Social anxiety is the fear of social situations and interaction with people. Social situations can be of any kind like an event, a family gathering, a party or function. People with social anxiety have a fear of public speaking. They have a problem in interacting with a large group of people. They are very self-conscious and lack self-confidence. They feel that everyone is constantly judging them and tend to overthink a lot. In social situations they get tensed and become anxious but they feel okay when they are alone. It is a very common problem but people tend to confuse it with shyness. Most people don’t even know about it.
Millions of people all over the world experience the ill effects of social anxiety. In India about 30 million people suffer from anxiety. In social anxiety disorder, fear disrupts their entire life. It affects their day to day activities. People can either be suffering from a specific social phobia of generalised social phobia. Specific social phobia means that they are afraid of a particular thing. For example speaking in front of a large group of people or meeting new people. Generalised social phobia means that they are afraid in all types of social situations.
Common social anxiety triggers include:
- Meeting new people
- Talking to other people
- Making phone calls
- Giving a presentation in front of important people
- Performing on stage
- Being criticised or judged by others
- Being the centre of attention
- Going to any kind of social event
- Introducing themselves to strangers
Whenever the land in social situations like the ones mentioned above yes start to panic and over thing and that’s when they’re in there in anxiety begins. They think too much like what to say, how to talk, how to behave, how to walk. They are afraid that they might say something stupid and embarrass or humiliate themselves in front of everyone else. They feel paranoid at all times and it messes up their mind. Entering a social situation triggered their anxiety.
Physical symptoms of anxiety include:
- Blushing
- Shaking
- Trembling
- Sweating
- Dizziness
- Increase in heart rate
- Mind going blank
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Urge to escape or leave
Behavioural Symptoms may include:
- Avoiding social situation
- Leaving early
- Focusing on themselves
- Trying not to draw too much attention to themselves
- Keeping quiet
- Not making eye contact
In these types of situations all they want to do is escape. They have this fear in their mind. They try to avoid social situations altogether. In many cases, social anxiety leads to depression. They experience suicidal thoughts. It disrupts their mind which in turn affects proper functioning of the body. People with social anxiety often rely on alcohol or drugs to face social situations. Doctors prescribe benzodiazepine for social anxiety and other anxiety disorders. They are not the treatment of choice as they are highly addictive. Sometimes people develop tolerance to the drugs. Social anxiety affects our life in many ways but it doesn’t have to.
Here are a few ways to cope up with the anxiety disorders:
- Avoid negative coping strategies
The negative emotional and mental states related to social anxiety can cause physiological symptoms that worsen a person’s anxiety and lead to further isolation.The person may be tempted to drink to feel better, but alcohol can actually increase anxiety. When people find themselves in an unavoidable social situation such as an office event, many people try to avoid the symptoms of their social anxiety through negative coping strategies for example- drinking alcohol. And at first drinking might seem like a good idea to reduce anxiety, it makes it so much worse. Researches have shown that heavy drinking causes bad moods, increased anxiety etc. Besides medication, leading a healthy lifestyle helps in reducing social anxiety.
- Facing your fears
People who experience social anxiety try to avoid engaging in social situations by constantly checking their phones. People pretend to use their phone to get out of talking with someone at a social event. Our smartphones act like a tool that helps people escapes social situations. If you are hiding behind a smartphone you are simply avoiding the social situation. It may seem scary at first but it is better to face social anxiety than running away from it. Slowly and gradually you will get comfortable in facing social situations.
- Reframe your thoughts
Another coping strategy for social anxiety is to try and reframe the thoughts of the stress you are experiencing. You should think positive and face the situation. It is a proven fact that if a person understands how their body reacts to certain situations like public speaking, they experience less stress in uncomfortable social situations. When we feel stressed it just means that our body is preparing for a situation. You should counter your fear with positive and affirming thoughts.
- Do something nice for someone
A good way to take the edge off being in a social situation is to try and distract you from all the worries and negative thoughts by doing something nice for someone else.Kind deeds can have a positive impact on mood. When we do good things for someone else it activates a brain area linked with the motivation and reward cycle. Selfless acts could help people who have social anxiety feel more at ease in social situations.
Anxiety 