Social Phobia and Isolating One’s Self
Everyone knows how hard it is to initiate social interaction. After all, most people share in the experience of how awkward it is to deliver a speech in front of a huge crowd, ask that special someone out on a date, or perform before a huge audience. The fear of being embarrassed, after all, is completely normal. However, people who suffer social anxiety disorder, otherwise known as social phobia, suffer from these difficulties each and every day.
Many individuals who suffer from social anxiety disorder are often simply considered reserved, even if the underlying condition is far more serious. This is because the condition is characterized by an overwhelming fear of social interaction. Those who suffer from this condition often feel as though they are being constantly judged by the people around them, and as such, live in fear of inevitably doing something that may embarrass them. While everyone worries at one time or another, the extent with which those who suffer from social phobia feel fear is often something that paralyzes them from doing what they want to do.
Some of those who have social phobia may simply act shy to keep themselves from being noticed. They will try their best not to call attention to themselves, and may even go as far as doing away with having to deal with other people. When left untreated, those who suffer from severe forms of social phobia may completely shut themselves out from the rest of the world.
A form of severe social anxiety is called selective mutism. This is characterized by individuals who fear specific types of social activity, and in those instances, find it physically impossible to speak. With people they are comfortable with, they are able to speak with confidence. However, in stressful situations, they are unable to speak at all.
This means that for those who suffer social anxiety disorder, the symptoms of the disease are not only in their mind, where they worry about embarrassing themselves. At some point, the fear they feel materializes to the extent that it manifests physically. Physical symptoms include excessive sweating, breathing rapidly, chest tightening, drying of the mouth, and feeling pain in the stomach.
Social anxiety disorder is triggered by a good number of factors, like all mental disorders. Those who suffer from social phobia often have a natural proclivity towards shyness, despite the fact that no one is born with social phobia. It may be triggered as they grow older if they see a close friend or relative exhibiting the same traits, or if they experience some traumatic event.
Luckily, social anxiety disorders can be treated, given the advances in medication and therapy. Apart from those in the formal field of medicine, there are other alternative means to gain relief from social anxiety disorder, like yoga, meditation, and the like. Treatment may not exactly turn a person into an extrovert; however, it can help a person more capably engage in meaningful interactions with other people.
Talk to your physician about social phobia, and how it can be treated. Otherwise, ask for a referral for a physician who specializes in such anxiety disorders. The Internet is also rich in information which you can explore. Braced with enough information and resolve, you will find yourself more capable of handling social interactions.
Tags: Act, Audience, Confidence, Crowd, Extent, fear of crowds, Instances, Live In Fear, medicine for depression., overcoming depression, Overwhelming Fear, People, Phobias, Rest Of The World, Social Anxiety Disorder, Social Interaction, Social Phobia, Stressful Situations, Worries