Facts on Social Anxiety Disorder

1. Social Phobia

Social Anxiety Disorder is the condition of having a social phobia. The phobia is specific to performance, where you are exposed to people that are unfamiliar or you fear will be critical or scrutinize you. Because of the phobia, you may experience extreme anxiety that you will behave in a manner that will expose you as incompetent, humiliate or embarrass you or immobilize you.

2. The Symptoms of Social Phobia

Because the symptoms are so uncomfortable (sweating, nausea, rapid or shallow breathing, feeling faint and light-headedness), you may have a tendency to avoid putting yourself in a social situation in which you will experience anxiety. The problem with this thinking is that it reinforces the phobia and makes the anxiety increase the next time you are put in that social situation. Every time you avoid the social situation, the worse the anxiety gets and the more immobilized you become. Before long, your behavior creates a downward spiral. If you continue, ultimately you will experience panic when confronted with the feared social situation.

3. Avoidant Anxiety

With a social phobia, you may chose to avoid the social environment in which you feel the fear, however you may find that you eventually start to feel fearful even thinking about a social situation. This avoidant pattern can trigger the panic and bring on a panic attack, which leaves you in a more debilitated condition than where you started. The avoidant anxiety is truly crippling and keeps you trapped to the point where the feared situation is exaggerated beyond reality.

4. Rule Out Medical Conditions

There are certain medical conditions such as diabetes, hypoglycemia, thyroid condition, heart condition, Parkinson's disease and several others that can cause you to feel anxious. Be certain that your anxiety is not related to or brought on by a medical condition. Some women experience fears in menopause that they did not previously experience and hormonal changes may be the culprit. Go for a through medical exam to make sure that there isn't something underneath your anxiety.

5. Overcoming the Fear

The protocol for overcoming anxiety is simple, but actually applying it and facing your fear is not. It can be very helpful to find a therapist trained in working with desensitization procedures. Finding your lowest level of anxiety where you experience very low anxiety is the entry point. Gradually increase your exposure to the feared social situation until your tolerance level increases. Learn visualization and breathing techniques to help alleviate uncomfortable symptoms. Set up small rewards for each level of improvement you achieve. Before long, you will be back in the social setting, enjoying the company of others and free of panic.