A fairly ?new? anxiety, Social Anxiety disorder was overlooked for quite a long while by the medical community as it was often confused with shyness. That being said, the drug companies haven't been backward and there are as many Social Anxiety medications on the market as there are other anxiety medications although truly most anti anxiety drugs are suitable for all types of anxiety disorders. Only a very few drugs are completely anxiety specific, so a general mild anti anxiety medication will probably work just as well as specific Social Anxiety medications.

What is social anxiety, you ask? Well, to put it simply you fear certain social situations and will go to any lengths to avoid them. This doesn't necessarily follow that you'll be of a retiring nature and that you won't like social gatherings. It only means that certain specific social situations lead you to feel anxiety and sometimes to experience panic attacks. So whereas a person with a shy disposition might shirk all social gatherings, you could be the life of the party one minute with all eyes on you and loving it and the next minute something could happen to bring about your Social Anxiety. Perhaps you find yourself in a humiliating situation or you find yourself in a position from which you can't remove yourself and that's when your Social Anxiety symptoms will all kick in at once drowning you in their viselike grip. So what can you do about it?

First rest assured that you can generally use Social Anxiety medications to treat your condition, but it's always a good idea to make certain that you truly are suffering from Social Anxiety and not just plain shyness. So here are a few symptoms for you to look out for when next you find yourself in that position.

Fear of being socially humiliated, fear of being embarrassed, heightened feelings of awareness, shortness of breath, sweaty hands, trembling and twitching. If you experience palpitations, nausea and lightheadedness, along with feelings of incompetence and extreme cases of anxiety as well then there's a good chance that you suffer from Social Anxiety or Social Phobia as it's also known. These symptoms might seem like normal ?shy person? symptoms but they only become Social Anxiety symptoms when they're experienced in the extreme end of the spectrum of feelings.

Social Anxiety medications however can fix these problems easily especially if caught in the early stages so you need not suffer for too long. However if you're unwilling to get on the medication bandwagon, there are always alternative treatments available for you. Therapy can also be a viable alternative to Social Anxiety medications and can help you greatly. Talk with your doctor about all your alternatives and find the right one for you. Social situations need not be embarrassing or excruciatingly painful affairs; and who knows you might just find yourself enjoying yourself for the first time in a long while if you can find the correct suitable cure for yourself.