8 Tricks to Help You Get Away From Awkward Situations

You may feel like you want to be timid with a certain person or start hiccupping just before an important meeting. Such situations can happen to anyone and they can bring on a lot of stress. But with some simple tricks, you can help yourself and avoid feeling awkward.

We at Bright Side grew curious about how to avoid some common uncomfortable situations and found 8 tips that can help you.

1. Scratch your ear to stop a tickle in your throat.

A tickling sensation in your throat can seem like a small inconvenience but once it starts, this feeling can be very annoying and keep you from concentrating on other things. If this happens, scratch your ear so that its nerves get stimulated. It helps to cause a muscle spasm that relieves the tickling.

2. Press your tongue against your teeth to prevent an unwanted sneeze.

You may be at a meeting and suddenly feel like you want to sneeze. If you don’t want to draw attention to yourself, use your tongue. Tickle the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 5 to 10 seconds and the urge to sneeze will subside.

As another option, you can try pressing your tongue hard against your 2 front teeth.

3. If you don’t feel confident, follow the “3 seconds of eye contact” rule.

Turn your awkwardness into confidence during moments of shyness or nervousness amongst other people. Use your body language. Instead of looking down or away, give everyone in the group at least 3 seconds of eye contact. If someone is explaining something to you, you can give them even more than 3 seconds of eye contact to show that you’re invested in the conversation.

4. If you feel dizzy, press the middle of your palm.

If you feel dizzy, anxious, or are gagging, try this trick. One study found a pressure point in the middle of your palm that can stop the gag reflex when pressed on.

5. Put your thumb in your mouth and blow to stop hiccups.

Another solution you can try involves a bottle of water. Just plug your ears and start drinking water. But be careful not to swallow too much.

Another method you can try is to bring your knees to your chest and hug them for 2 minutes. Also, place gentle pressure on each side of the nose while swallowing.

6. Tighten all your muscles if you start to feel anxious just before an important event.

Feeling stressed just before an important event is normal but it can make you absent-minded. Squeeze all the muscles of your face, shoulders, and arms. Сlench your hands into a fist. Now relax. Take a deep breath and now you’re ready to act.

7. Look up and hold your breath to stop your tears.

It’s a helpful tip when you feel sensitive but don’t want people to see your tears, like in a movie theatre, for example. Look up and hold your breath for a couple of seconds. Now slowly exhale. You should feel better.

8. Set 15 minutes to worry in order to beat anxiety.

Managing your worries can be useful to you. There’s no need to become a senseless person but you can set aside a specific time slot for your worries, psychologists say. During each day, carve out 15 minutes for this and make it consistent. Just remember that it’s best not to pick a time right before bed.

Do you have your own uncommon tricks on how to prevent some awkward situations like hiccups or feeling anxious? Please share them with us!