Social Anxiety Disorder

For some people, everyday social situations can cause extreme anxiety, fear and self consciousness. Someone may go to extreme lengths to avoid social contact including going to the grocery store, meeting strangers or even giving presentations in meetings.

When such anxiety is extreme, you may have social anxiety disorder. It is a mental health condition that may cause irrational fear of activities or situations where you believe that others are watching your every activity.

Causes of Social Anxiety Disorder

Research is still in progress as to the exact causes of social anxiety disorder. Some of the causes may include:

• Genes – Social anxiety disorder seems to run in families. However, it is not known if this is due to hereditary genes or anxious behavior learned from other family members.
• Biochemistry – Natural chemicals in the body may cause the condition. Serotonin is an example of such chemicals and people with social anxiety disorder seem to be extra-sensitive to serotonin levels.
• Fear responses – the brain contains a structure called amygdale. This is though to have a role in controlling the fear response. People with an overactive amygdale may have heightened fear response.

Symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder

There are emotional, behavioral and physical symptoms of the condition.

Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms

These include:

• Avoiding situations where you are the center of attention,
• Worrying that others notice you look anxious,
• Intense fear of strangers or new situations,
• Avoiding speaking out of fear of embarrassment , and
• Fear of being judged

Physical Symptoms

These include:

• Profuse sweating,
• Stomach upset,
• Confusion,
• Diarrhea
• Trembling or shaking and a shaky voice,
• Difficulty making eye contact and blushing, and
• Nausea

One is also likely to have a low self esteem, poor social skills, hypersensitivity, and trouble being assertive. You may make the situation worse by worrying about having social anxiety disorder.

Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder can be a lifetime condition. Treatment involves controlling the symptoms and increasing your confidence in social situations. There are two main treatment methods, medication and psychotherapy in the form of cognitive behavior therapy.

Psychotherapy

Cognitive behavior therapy has been shown to be effective in controlling the condition. In this type of therapy, it is thought that your thoughts determine how you behave and react. In this therapy, one is taught how to recognize and change negative thoughts.

You may also be gradually exposed to the situations that you fear the most. This is thought to allow you to become better skilled at coping with the anxiety inducing situations.

Medication

Your doctor may also prescribe medication to reduce the anxiety symptoms. The medication may include anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medication and beta blockers. One should note any unpleasant side effects.

Most of the time, social anxiety disorder treatment will involve the use of both methods. For some, the symptoms may fade over time and medication treatment is not necessary. Others may need to take the medication for years.

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