Do you fear any or all of the following situations: asking the staff of a restaurant if you can use their public toilet; writing in any public area (such as a mall or eating place); having to speak up to authority figures; performing in public (such as playing a musical instrument, singing, or dancing); taking an exam in school; or even just simply eating and drinking in a public place? If you answered yes about any of these, you may be afflicted with a serious kind of shyness called social anxiety.
What is social anxiety?
Social anxiety, also known as social phobia, is characterized by a fear of being ridiculed by others and a desire to secure the approval of other people (even when you do not approve of your own behavior.) According to the World Psychiatric Association, 3% to 15% of the global population can be considered as suffering from it, but of this number only a mere 25% of them go for counseling or psychological treatment.
Who can get social anxiety?
No on is immune from it. Both men and women can come down with it, regardless of the culture they were brought up in. Experts think that the problem starts at adolescence - around 40% of known cases usually start before the patient is 10 years of age.
What makes it more prevalent is the fact that it can be an inherited or learned trait as well. We cannot do much about inherited traits but we can prevent people at risk from learning to develop it.
The difference between shyness and social anxiety:
Common shyness differs from the more serious condition of social anxiety in that patients who merely are shy tend to have a generalized hesitancy to interact with other people. People with genuine social anxiety usually fear specific social or occupational situations, such as public speaking or singing before a crowd.
Physiological reactions from social anxiety:
A person with full-blown social anxiety will physically experience headaches, tense muscles, sweating or blushing when he has to face the specific situation he fears. That is one way to determine if you have the condition. However, some individuals who also have social anxiety report that they do not experience the above physiological reactions. Instead, they only feel extremely self conscious, apprehensive or afraid.
People who are socially anxious are quite sensitive about it and do not usually admit to having it right away. If there are people around the patient who care about him, it is advisable for them to be quite tactful about bringing up the possibility that the person has social anxiety, based on what they observed about him. In time, the patient may admit that he does have a problem - only then can he be treated for it.
Identifying with well-known people
It helps the patient if the counselor informs him that popular people also have come down with shyness/social anxiety. (The most recent case is Donny Osmond, who revealed his condition in a July 2007 public interview.) The counselor may then be able to broach treatment options for the patient, after he feels more open to it.
Social Anxiety Disorder, a disorder that affects millions of people, can affect children as well. Studies have shown that both boys and girls are equally affected by social anxiety disorder. The symptoms that children have are often the same as the symptoms that adults have, but their reaction to those symptoms is quite different.
Children may experience headaches, dizziness, tummy aches, diarrhea, joint pains, or nausea before or during a peer related social event. The symptoms can become so severe that they cause complete mutism, where the child is unable or unwilling to speak. Social phobia in children can accompany other disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety, and depression.
Children who withdraw from social interaction, or become distressed in unfamiliar situations as toddlers are more likely to develop social anxiety disorder than toddlers who approach others and show no distress in unfamiliar situations. Since children who have social anxiety are usually quiet, and do not exhibit behavioral problems, the problem goes unnoticed by adults - unless they know what they are looking for.
Unlike adults, children do not have the capacity to realize that their fears are excessive or unreasonable. This can lead to even more problems. Children who suffer from social anxiety disorder often turn to drugs or alcohol in their teen years, to self medicate themselves, which helps them feel more comfortable, and 'normal' in social situations.
Children with social anxiety experience excessive shyness and tantrums. They tend to cry alot, and have a strong, clinging attachment to their parents. There is usually a decline in their academic performance at school, and they will usually avoid going to school. These children do not want to take part in social activities that are appropriate for their age. However, they are often quite comfortable in social situations with adults, and only seem to have problems interacting with their peers.
As adults, we often forget how hard it really is to be a child. Unless you have social anxiety yourself, you probably cannot begin to imagine what a typical day of school is like for a child who has social anxiety disorder. These children are filled with anxiety every single day. They have few friends, and often have no friends. They are viewed as loners by adults, and as 'weird' by their peers. These children are very lonely, and if left untreated, they will fail to develop adequate social skills.
Unfortunately, children can be very cruel to each other. This natural cruelty just increases the anxiety that these children feel, and causes them to draw even further away from their peers out of fear of ridicule or humiliation. Some children will eventually refuse to attend school. Others will drop out at the first opportunity.
Many medications that are used to treat social anxiety disorder in adults are not suitable for children. Psychotherapy is the preferred treatment for children - without medication, if possible. Often, when children are diagnosed and treated early for social anxiety, they go on to live very productive lives, with no traces of social anxiety disorder in their adult lives.
Gary Miller is the author of "Prisoners of Our Thoughts: How to break free from the grips of Social Anxiety and Fear." To learn more about the book click here to go to the website at www.social-anxiety-cure.com.
Both Peter Murphy & Gary M. Miller 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.
Peter Murphy has sinced written about articles on various topics from Modelling, Marketing and Web Development. Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. Apply now because it is available only at:. Peter Murphy's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.
Gary M. Miller has sinced written about articles on various topics from Religion, Web Development and Sleep Disorder. Gary Miller was so scared that he actually passed out during a presentation and couldn't talk after due to numerous social anxieties. To learn more about his journey to recovery and weekly FREE Social Anxiety coping techniques, you can visit his web site. Gary M. Miller's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.