Understanding Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia is an illness that affects the lives of many people. It literally cripples their lives, making them unable to enjoy life at its fullest. Instead, they are always “attacked” by unnatural feelings of fear, apprehension or worry once they are in a social situation.
The social anxiety disorder is a pathological form of social anxiety. It makes people feel always judged, so to them making mistakes could be the worst thing in the world, thinking they will be embarrassed and humiliated. So, they go on with their daily lives always with tension, always stressed, and at times they may avoid any kind of social interaction.
They also can experience “anticipatory” anxiety. For example, when they know they’ll be in a social meeting in a week. Until that happens, they will always feel stressed for events that haven’t actually happened! And even if they know it is ridiculous to do so, they just can’t seem to shake off the images and feelings.
What are the usual symptoms of social anxiety disorder?
People with social anxiety disorder tend to not recognize the problem until it has become almost unbearable. The most common symptoms are:
1. Uncontrollable anxiety in social situations
2. Avoidance of social interaction
3. Strong mental imagery related to failure at social situations
4. Physical symptoms such as: sweating, shaking, upset stomach or muscular tension.
Is it possible to treat social anxiety disorder?
Yes it is possible; there are lots of cases where people have successfully overcome this situation. The treatments are varied, from hypnosis to medications and natural treatments. The sooner you recognize the disorder, the easier will be to overcome it, so if you have social anxiety or have a close friend or familiar, seek help as soon as possible.