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[A602]Anxiety Disorder Social Phobia

by Abbey Grace Yap, Abb

Most people get clammy hands before going in front of a live audience to speak in public, and some experience difficulty breathing. Some people say they feel butterflies fluttering in their stomach prior to making a presentation in front of their boss. This is normal. It is called anxiety. Natural anxiety makes us feel fear, apprehension, or worry in tense situations where there is a possibility of failing or being humiliated.

Aside from the above mentioned signs of anxiety, people usually feel heart palpitations, nausea, chest pain, stomach aches, and headaches, too. Once the mind acknowledges the possibility of danger or humiliation, changes happen to prepare one's body, getting it ready for whatever may happen. These include an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, sweating, and blood flow to the major muscle groups.

However there are some cases that anxiety becomes too much that a person becomes unable to function normally. These kinds of people may possibly have social phobia or social anxiety disorder.

What is social phobia?

Mental health professionals refer to this anxiety disorder as an excessive anxiety in social situations wherein the sufferer feels extremely distressed. The extreme anxiety impairs the sufferer's ability to normally function in some areas in his daily life. People with social anxiety disorder have admitted to feeling extremely conscious of the people around them, fearful of being criticized, judged, or scrutinized.

Social phobia usually involves a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being judged by other people and of the possibility of being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions. For most sufferers, these fears are often triggered by their own perception of being judged by other people, and of actual events of being scrutinized by others.

Symptoms of having a social anxiety disorder are the same as that of natural anxiety, the only difference is, people with social phobia may experience intense panic attacks once they feel severe discomfort of the situation. It is this extreme consciousness of moving around in public pushes sufferers into social isolation, thereby taking them away from activities that they once enjoyed.

How is social anxiety disorder treated?

It is important to administer treatment to people suffering from social phobias before they become further isolated not only from the outside world, but also from people who love and support them. And the two most commonly used therapies to help manage, if not cure, this psychological illness are:

Pharmacological treatments.

Anti-anxiety medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), and other prescription medications are used to manage and treat generalized social phobias. Although SSRIs and MAOIs are commonly used to treat depression, they were also found to be helpful to manage social phobias. But even if SSRIs are the first choice of most mental health professionals, MAOIs were found to have less side effects on its users.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Also called talk therapy or psychotherapy, this treatment plan aims to seek out the root of the problem. By addressing the sufferer's reason for his unexplainable fear, it will be easier to start an action plan to manage the social anxiety disorder until the patient can live a normal life again.

Have you ever felt anxious about something for any reason? Or, feeling anxious or worried in the times of stressful situations? It is ok to feel what you feel as long as you have rational reasons to validate your feelings.

Anxiety is a normal response to any stressful event and it helps you deal with that situation. But, when anxiety becomes too much that it can affect your day to day activities and peace of mind, it becomes an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorder is excessive anxiety and worry about events or activities, which occurs most often than not in most days for at least six months. A person who has anxiety disorder finds it difficult to control the feelings of worry and fear.

The anxiety, worry, or the physical symptoms of anxiety disorder can cause considerable suffering or harm on the important areas of daily life activities. Some of the common types of anxiety disorders include separation anxiety, social anxiety or phobia, selective mutism, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PSTD), panic disorder, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and specific phobia.

Each of these anxiety disorders has different symptoms, but the entire symptoms revolve around excessive, unreasonable fear and dread.

Separation anxiety is defined as developmentally improper and excessive anxiety relating to separation from home or to someone you are so attached with. Social anxiety or phobia is generally understood as extreme fear in the face of social interaction.

Selective mutism is the consistent failure to speak in specific social situations where you are expected to render speech. OCD is an illness wherein you have recurrent and unwanted urge to do something to relieve your discomfort. PST is an incapacitating condition that follows a terrifying event (persistent terrifying thoughts).

Panic disorder is categorized as recurrent brief episodes of intense fear that are accompanied by many physical symptoms, like heart palpitations and dizziness, even without external threat. Agoraphobia is defined as an incapacitating fear of open spaces, resulting to avoidance of crowds, and open public places.

General anxiety disorder is described by diffuse feelings of apprehensions with physiological symptoms. Specific phobia is a feeling of intense, irrational fears towards certain things, like closed-in places, heights, water, etc.

If you think you have an anxiety disorder, the first person you should see is your family doctor. A physician can determine whether the symptoms that bother you are due either to anxiety disorder or other medical condition, or both.

If indeed you are diagnosed to have anxiety disorder, the next step you should do is definitely see a mental health professional whom you are comfortable talking with.

Clearly, in order for you to be treated for this condition, you and your doctor should work together as a team and make a plan to cure you from anxiety disorder. Don't let this condition ruin your mood, activities, or your life in general.

Get immediate treatment the soonest possible time once you think that you might have an anxiety disorder. The sooner you get the treatment, the sooner you will feel better and be able to enjoy life to the full.

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About Author

Both Abbey Grace Yap & Karin Manning are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Abbey Grace Yap has sinced written about articles on various topics from Accounting Guide, Advertising Guide and Medicine. The writer, Abbey Grace Yap, is an active advocate for health consciousness and disease awareness. ,. Abbey Grace Yap's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.

Karin Manning has sinced written about articles on various topics from Vacation, Nutrition and Recreation and Sports. Do you or does someone you know suffer from anxiety or depression? 1000s of people who suffer from anxiety have been cured in the comfort of their own home without anxiety medication, psychological visits and herbal remedies. Find out more at. Karin Manning's top article generates over 368000 views. to your Favourites.