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Someone with social anxiety finds it very hard to come out of their house and walk down the street because he feels he’s being watched by his neighbors from their windows. Worse, he may meet someone as he steps out of the door and be forced to greet them “hello”, which he thinks will be very difficult to do. As soon as he comes out of the house he is already feeling the pressure - and the pain. He can’t, or doesn’t want, to greet people because he’s afraid that they might feel his doubts and insecurities through the tone of his voice and look down on him - and he can’t let that happen. He avoids eye contact and prays that he can make it back to his own comfort zone without having to utter a single word with anyone. He does not want anyone to find out that he is paranoid… social anxiety is the fear of interaction with other people or social situations that can easily spark feelings of self-consciousness, inferiority, judgment, criticism, among other negative emotions. In other words, social anxiety is the fear of being evaluated and judged by other people in a negative manner that can lead to feelings of depression, embarrassment, inadequacy and even shame. If an individual does not feel comfortable or secure in social gatherings, but seems okay when he/she is alone, perhaps social anxiety may be the culprit. Affecting 16 million people on any given year, social anxiety is the third biggest psychological complication in America. Unlike other psychological difficulties, social anxiety – commonly referred to as “social phobia” - is not clearly understood by many people or even medical or mental experts like psychologists, psychiatrists and surgeons. As a matter of fact, persons with social phobia are misdiagnosed nearly 91 percent of the time. People who suffer this type of psychological dilemma are often labelled as “clinically distressed”, “manic-depressive”, “mentally-challenged”, and “schizophrenic,” among other inaccurate and humiliating findings. But it can be treated with therapy and by learning to challenging the negative and unhelpful thoughts that are driving social anxiety in the first place. Visit www.socialanxietydisorder.org.uk for more information on social anxiety and how it can be overcome.
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