What Is Social Anxiety?
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), which is also referred to as Social Phobia, is a disorder that causes a person to feel intense fear in social situations, or in public performances, such as public speaking. According to the Social Anxiety Association, Social Anxiety Disorder is the third largest psychological problem in the world today, affecting fifteen million Americans yearly. Even though the medical community is finally starting to recognize and treat the symptoms of social anxiety, people who suffer from the disorder are still misdiagnosed 90% of the time.
The fear that people with social anxiety experience is brought on by many different types of social situations, including speaking in public, speaking to strangers or meeting new people, using public restrooms, speaking on the telephone, eating, drinking, or writing in public, attending parties or large gatherings, talking to authority figures, talking to co-workers, shopping, community or job related meetings, crowded places, and entertaining. As you can see, social anxiety can affect the quality of a person’s life quite deeply.
The fear often causes a multitude of physical symptoms, such as heart palpitations, tremors, sweating, diahhrea, confusion, blushing, nausea, difficulty talking, muscle tension, dry mouth, muscle twitches, dizziness, shortness of breath, chest pain, difficulty swallowing, and paleness. This disorder also brings on other problems, such as feelings of being overwhelmed, feelings of embarrassment, self consciousness, distorted thoughts, an overwhelming feeling of needing to escape, and feelings of inadequacy. Even the anticipation of being in a social situation can cause a socially anxious person to feel fearful.
Because people with SAD often have panic attacks, some researchers believe that social anxiety disorder has a biological, or biochemical cause. Other researchers do not believe that this is so. However, studies are currently being done to see if there is a possibility of social anxiety disorder being inherited through blood lines. Often, people become socially anxious due to having a bad social experience. Another possibility is learned behavior. If a parent had social anxiety, or demonstrated negative social behaviors, a child can easily learn those behaviors, and develop social anxiety.
Many famous people suffer from social anxiety disorder, including Jerry Seinfeld, Kim Basinger, Donny Osmond, Barbara Streisand, Sir Laurence Olivier, Susie O’Neill, Rebecca Gibney, Gary MacDonald, and Simon Palomares. As performers, many of these stars have learned to deal effectively with their social anxiety disorder. Their bravery in dealing with their social anxiety has been a great encouragement to other sufferers of SAD everywhere.
