How to Deal with Social Anxiety Disorder

A teacher, Sara, is absent again today. In fact, she’s been on leave since she skipped her first lecture because she was afraid to introduce herself and speak to the class. Sara hates being the center of attention, and meeting new people and speaking in front of others are her worst nightmares.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is the most common type of anxiety disorder. It is more than just the occasional nervousness or shyness nearly everyone faces in social situations. SAD is described as an intense fear that causes distress and weakens a person’s ability to function normally in daily life. The sufferer can’t help feeling fearful and anxious, even when they consciously understand that such fears are unreasonable. People with SAD avoid social situations because they fear being watched, judged, and evaluated by others. They feel inferior to others, and they also fear becoming a laughingstock for being thought of as inferior. Such people are overwhelmed with negative thoughts, such as “People will judge my communication skills because I can’t speak well”, “I will look like a fool”, “They all think I am a looser” or “ I will make mistakes and they will laugh at me because I am not as good as they are.”

SAD is very prevalent in the United States. According to National Institute of Mental Health, as many as 15 million adult Americans have struggled with social anxiety disorder in their lifetime. The intensity of the disorder varies from person to person. While SAD causes some to avoid a wide range of social situations, others may only avoid specific situations in which they have to perform for others.

There is a lot of help available for the person suffering from SAD. All it really takes is a little understanding, persistency and effort to overcome SAD. Currently, the most effective and successful method of treatment being used is Cognitive-Behavior therapy (CBT), which is used to identify the faulty thought patterns responsible for producing anxiety. For instance, if a person decides not to attend a wedding ceremony, the negative thought behind this might be, “I’ll look stupid when I talk to people,” or “I feel so ugly, and everyone at the wedding will be beautiful.” CBT seeks to analyze and challenge these thoughts. The SAD sufferer first has to ask whether or not such thoughts are realistic. Is he so unattractive that people will actually laugh at him? Is he really too unintelligent to hold the type of conversation that occurs at a wedding? Such a realistic and logical evaluation of his thoughts will make him realize that he is mistaken, and he can try to replace such negative thoughts with more realistic and positive thoughts and perceptions about himself, which should ease his anxiety.

Relaxation exercises also can be used to control anxiety symptoms. An anxious person tends to breathe rapidly, which can often lead to more anxiety symptoms, such as increased heartbeat or hyperventilation. Breathing exercises can help return control and instill calm during an anxiety-triggering situation. Sit comfortably and start inhaling slowly through the nose for four seconds, hold it for two seconds and exhale slowly through the mouth for six seconds. Keep doing this for several minutes, and the anxiety will lessen.

Another way to overcome SAD is simply to face fears. Avoiding things one fears causes those fears to stay and become even more powerful. Facing fears straight on is not easy, but using proper methods, one can certainly do so. Systematic desensitization is used to eliminate anxiety disorder systematically and gradually. Take one step at a time, be patient, stay calm and gradually face one challenging situation at a time. In a group therapy session, one learns about the social skills and participates in role-playing, mock interviews and practices confronting those situations that make one anxious in real life. These sessions give everyone a chance to speak, share and listen to others who may be facing the same sorts of problems and fears. While this approach may not completely eliminate your fears, it will certainly make them more manageable.

Building better relationships, participating in outdoor activities, having a healthy and balanced diet and adopting positive lifestyle can help you to get rid of your anxiety disorder. If one can stay motivated and persistent, it’s possible to conquer fear. But if self-help doesn’t work well, seek the support and help of a psychotherapist or psychologist.

*This article has been contributed by Dr. Tali Shenfield, Clinical Psychologist

Categories: anxiety, anxiety disorder, anxiety symptoms, deal, Disorder, fears, overcome sad, social, social anxiety, social situations

Flying, Heights and Closed Spaces: Different Kinds of Phobia

People often say they have a phobia of something, but when does this exaggeration become a genuine health concern? Scientifically speaking, a phobia is defined as the unrelenting fear of a situation, activity, or thing that causes you to want to avoid it. Even though many people joke about having them, phobias largely go underreported. This is probably because if you perceive situations as threatening to your wellbeing, you’re more likely to just find ways to avoid them rather than report and confront your fear. Therefore, you have to take the statistics with a pinch of salt, but these illnesses have been thought to affect up to 28 out of every 100 people in all western countries. So, what are you scared of?

 

1. Social Phobia: This phobia – which also goes by social anxiety disorder – is categorised as an excessive fear of embarrassment in social situations. While none of us want to make a big social faux pas, social phobia is extremely intrusive on your wellbeing and can have a debilitating impact on your personal and professional relationships. This fear may cause you to avoid threatening social situations, such as public speaking and meeting new people.

 

2. Agoraphobia: Although this is mainly regarded as a fear of being outside, agoraphobia can also mean you fear being in a situation from which you either cannot escape or from which escaping would be difficult or humiliating. As with many – if not all – mental disorders, agoraphobia is caused by a number factors. However, the phobia tends to run in families and some people may even have a clear genetic factor contributing to its development.

 

3. Claustrophobia: This is probably the most famous phobia around, no doubt due to its common appearance on TV shows and in films. If you are claustrophobic, it means you have an abnormal and persistent fear of closed spaces, of being closed in or being shut in. This excessive fear is quite common, which is another reason as to why it’s so well known. The problem with modern life is that closed spaces are becoming more and more common, which means that avoiding stressful situations is becoming harder for claustrophobia sufferers. Confined spaces that trigger claustrophobia include lifts, tunnels or even small rooms.

 

4. Zoophobia: This is a general term that encompasses fears of specific types of animals, rather than being afraid of all animals or, indeed, the zoo – although you might want to avoid certain enclosures if you are afraid of an animal in particular! Under this umbrella term, you’ll find a zooful of beastly phobias, including arachnophobia (fear of spiders), ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), ornithophobia (fear of birds), apiphobia (fear of bees), and any other animal-specific fear.

 

5. Acrophobia: Again, this is a pretty well-known one. Acrophobia is an abnormally excessive and persistent fear of heights. While, in theory, a fear of heights is logical – after all, falling from them is no picnic – if you are acrophobic it means you have severe anxiety even when heights pose no threat to you. As a rule, sufferers usually know they’re safe deep down, but experience the fear nonetheless.

 

6. Aerophobia: If you have an abnormal and persistent fear of flying, this is called aerophobia. While a lot of people are uncomfortable with flying, the genuine phobia generally develops if you witness a plane crash or lose a family member in a plane crash or accident. As with acrophobia, sufferers experience severe anxiety even though they usually realise that their fear of flying is disproportionate to the threat it poses.

Categories: Acrophobia, Aerophobia, Claustrophobia, closed spaces, nbsp, people, phobia, plane crash, severe anxiety, social, social phobia, social situations