Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is the fear of social situations and the interaction with other people that can automatically bring on feelings of self-consciousness, judgement, evaluation, and inferiority. Put differently social anxiety is the fear and anxiety of being judged and evaluated negatively by other people, leading to feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment, humiliation, and depression. If a person usually becomes anxious in social situations, but seems fine when they are by them selves, then social anxiety may be the problem.
Social anxiety disorder or social phobia is a much more common problem then psychologists originally thought. Millions of people al over the world suffer from social phobia every day, either from a specific or a more generalized social anxiety.
Social anxiety disorder is the third largest psychological disorder in the United States, behind depression and alcoholism. It is estimated that 7-8% of people suffer from some form of social phobia.
People who suffer from general social phobia will tend to worry about becoming the center of attention, worrying that everyone is looking at them, and noticing what they are doing. They may fear being introduced to other people and may even worry about eating or drinking in public. They might feel so embarrassed about undressing in public that you can't face going to the beach. Parties are difficult for people with social anxiety, they will hesitate slightly before going into a room full of people, because of the fear that everyone is looking at them. It can be tempting to use alcohol to help yourself cope, starting to drink before going to a pub or party, so that you can loosen up and relax enough to actually enjoy it.
This is a particular phobia that affects people who have to be the center of attention as part of their way of life. It may affect anybody who has to perform or speak in front of other people. Salesmen, actors, musicians, teachers, or union representatives may all suffer from it. In spite of this, it doesn't seem to cause problems for them in ordinary social situations. If you do suffer from social phobia, you may find that you can mix and socialize with other people without any problems. However, when you have to get up and talk or perform in front of others, you become very anxious, perhaps stammering or even drying up completely. It can affect even people who are experienced at speaking in public and do it regularly. At its worst, it can make it impossible for the sufferer to speak in public at all, even to ask a question.
People who suffer from a social phobia will worry a lot about making a fool of themselves in front of other people, and will feel very anxious before going into any of the social situations that worry them. They may go through, in great detail, all the embarrassing things that could happen. When they are actually with people, they will feel even more anxious, and may be unable to say, or do, what is intended. In a way, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You worry so much about looking worried that you actually do look worried. People experiencing both of these types of social phobia have many of the same physical symptoms. You may get a very dry mouth, sweat a lot, and feel your heart racing. Other people may be able to see some of the signs of this anxiety, such as blushing, stammering, shaking and trembling. Sometimes you may breathe too fast, which can give you feelings of numbness or pins and needles in the fingers and toes. This can make the anxiety even worse. These feelings of fear and bodily symptoms can end in a panic attack. This is a short period, usually lasting only a few minutes, during which people feel overwhelmingly anxious, terrified of losing control, and may feel they are going mad or dying. These feelings tend to reach a peak and then pass off rapidly, leaving the person feeling weak and exhausted. Although these attacks are very alarming, they eventually stop on their own and cannot harm you physically.
It can be very demoralizing to suffer from a social phobia, because other people seem to do so easily many things you find impossible. You may think that you are rather boring and may worry that others will think so too. It may make you over-sensitive and reluctant to bother other people, even when you should. It's easy to see how this can make you feel depressed and unhappy. This can make the social phobia even worse.
There are three ways to help cure social phobia. The first way is self help, where you learn to face your fears and learn relaxation techniques to help you cope with the phobia or you can join a self confidence class.
The second option is for psychological help, the three types of psychological help are: social skills training, exposure therapy, and cognitive therapy. Social skills training teaches basic social skills that most people take for granted, like starting conversations with people. Exposure therapy helps the patient relax in situations that would normally scare them, such as a crowded room. Cognitive therapy helps people change they way they think about them selves and other people, and helps them realize that not everyone is out to get them.
The third way to get help is for drug treatments, such as beta-blockers or anti-depressants.

References




Holt, C. S., Heimberg, R. G., Hope, D. A., and Liebowitz, M. L. (1992). Situational domains of social phobia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 6, 63-77.
Kessler, R. C., McGonagle, K. A., Zhao, S., Nelson, C. B., Hughes, M., Eshleman, S., Wittchen, H. U., and Kendler, K. S. (1994). Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States. Results from the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 8 - 19.
Sanderson, W. C., DiNardo, P. A., Rapee, R. M., and Barlow, D. H. (1990). Syndrome comorbidity in patients diagnosed with a DSM-III-R anxiety disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 99, 308-312.