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Mental Illness: Anti-Social? It Could Be Social Anxiety Disorder
If you have an overwhelming feeling or self-consciousness
and anxiety in social settings that most people are fine in then
you might have social phobia, otherwise known as social anxiety
disorder. People suffering from this disorder feel like they are
being judged and watched intensely by others and think that they
think horrible thoughts about them. They are afraid that they
will embarrass or humiliate themselves in front of people when
they meet them. This can seriously interfere with daily life
such as school, work, relationships, and activities of daily
living. Even though most people with social anxiety disorder
know they’re feeling are not valid and excessive they cannot
seem to manage or control them. When they a function they have
to attend they can worry for months or weeks waiting for the
dreadful day.
Social anxiety disorder can range in its behavior. Some
individuals may only suffer from a specific fear such as eating
or drinking, speaking, or writing if others are around or
watching. Some people have a fear or going to the bathroom in a
public restroom. This can be as serious as causing physical
sickness or weakness to the bladder because of the anxiety
involved, while some people are fearful in all social situations
and is never comfortable. The normal daily activities that most
people take for granted are so horrifying and worrisome of
social phobias it can be physically debilitating. This illness
can cause people to miss work or school if they fear they will
have to get up and be seen or noticed. Many persons with social
phobia may have problems with relationships and can find it very
hard to meet and keep friends. Even when the person has friends
they may not be able to enjoy going out with then or being with
them in large crowds of other people who might be less known.
Some of the common symptoms include:
● blushes often in social situations
● profuse sweating when anxious
● trembling when approached or spoke to
● nausea as anxiety increases and possibly vomiting
● extreme difficulty talking
You may be extremely embarrassed by all of these symptoms if you
have social phobia. It can feel like there are million people
watching you all the time and you can’t get away. You might even
be able to stand being around your own family for fear of
ridicule and rejection. This is a common irrational fear that
with out medication cannot be controlled. Even if you tried to
face what fears you have the anxiety level before can be almost
debilitating and can linger through out the whole experience.
The anxiety can also linger after wards and keep you feeling
scared and anxious for weeks or months. Affecting approximately
5.3 million American adults with men and women being affected
equally, social phobia usually starts to develop in childhood or
the early teens. There is belief that social anxiety disorder
can also be hereditary so if a family member has it you are at a
higher risk of developing it as well. Because of the nature of
the severe anxiety people with this disorder have a higher risk
of self-medicating with drugs and alcohol to try to relax and
calm down. This only leads to worse problems and possibly
addiction. To treat this disease one need to see a doctor and
seek psychotherapy and/or medications.
There is hope and treatment for those persons who suffer with
social anxiety disorder. There have been more and more drugs
capable of helping control the feelings one may suffer with. The
antidepressants Paxil and Effexor are excellent and wide used to
help suffers of social phobia. It can take two to four weeks for
the medications to start to take effect and it can also take
some time to find the right dosage that works the best with the
least side effects. The user needs to always follow the
instructions on the prescription and take the medication every
day. If the side effects are too bad or there is no improvement
in four weeks call your doctor. Many patients will have to
continue medications for months, years, or even a lifetime.
Another important aspect is therapy. Most doctors use
cognitive-behavioral therapy that changes the individual’s
cognitive thinking patterns to help them eventually face fear in
all social situations without debilitating anxiety.
About the Author
Ainuddin Mohamad is the Webmaster of
http://InsaneMind.com
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