to help your child discover their sense of purpose and direction.

It’s important to assure your young adult that mentoring is not a form of therapy, but rather something different that may benefit them in various aspects of their life. It is action-based. Additionally, emphasize that they have the power to choose their goals, and be in charge of the whole process.

Lastly, it may be helpful to offer your support and encouragement throughout the mentoring process. Reassure them that you believe in their ability to overcome their social anxiety and that you know it is scary to try new things but you believe it is worth a try and you know how hard it is to try new things. They just need to try (one session or four sessions), or an hour session on a video-call to see if this might be for them.

Remember to approach the topic with empathy, understanding, and an open mind.

When you a ready to see if mentoring is the right step for your child, click here.

Breaking Barriers: How Mentoring Can Help Young Adults Overcome Social Anxieties and Make Friends

Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, face unique challenges when it comes to making friends. They are the first generation to have grown up entirely in the digital age, which has impacted their communication skills and ability to connect with others. As a result, many young adults in this generation struggle with social anxieties and have trouble communicating in person. However, finding the right mentor can provide support and guidance to overcome these challenges and improve their ability to make connections with others.

One of the primary reasons why it’s difficult for Gen Z young adults to make friends is their social anxiety. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, social anxiety disorder affects about 15 million adults in the United States, and it’s more common in younger generations. This challenge can make individuals feel overly self-conscious and uncomfortable in social situations, which can lead to avoidance and isolation.

Another factor that contributes to Gen Z’s difficulty in making friends is their reliance on digital communication. While technology has made it easier to connect with others, it has also created a barrier between people when it comes to face-to-face interactions. Many young adults in this generation have grown up communicating through screens, which can lead to a lack of confidence and discomfort when communicating in person.

A mentor who specialized in working with young adults can help these young adults overcome these challenges and develop the skills necessary to make meaningful connections with others. We provide guidance on how to overcome social anxiety, such as practicing deep breathing and positive self-talk. Our mentors also offer support in finding simple social situations and opportunities to meet new people, starting with virtual exercises, such as emails, then phone calls, building up to short meetings in places that are familiar and comforting for our mentees, such as a magic card shop, a computer parts shot, a shop focusing on an art our mentee likes and building from there. Based on each new micro-practice, we provide coaching on how to communicate effectively in each situation building on the last.

In addition, our mentors serve as a safe space to help young adults grow and be ok with mis-steps, showing our mentees, the secret to growth is when we mess up to figure out our first new starting step… over and over until we no longer fear the unknown. We share their own experiences and struggles with friendships and communication, and offer guidance on how to build lasting relationships. Our mentors also help young adults identify their strengths and weaknesses, working to build our mentees confidence and self-esteem.

Having a mentor who has trained in a system solely focused on young adults, can be a game-changer for Gen Z young adults who struggle with making friends. It provides the support and guidance necessary to overcome social anxieties and develop strong communication skills, which are essential for building meaningful relationships. While making friends may seem daunting at times, a mentor can help young adults feel more confident and empowered to take on these challenges and every other challenge in their lives.

Click Here to Book a Free 15 Minute Consultation 

Breaking the Cycle of Isolation: How Mentoring Can Support Young Adults Who Struggle to Make Friends”

Social anxiety is a common issue among young adults, making it difficult to meet new people and build meaningful connections. Many young people struggle to communicate effectively, especially with those outside their comfort circle. However, by mentoring young adults, we can teach them valuable social skills and help them overcome these barriers.

At MentoringYoungAdults.com, we use a variety of methods to help our mentees develop confidence and build social skills. We empower young adults to learn how to understand and empathize with others and how to communicate in a way that builds relationships.

Through mentoring, we work with our mentees to understand how others think and feel. We help them practice active listening and teach them how to communicate effectively in different situations. We provide a safe and supportive environment where they can test out their new communication skills and build on each micro-success.

