Scared to go out to a meeting to speak to a client? Need to deliver a speech but feel like
fainting at Scared to attend a social gathering for no
apparent reason? You might be suffering
from social anxiety disorder.
Social anxiety
disorder, also known as social phobia, is a kind of mental disorder where the
sufferer experiences a severe or unreasonable fear of social gatherings where
there is a possibility that one may get embarrassed or ridiculed. Most of the time, these anxieties arise from
an intense fear of being closely watched or scrutinized - from the simple
things like the way they dress, talk or act; to important job functions like
performing in front of a crowd, giving a presentation, or finishing an
interview for a job application. This
kind of phobia gives sufferers a feeling of being trapped or shut away from the
world.
They say
social anxiety disorder is closely related to shyness. However social phobia differs in the sense
that this disrupts normal socializing functions. It is true that everyone goes through a stage
of shyness in their life, overcoming it is a different thing. When it becomes too much that it interrupts
your daily life and relationships to the point where you are sick with worry,
it is time to seek counsel. It is good
to know the signs and symptoms of social anxiety disorder to be able to
determine and treat this said condition before it worsens.
People with
social phobia manifest 2 basic kinds of symptoms: emotional and physical. The emotional symptoms include: an intense
fear of being in situations in which you don't know people, fear of situations
in which you may be judged, worrying about embarrassing or humiliating
yourself, fear that others will notice that you look anxious, anxiety that
disrupts your daily routine, work, school or other activities, avoiding doing
things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment, avoiding situations
where you might be the center of attention.
The physical symptoms include: Blushing, profuse sweating, trembling or
shaking, nausea, stomach upset, difficulty talking, shaky voice, muscle
tension, confusion, palpitations, diarrhea, cold and clammy hands, and
difficulty making eye contact.
Basically,
this phobia manifests a symptom of being overly anxious around other
people. Sufferers think that other
people are more confident that they are, that other people are better them. They feel uncomfortable being around people
that it makes it difficult for them to eat, drink, work, asking questions,
asking for dates, even going to the toilet, when other people are around.
The good news
is that there is a cure for this condition.
For the past 20 years, a combination of talk therapy and medications has
proven most helpful to limit the effects, if not cure, this mental
condition. Certain anti-depressants
(Paroxetine, Sertraline and Venlafaxine), anti-anxiety medications, and beta
blockers are used to help Socio-phobic people to balance certain chemicals in
the brain and minimize panic attacks during periods of heightened anxiety. Talk therapy teaches people with social
anxiety disorder to react differently to situations that trigger their anxiety. The therapist helps the patient confront the
negative feelings about social situations and the fear about being judged by
others. Patients learn how their thinking patterns add to the symptoms of
social anxiety disorder and how to change their thinking so the symptoms begin
to lessen.
To be shy is
quite normal, everybody has gone through a similar phase. Getting past that stage is the difficult
part. Ultimately, it ends up to building
your confidence to a certain level for you to be comfortable enough to move
normally. In case you’ve been diagnosed
as a socio-phobic, it is nothing to be ashamed of. With a little bit of therapy, proper
medication, and enough support from people who believe in you, you’ll slowly be
able to do socialize and function normally within a group without being too
anxious.
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