Social Anxiety Disorders:
Unlock the Doors to Your Social Anxiety Disorder

Not all social anxiety disorders are created equal. Some of them, like fear of public speaking, stage fright, and anxiety over being interviewed or facing a job or academic review, are extremely common.

Most of us have to face those situations infrequently, and usually get through them without a crisis. Social anxiety disorders of that magnitude just aren’t serious enough for us to try to overcome.

But when social anxiety disorders become so powerful that they prevent you from developing relationships, living up to your employment or academic potentials, or even doing things basic to your survival, they need to be addressed.

Social anxiety disorders stem from two sources; either insecurity that you will embarrass yourself in social situations, or the idea that everyone whom you encounter is judging you. Once you are in a social environment, your social anxiety disorders will cause physical symptoms--shaking, difficulty in breathing, excessive sweating, trembling, of a pounding heart among them--and may have you so focused on the idea that everyone else is wondering what is the matter with you that you miss the entire point of the gathering.

From there, it won’t take long before your social anxiety disorders have you avoiding social situations as much as you can.

There are both specific and generalized social anxiety disorders, and it’s not unusual for the same person to be suffering from both. A specific disorder will generate fear only in particular situations--for instance, the public speaking--and most of us who hate to speak in front of groups have no problems at all with belonging to them.

Generalized social anxiety disorders are more serious, because they create a chronic fear of public humiliation and judgment. These social anxiety disorders can be triggered whether or not any actual judgment is occurring. Because the anxiety attacks resulting from them can happen anywhere, they can become debilitating. Those suffering from generalized social anxiety disorders may eventually become housebound.

The very nature of social anxiety disorders makes it difficult for their victims to seek appropriate help. For those who recognize the irrational nature of their fears, there are various treatments available.

These treatments can range from the use of prescription drugs to reduce the social anxiety disorders’ physical symptoms, to both cognitive and behavioral therapies. Such therapies will require the patients to examine the negative thinking underlying their disorders, and to expose themselves in gradually increasing degrees to social situations.

With almost one in eight people estimated to suffer from social anxiety disorders, the understanding of the condition and the available help have improved tremendously in the past few years. The treatments require commitment and courage, but will eventually open the doors which you think you’ve kept closed against the world for too long!

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• Physical Symptoms of Anxiety Attacks