7 Signs Of Self-Consciousness (Also, How To Stop That)

Last updated on August 20th, 2022 at 03:56 pm

Do you always have to care about how others see you and what they think of you?

It seems that you’re more concerned about looking perfect than being yourself, leading to signs of self-consciousness.

This may negatively impact the way you interact with others, so there are also some tips to follow when you are too self-conscious.

 

What Happens To You When You are Overly Self-conscious?

There is nothing wrong with being self-aware.

Because, It is better to understand how to respond, share, feel, and behave yourself in a particular situation.

You become self-aware when you start to explore what’s positive about yourself. 

Whereas, extreme self-consciousness arises from negative things about you that others may discern, as a result of your anxiety, insecurity, or peer pressure.

Self-awareness of how we see ourselves. Self-consciousness (is being aware of) how others see ourselves.

If you want to achieve emotional maturity, you need to have both awareness and consciousness about your self-image.

Further, that allows you to adapt to their environment, group, and situation.

Thus, making you one of them.

However, when you’re overly concerned about how you look or what others think about you, you’re not only making yourself look uncomfortable or timid, but also making it hard for others to connect with you.

That’s because being too self-conscious about yourself causes you to lose who you are. Which is due to a reserved nature, self-doubt, and inferiority complex.

It is a continuous struggle within you to prove your worth and to consider impressing others or being perfect in their eyes. This further may isolate you from the rest of the group.

 

7 Signs Of Self-Consciousness

It is common for people who are overly self-conscious to speak negatively about themselves and appear weak. Whereas, some exaggerate their talent or achievements to impress others. 

Self-consciousness is clearly shown in someone’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in certain situations.

And here are more signs that let you know that your self-consciousness is unhealthy.

1. The feeling of ‘someone is watching you’ all the time.

Entering a room with hundreds of people seated already makes us feel uneasy. This level of discomfort is normal.

However, if you feel as if you’re being watched every time you’re at work or standing out on your balcony, you might be lacking in self-confidence.

It makes you feel like you’re being watched, making it hard to remain calm and natural. 

Such an overly self-conscious nature may be due to your shy nature, but your inner insecurity also plays a large role here.

2. The fear of being judged by everyone.

Low self-esteem causes people to feel unworthy of being with someone or a group.

When you’re constantly worried about what others think of you or how you look, you’re becoming too self-conscious.

That makes you appear as a weak individual and one with low self-esteem.

You avoid trying new things and leaving your comfort zone because of your fear of being judged and anxiety about failure.  

It is more important how others perceive you than what you learn.

Which is a sign that you’re overly self-conscious that further stops you from growing as a person.

3. The great degree of pride and self-promotion.

Some self-conscious individuals limit themselves, while others try to prove their worth.

In search of validation or judgment, they try to make them do something that they can’t handle.

Usually, they do it to please others, but also to show off. 

The only purpose of whatever they do is to prove how important they are.

A tendency to make others happy and neglect yourself in the process are signs that you’re overly conscious about your self-image and have no other goal in life.

Check other: 15 Signs You Have A Strong Presence

4. Overreacting or apologizing excessively for minor issues.

People who have low self-esteem present themselves as unworthy and weak.

Although others show respect or confidence in them, people with low self-worth will never readily accept praise but complaints or criticism. 

It’s their self-doubts that hold them back in life, making them overreact to everything. 

A person who always asks for an apology and never shares positive things about themselves is a sign of self-consciousness, making them appear unworthy, even if they are not.

5. The regular problems connecting with others.

Since neither they show up as their true selves nor do they have the confidence to engage with others, they face challenges interacting with others.

Even after years of being in the same group of friends or colleagues, they never open up or seem to enjoy being with them.

They always act as if they are new to the group. Due to that, they are often overlooked and ignored by others.

It’s not because they are unlikeable, but they are shy and insecure about speaking their minds.

It’s the over self-consciousness that keeps them from connecting with anyone.

Check other: 14 Signs You Have A Warrior Spirit

6. The act of constantly comparing oneself with others.

By comparing yourself with others, you are more likely to sacrifice your original nature.

