12 Gifts for People with Social Anxiety

Posted: December 06, 2022

[ET] Gifts for People with Social Anxiety

12 gifts for people with social anxiety - it's kind of tongue-in-cheek in name, but...these are mostly legit products to help people with social anxiety. Or anxiety in general. Or trouble sleeping, since they all seem to go together.

And the ones that aren't legit social anxiety aids? They're legit champions of social anxiety's legitimacy.

Note: Social anxiety gift prices are marked as they were at printing on December 6, 2022. Prices, and availability, are subject to change.

You're Too Close Baseball Hat

Did a Redditor make this "You're too close" baseball hat, or did someone else just figure out they could make enough to retire selling them to Redditors? Because if there were one piece of headwear I'd guess at least 60% of the people of Reddit would feel has their feelings about other human beings IRL embroidered all over it, it would be a dad hat that says, "You're too close" on it.

$17.98 ➠ Amazon

The Big Activity Book for Anxious People

The Big Activity Book for Anxious People is a combination of the self-help and adult coloring book genres. (No, I can't believe I just called adult coloring books a genre either.) Jordan Reid and Erin Williams fill their pages with relatable tidbits, chunks of advice, and facts both soothing and fear-inducing, all laid out in fun shapes and fonts along with accompanying graphics and, yep, activities. Zen mantras to practice. Calming Grandma pics to color. Ride the Subway Without Touching Anyone mazes to complete.

$14.40 ➠ Amazon

Anxiety Ear Seed Kit

Plant these magic Ear Seeds and you too can grow a beanstalk out of the side of your head! Nah, that won't happen. Probably. Unless you've got bad karma from disobeying your mama too many times as a kid when she told you to stop swallowing stuff you shouldn't eat, and shoving stuff you should into the wrong orifices.

Also called acupuncture ear beads or pellets, ear seeds are either small black seeds from the vaccaria plant or little metal balls you stick to your ear (with tape, Band-Aids) at acupressure points corresponding to whatever condition or ailment you're trying to fix. In the case of the Anxiety Ear Seed Kit it's, uh, anxiety.

$21.99 ➠ Amazon

The Art of Witty Banter

The first thing that comes to mind when I think "witty banter" is the easy exchange of short observations and comments. So it's odd that The Art of Witty Banter: Be Clever, Be Quick, Be Interesting - Create Captivating Conversation almost lost me before I got through its l o n g a s s title. A colon, commas, and a hyphen? That's more James Joyce than Jerry Seinfeld from a book that claims it's going to "make you a witty comeback machine, the likes of which your friends have never seen."

$11.99 ➠ Amazon

Hapbee - On-Command Feelings Wearable

On-command feelings. Hapbee is a wearable head or neck band that says it will let you control whether you feel calm, alert, focused, relaxed, or sleepy. Te company says its device is "like a playlist for your feelings - with the ability to replicate dozens of different feelings by 'playing' predictable electromagnetic signals" through the band, in combination with a Hapbee app. The signals correspond to various feelings and sensations, so all you have to do is select one, and let the session o' feels begin.

$299 ➠ Hapbee

Cards Against Anxiety

If you have anxiety, before purchasing this Cards Against Anxiety guidebook and card set to help you stress less, try looking at their author's name. Yeah, look at it, and then say it over and over to yourself like a healing mantra. Pooky Knightsmith. Pooky Knightsmith. PookyKnightsmithPookyKnightsmithPookyKnightsmith.

Sure makes me feel better! First because I am happy my own name isn't Pooky Knightsmith. Yet, second, because I am also thrilled to know someone out there is named Pooky Knightsmith. And it's a real person! Not even a children's book or comic strip character!

$15.01 ➠ Amazon

Breathing Buddha for Guided Visual Meditation

The Breathing Buddha provides guided visual meditations for adults and kiddos alike. If successful, he will hone mindfulness, relieve stress and anxiety, and help you sleep. What a guy! Not to mention a perfect gift to give when you need the same gift for everyone, since pretty much everyone these days lacks mindfulness, is stressed out and anxious, and/or can't sleep for sh-...eep.

$21.95 ➠ Amazon

Worry Monster - Gobbles Up Your Troubles

I've seen Worry Monster stuffed animals, plush toys with zippered mouths and belly pouches made to hold your fears and concerns. But with their technicolor fur and cartoonish looks, those Worry Monsters are obviously meant to soothe children. These Worry Monsters are a little, just a little, more subtle.

Designed by Anastasiia Grishina while she was a student in the School of Design at the University of Illinois, Chicago, the trouble gobblers shown here are certainly kooky and colorful in appearance, but they're also desktop-sized at 6" tall, and much more inconspicuous for all ages to use in alleviating worries. Grishina's Worry Monsters are made of folded cardstock fitted with a pin that slides between the monster's eyes. The set also includes a wavy pad of paper and a pen.

$20 ➠ Uncommon Goods

Purrble - Calming Toy with Heartbeat & Purr

Purrbles are plushies with a dynamic heartbeat and soothing purr, designed to teach children empathy, and help people of all ages fight stress and achieve calm. Question: what happens if you get the little furballs wet, or feed them after midnight?

Part high-tech gadget, part cuddle toy, Purrbles are interactive companions with variable heartbeats that simulate those of real humans and animals. When a Purrble feels startled or agitated by a sudden noise or movement, its heart rate increases. Purrble owners must then work to calm their buddy down, being gentle and soothing to return its heart rate to normal, and elicit a Purrble purr.

$59.99 ➠ Amazon

A Bathroom Book for People Not Pooping or Peeing

I wonder if Joe Pera and Joe Bennett created A Bathroom Book for People Not Pooping or Peeing but Using the Bathroom as an Escape in a moment of actual hangin' in the bathroom to avoid social interactions, work drama, or a dude at the front door selling solar panels. Moreover, I wonder if they were in there together.

In A Bathroom Book for People Not Pooping or Peeing but Using the Bathroom as an Escape, comedian Pera and illustrator Bennett attempt to make you chuckle while you don't tinkle, and giggle as you drop no dookie, but the book also aims to be a "sincere guide to regaining calm and confidence when you're hiding in the bathroom." It understands where you're coming from and why you're locked in the john with it, and it wants to help.

$11.49 ➠ Amazon

Sensate Infrasonic Therapy Stress Management Device

Sensate is a gadget for reducing stress and calming your body's nervous system. Kind of like a vibrator, which is what I thought the Sensate was when I first looked at it. But rather than intense vibrations or rub-a-dub-dub movements, this stress management device uses subtle sonic resonance to provide relief.

When placed on your chest, Sensate technology sends infrasonic waves into your body, aiming for the nervous system's vagus nerve. Known as the "gut-brain superhighway," the vagus nerve connects major organs, and allows them to communicate. This means it also plays a key role in how the body reacts to stress. Think of Sensate waves as good vibes delivered via bone conduction to the vagus nerve, encouraging it to chill out.

$299.99 ➠ Amazon

It's Too Peopley Mug

According to its oldest review, the Sometimes I Stay Inside Because It's Just Too Peopley Out There mug has been around since at least August of 2018. So while this is certainly an apropos piece of COVID merch, unlike this T-shirt, it wasn't made in response to a sweeping illness.

It was made in response to people, doing what people do, and going out and being all people-y.

$17.99 ➠ Amazon

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