What Is Social Anxiety Disorder? How Can You Overcome It?

Posted: April 18, 2018

Social Anxiety Disorder is an out-of-proportion fear of one or more social situations wherein the person is concerned about being harsly judged and evaluated for their performance or interpersonal interactions.

They experience marked and persistent fear and avoidance of one or more social or performance situations. Although many people feel anxious in social gatherings, the key to the Social Anxiety Disorder is ‘Functional impairment’ in an important facet of life functioning. It is also known as social phobia, fear of embarrassment, fear of rejection.

Over all prevalence of SAD is 2-3% and more common in women than men. It has its peak onset in the early teenage years. There is increased risk of Drug Abuse, Depressive episodes and suicidal thoughts and attempts.

Risk factors for Social Anxiety Disorder

Family history
Very harsh and strict parenting style
Genetic role
Childhood sign of behavioral inhibition

Social and behavioural Symptoms

Performance anxiety when speaking in front of a crowd
Severe anxiety at meeting strangers
Fear in doing simple things in front of others like (Signing, Ordering from Menu)
Mind go blank in social situtaions
Refraining from certain activities or talking to people because of fear of embarrassment

Physical Symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder

Heart palpitation
Dry mouth
Abdominal discomfort
Avoiding eye contact
Blushing
Cold hands
Confusion
Weeping or Crying
Diarrhoea
Muscle tension
Excessive sweating
Dificulty in talking

What to Do

Most important is to break the cycle of anxious thoughts.

Say positive things to oneself- when we feed positive thoughts like “I can do it” “I will do my best” to our subconcious mind, our body and mind actualy tune together to do best.
Avoid negative thoughts- Telling your self “you are a shy person” will reinforce current anxiety. Thoughts fuel behavioural pattern.
Avoid Alcohol or Drugs- Don’t ever use drugs to overcome shyness. They will make situation more worse.
Stress management techniques- Relaxation, Deep breathing, Yoga, Meditation helps a person to over come negative thoughts process.
Exposure therapy- Start going out and face situation. In case of anxity take deep breathing and try to relax.

If still things are not getting better, take the help of a professional. Psychotherapy and medication will definitely help you.

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