Anxiety Disorders (Social Anxiety)

Social Anxiety (Phobia)

Social Anxiety is the experience of fear and/or anxiety in social situations in which people think they may embarrass themselves or make a fool of themselves in some way.

There can be varying degrees of social anxiety. Many people can experience some form of anxiety when in a social situation. We all know the nervous anticipation we feel when we have to stand up in front of a group to speak, or give a presentation, or when walking into a social gathering where we don't know many people. 

A diagnosis of social anxiety is made if the fear and anxiety is effecting people to a degree that it is debilitating and restricting their life. For instance, if we feel fear and anxiety/panic only when we have to give a presentation in front of a group, (and we are not required to give presentations on a regular basis), then we may have a specific phobia of public speaking. If we fear we will embarrass ourselves or make a fool of ourselves, in some or all areas of our life, to the point where we experience intense anxiety and/or panic then a diagnosis of Social Anxiety could be given.

Common experiences and fears relating to Social Anxiety are

• Fear of embarrassing ourselves in some way    
• Fear that we may make a fool of ourselves in some way    
• Fear of doing, saying, acting the wrong way     
• Fear that others are scrutinizing us or judging us in a negative way   
• Fear of what others think of us    
• Feelings of inadequacy      Feelings of self-doubt       
•  Feeling uncertain and insecure     
• Feelings of self consciousness when in the presence of others      
• Feelings of shyness   May be sensitive to the words/actions/reactions of others    
•  Feel uncertain as to how to act or be around others    
• Self-chastisement, judging ourselves as being less then others e.g.. judge what we do as being not good enough, thinking our self as stupid

Other 

As a result of these feelings, many people find that they start to avoid certain situations or endure intense anxiety in social situations. These include:

Fear of public speaking (includes making a presentation, talking to a group of people, speaking at a social occasion eg. wedding)

• Fear of social occasions eg. Christmas gatherings, dinner at a restaurant, party   
• Fear if initiating or maintaining conversations     
• Fear of doing an activity in front of others eg. photocopying while others wait, using the ATM machine   
• Fear of being watched at work      
• Fear of writing or signing documents in front of others     
• Fear of eating and/or drinking in front of others   
• Fear of being in a crowd     
• Fear of a general social/ group situation where the fear is others will watch or judge us.       
• Fear of indirect evaluation by others    
• Fear of shaking hands

People with social anxiety can have panic attacks specific to their fear in social situations and  experience symptoms of anxiety.