Social Anxiety
Social anxiety (also known as social phobia) is a type of anxiety disorder. People who have social anxiety experience extreme and persistent anxiety associated with social or performance situations.
Put another way, social anxiety is the fear and anxiety of being judged and evaluated negatively 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.
Most people feel shy or nervous in certain situations. Public speaking or entering a room full of strangers for example, can cause anxiety in many people. However this kind of common apprehension doesn't indicate a social phobia. It becomes a social phobia when it:
- Causes the person to avoid the feared situation
- Means the person endures the situation with intense distress
- Interferes significantly with work, education, family and social life
According to research carried out in the United States, social anxiety disorder is the third most common debilitating condition after depression and alcoholism.
What are the main situations people fear with social anxiety?
The most common situations that are feared by people who have social anxiety include the following:
Speaking in public
Eating and drinking in public
Writing in front of others
Meeting new people
Being the centre of attention
Meeting or talking to members of the opposite sex
Being watched doing something
Meeting or talking with people in positions of authority
Being criticised
Using the telephone
Going around the room (table) in a circle and having to say something
This is not a complete list of symptoms, other feelings are also associated with social anxiety.
What are the main symptoms of social anxiety?
When the person who has social anxiety is confronted by the feared situation, or even just thinks about the feared situation, extreme symptoms of anxiety result. The symptoms of social anxiety may include any or all of the following:
High levels of anxiety when exposed to the fearful situation (palpitations, trembling, sweating, tense muscles, dry throat, blushing, dizziness, sinking feeling in the stomach)
An overwhelming fear of wanting to escape
Feeling of self consciousness and inadequacy
Avoidance of the feared situation, which can often lead to isolation from friends, family and society
Reliance on drugs or alcohol to get the person through the feared situation
Here are the thoughts of two people explaining their symptoms caused by social anxiety:
" When most people think of blushing, they think of rosy cheeks or something cute. This is not the case; my blushing is more like extreme red blotches that cover wherever uncovered skin is. I've tried wearing clothes that cover most of my body but some exposed skin always turns red. When this reaction happens I also get the feeling of being anxious and that i need to escape whatever situation I might be in. Once I remove myself from the situation the blotches usually disappear within one hour"
" If I have to talk in a meeting or around a table I just cant cope. My legs go wobbly, I flush up, and I feel quite sick. I feel everyone is watching me closely. I know it's silly and other people don't seem to have the same difficulty. I keep thinking afterwards that they must feel im not really up to the job..."
How to treat social anxiety
Social anxiety is one of the most common disorders around. Analytical hypnotherapy or hypno-analysis is extremely successful in helping this condition. Please do not hesitate to call or email me to discuss your particular problems.
For more info call Tim on 0800 0350 227 or E-mail info@orchard-hypnotherapy.co.uk