Relationship Advice How to be less concerned with other people's opinions by Fran Creffield Does worrying about what other people think stop you from being able to relax and enjoy yourself in social situations? Is it stopping you from living the life you want and dating the people you like? If so here are some tips to help you overcome this. When dating being overly concerned with other people's opinions can become quite debilitating and stop us from relaxing and being ourselves. It is important to learn strategies to help you overcome this self defeating behaviour if you want to be able to relax enough to meet someone you really connect with. Self-consciousness Self consciousness is often at the root of concern about other people's opinions. When you are self-conscious you are excessively aware of your behaviours, thoughts and feelings and, as is often seen in teenagers, it can make you feel very ill at ease in social situations. When you are feeling self conscious you are paying too much attention to your thoughts, how you look and how you are feeling. It may seem as though you are overly concerned with what other people think of you but actually they are simply a reflection for you to look closer at yourself -- 'Do they like me? Do they think I'm stupid because I said that? Are they bored of my conversation?' these are the usual types of questions that come up when we are overly concerned with someone else's