There are unique talents and abilities in each one of us here on earth.

Nonetheless, a person with low self-esteem will try to be like someone else.

It’s fine to have healthy competition. But, they put pressure on themselves by belief be perfect to be with someone. 

If you are constantly comparing yourself with others, being jealous, or feeling intimidated, those are signs that you are overly self-conscious and need to change.

7. Overall, losing their unique nature, the real self.

It’s confidence and self-respect that help you to be the best version of yourself.

When you try to be better than anyone else, or to make everyone happy, you lose yourself.

For that, you have to become the one you are not and cannot be.

Due to your lack of awareness of your unique nature and mistaken belief that you must be likeable to everyone, you may go beyond your limits.

The fear of judgment from others further leads to anger, anxiety, nervousness, perfectionism, and lack of confidence which are all signs of self-consciousness.

That leaves you with nothing but making you an ugly person who strives to be the perfect one, sacrificing yourself.

 

How To Stop Being Self-conscious?

Keeping the balance between self-care and self-awareness is very important.

When you’re too aware of yourself, the problem arises.

If you observe from the signs above that you are overly conscious of your image, then you can follow a few steps to present yourself confidently without any fear of judgment.

A. Rather than focus on failure, consider what you did successfully.

It’s not just you, we’ve all failed at some point.

If you got rejected or failed miserably earlier, don’t overthink it anymore. You’ve come a long way since then. 

Focus on the positive aspects of your life and nature instead. 

Get rid of the past that is hurting you, rather take some valuable lessons from any event that makes you a better person.

B. Clear your goals in life, the ones you set for yourself.

You do not need to follow someone else’s goals. 

Rather, have your own goals in life.

You are unique, you can do things others cannot. 

Stop comparing yourself to others. Start by setting yourself some achievable and exciting goals. 

Finally, when you set goals and purpose for your life, you are more likely to follow that rather than find out what others are doing.

Check other: Signs You Make Your Life So Hard

C. Accept your limitations and embrace the positive side of your nature.

What you can do, you are the only one who can do it well. 

Never let others’ opinions or life stages influence your decisions. Both of you live separate lives, unaware of the opportunities and challenges you’re each facing. 

Recognize the strengths that only you possess. 

There is no need to prove anything to anyone, just to improve yourself.

D. Start interacting with others with small talk.

Being a private person, you’ve been isolating yourself from others.

Make the first step a fresh start. 

Learn to be more open with others with your friends or colleagues in the office. 

You don’t have to think or talk too deeply. Begin with small interactions and participate in the discussion with no fear in mind. 

Let others know your opinion without changing it to suit what they believe.

E. Nobody cares or watches you all the time.

Whenever you feel that what others will think of you or how they perceive you is just in your head.

All that fear or insecurities are all just in your imagination. 

People can’t recall what they had for lunch two days ago. Same way, they don’t have time to think about what they did wrong during the last presentation.

There is no need to feel pressured by such minor things that are meaningless to your life.

Check other: 19 Signs You’re Destined To Be famous and Popular

 

Remember, You are unique and different from the rest.

After all, you are the only one. No one is like you, nor ever would be. 

Be yourself and embrace who you are. Live life to the fullest and make the most out of it. 

Never allow a single thought of being judged ever stop you anywhere. Take pride in what you have accomplished. 

No one is going to break you, it’s only you who make yourself.

It’s not easy to build confidence in yourself when you’ve been overly self-conscious.

However, by following confident and positive moves every day, you can bring about the change that will help you accept and present your true self.

Before you consider self-care as self-validation, you should first understand such main differences. That-

With self-care and healthy consciousness, you’re making yourself a responsible and mature person. 

Due to your extreme self-conscious nature, you’re revealing your insecurity and low confidence.

When you recognize the signs of self-consciousness with this list, you will find that you are living someone else’s life and losing your original self. So the first thing to do is to Accept yourself.

 

You should be proud of who you are and the person you have become. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, and to be worried about. You are who you are. And no one should have a problem with that.