What Exactly Is Social Anxiety?

Social Anxiety Disorder (social phobia) is the largest anxiety disorder and the third largest mental health care problem in the world today, yet most people know little about it. People with this disorder are often labeled as "shy", "aloof", "unsociable" and even "rude", but inside they can feel trapped in their shell by this debilitating problem. The latest government data show that social anxiety may affect up to 7% of the population at any given time - the chances are we all know someone struggling with this disorder, and yet we're not even aware of it.

So, what exactly is social anxiety? It is a fear of social situations that involve interaction with other people: more specifically, the dread of being negatively judged and evaluated by other people leading to feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment, humiliation, and depression. If a person usually becomes anxious in social situations, but seems fine when they are alone, then "social anxiety" may be the problem. The feelings that accompany this disorder include intense fear, nervousness, automatic negative thinking cycles, racing heart, blushing, dry throat and mouth, trembling, weak knees, and muscle twitches. People with social anxiety know that their anxiety is irrational, yet the thoughts and feelings persist and cannot be willed away. Social anxiety is often confused with panic disorder, but people with social anxiety do not experience panic attacks. Most people who have panic attacks seek medical help, believing they are having a health-related problem (like a heart attack), but people with social anxiety realize that it is anxiety and fear that they are experiencing.

In public places, such as supermarket queues, doctor's waiting rooms, work meetings or travelling on buses, people with social anxiety feel that everyone is watching, staring, and judging them. They have great difficulty relaxing, "taking it easy", and enjoying themselves in public. In fact, they never fully relax when other people are around. The anxiety is often so distressing it becomes much easier just to stay away from social situations and avoid other people altogether. Even when they're around familiar people, a person with social anxiety may feel overwhelmed and have the feeling that others are noticing their every action and criticising their every word. People with social anxiety usually experience significant distress in the following situations: being introduced to a stranger, being teased, being the centre of attention, being watched or observed performing a task (sometimes as simple as writing their own name), meeting people of authority, making eye contact with someone, and performing any number of activities in public (making a phone call, talking, eating). The symptoms vary among individuals, and may be a generalized anxiety (overall fear of social situations) or specific (fear of performing a certain activity in public, such as eating).

Since few socially-anxious people realize they are suffering from an actual treatable disorder, they tend to keep their problem to themselves. It would be distressing, after all, if everyone realized how much anxiety they experienced in daily life. It becomes a sort of catch-22 situation - their fear of what others think keeps them from seeking help for the anxiety. If they do finally reach out to mental health professionals, however, treatment of the disorder has a high success rate. Research indicates that, after cognitive behavioural therapy, up to 90% of people with this problem report a changed life - one that is no longer controlled by fear and anxiety. There is hope for sufferers, a doorway into the world of people and healthy day-to-day social interaction.