[raised by monkeys]

Positive self talk strategies
Challenge your own thinking i.e. "is this rational?"
Stretch your capacity (much like a rubber band) by setting small goals i.e. if your anxiety is about new environments and unfamiliar faces, start in an environment which is non threatening.

An example is a small café I use with young people . I take them there once a week; the coffee is the distraction, the environment and people are the challenge. The café has access to a busy road from which they can see from the café'. People move up and down the road going about their business. This in itself is therapeutic as often a person's anxiety is built upon irrational thoughts that others are thinking about them; or want to know what they're doing.

Initially, young people are often too nervous to make the order. Over a couple of weeks they become comfortable and build them up to make the order themselves. Eventually encourage them to go there themselves. Narrative therapy and challenging irrational thoughts; as well as the coffee acts as a tool to disassociate and focus on when the anxiety comes on strong.

This could be done with a friend also. But the idea is to stretch your inner 'rubber band' to increase your capacity to become less anxious in new environments and around strangers.