Our mentoring program is tailored to each individual mentee’s needs and goals. Whether they’re struggling with social anxiety or simply looking to improve their social skills, we help them develop the confidence and communication skills they need to build meaningful connections with others.

We provide a wide range of resources and tools to support our mentees’ growth. We work closely with them to set goals, track progress, and provide ongoing feedback and support.

By mentoring young adults, we can help them overcome their social anxiety and build the skills they need to make friends and build relationships. We believe that every young person deserves the chance to build a happy and fulfilling life, and we’re here to help them achieve that goal.

Click Here to Book a Free 15 Minute Consultation 

Teen Mentoring Programs: Volunteer!

If you ask a Millennial what they want to do this summer, most teens and young adults really want to see summer as a time to play the most video games, go to sleep just before the sun is up and possible smoke their brains out. Can you blame them?  The idea of teen mentoring programs such as life coaching young adults seems unnecessary. But what about those dealing with school failure, bad sleep habits, pot addiction, low self-esteem, anger issues and more?

How do we inspire young adults to make wise choices for the summer?

I have always found that when given proper motivation and a true understanding of the benefits, most young adults will choose the best things to help themselves grow. “Because I said so” rarely works and never helps in a long-lasting way. In our teen mentoring programs we promote new ways for young adults to seek personal growth.

What if it is too late to find a job?

The two places to look are jobs and volunteering in an area that interests them. Teen mentoring programs like our for mentoring young adults is a great way to help encourage teens to grow and challenge themselves.
If your focus is that summer can become a time that could change your child’s future job prospects in an ever-changing world versus keeping them busy to not get into trouble, you have started on a good path.

Our new summer goal in Teen Mentoring Programs: Widen your child’s horizon.

The more a young adult in today’s world widens their horizons, the richer their lives become and the greater their potential for a good living becoms. Summer is the perfect opportunity for this through the experience of volunteering. Lots of young adults bristled when I use the word “volunteer” seeing it as merely “working for nothing” (i.e. where’s the money?!?!). Our program which mentors young adults is a great example of teen mentoring programs built to encourage new ways to look at summer volunteering.

Here is a different way to view volunteer work:

In our work mentoring young adults, our teen mentoring programs focus on ways to get new experience:

Try and get a job without experience or training at the zoo and you will probably end up scraping bird-poop off the glass enclosures. Volunteer at the zoo and you may have a chance to be up close and personal with the animals. Learning things few people get a chance to learn.

This is where one of my most favorite books comes into play: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I still read this book once a year and have found it
training Millenials to use the Carnegie principals immensely useful in getting my clients through many a closed doors and getting them the volunteer positions they wanted. Read this book!

Picking the proper area to volunteer in is a fairly easy exercise once you know how.

As Joseph Campbell said: “Follow your bliss”.

First choice should be something you know tons about just because you love it; animals, reptiles, stamp collecting, rock climbing, motorcycle repair, gardening … whatever you love; if you know all about it, take advantage of that knowledge to volunteer with people who do it for a living and see your passion through a professional’s eyes.

Second choice could be something you were always curious about. If you have great people skills or sales skills or are good with your hands, there are all sorts of organizations that can use those skills over the summer in a volunteer position.

Saving the best for last:

Most noteworthy: Work with a local community political cause you really believe in. We got Brexit and Trump because Millennials were not engaged and felt un-empowered. You are not. You are the future. Consider volunteering also at a pet shelter, a homeless shelter, a food shelter, a summer camp for at-risk youth or one of the many organizations that help third world countries. Your life will never be the same.

Volunteering: Widening your circle of knowledge and people. Learn how different people who are passionate about their lives work. Making a difference in the world. These “summer experiences” are the beginning of becoming a renaissance person in the 21st century. There is no price that can be put on that.

Interested in more articles on mentoring young adults? Click here.

Know someone in need of mentoring? Click here

Know someone interested in being trained to mentor young adults? Click here