Social Anxiety
Anxiety disorders are among the most common of all mental disorders and are not just an excessive amount of worry or feeling tense, they have the ability to significantly effect and interfere with ones capacity to go about everyday activities. If untreated, anxiety disorders can lead to depression or substance/drug abuse, however symptoms can be easily treated. Social anxiety in particular involves a high level of concern about certain and sometimes specific social situations and interactions. Social phobia can be easily confused with shyness, however the difference is significant, in that social anxiety is an extreme version of shyness and is accompanied by physical symptoms. Common avoidance situations for those who suffer this disorder include public speaking, meeting new people, being criticized or teased or using a telephone.
Symptoms
When a person who suffers from a social phobia is confronted with a fearful or concerning situation or even imagines one, there are several symptoms that can cause anxiety disorder symptoms, both mental and physical. The person may experience any or all of these physical symptoms; palpitations, trembling, sweating, tense muscles, dry throat, blushing, dizziness, sinking feeling in the stomach. Mental factors can include a feeling of inadequacy, overwhelming urges to 'escape' and extreme self-consciousness. Long term effects can result such as isolation from friends, family and community when avoidance of the worrying situations becomes extreme and a heavy reliance on alcohol or drugs begins.
Causes
As is the case with most other anxiety disorders, the single cause for social phobia is yet to be discovered nevertheless it is known that the disorder formulates during childhood or adolescence. In most cases it is a simple case of hypersensitivity that gradually grows throughout childhood, eventually reaching a state of social phobia. Generally speaking theories revolving around social anxiety can be categorized into three groups; hereditary causes, environmental causes and neurological causes. Hereditary causes involve the natural presence of anxiety to help us deal with and react to certain concerning situations becoming over excessive and incapacitating a person rather then helping them. Environmental causes, particularly during childhood, can play a huge role in the development of a social phobia, the role that the parent plays and how they behave will influence the child. It may also involve a recently founded cause that entails a chemical imbalance in the brain that causes a person to fear certain things more so than the average person.
Treatment
Treating social anxiety itself is easily achieved through panic attack treatment and involves focusing in on the specific areas that cause ones fear and anxiety. Although the disorder generally will stay with you for a lifetime, it can be controlled. A combination of medications to treat anxiety associated problems such as depression or addictions such as substance abuse and behavioral therapies is most effective in treating social phobia and anxiety.
