Social Anxiety

While facing potentially stressful situations, such as public speaking or a first date, have you ever had "butterflies" in your stomach? You probably have, since it's normal and expected to feel nervous before some social events. Also, while we all worry about what other people think of us from time to time, it's not common for people to feel nervous before everyday social interactions to the point where they feel anxious or avoid them altogether. But if one has social anxiety, even simple interactions can be hard. We can worry so much about what other people will think or how we might mess up that we can't do our best work.

People think that social anxiety disorder is caused by a complex mix of biological and environmental factors, just like most other mental health problems.

One thing is that people think anxiety disorders tend to run in families. If someone in your family has anxiety, you may be more likely to get it yourself.

People also think that social anxiety is something that can be taught. If something bad or embarrassing happens to you in a social setting, you might think of all social interactions as a reminder of how bad that one event was.

Lastly, brain scans showed that people with social anxiety disorder have an overactive amygdala. The amygdala is part of the brain that is in charge of the physical changes that happen in response to fear and stress. When the stress response is turned on, even if there is no real danger, it can cause a lot of anxiety and stress.

Doing something about one's social anxiety is imperative because it worsens an individual's life. It can hurt your job, your grades, and your relationships. You need to deal with your social anxiety disorder because it can lead to the following:

Poor self-worth and harsh judgements of oneself , which might develop after suffering the emotional or physical abuse of bullying, rejection, or being ignored. Social anxiety disorder makes you feel like you aren't as important to other people and that they won't like what you say when you talk. This makes you feel like you have less self-esteem. You tend to be critical and harsh with yourself and not see your good qualities.

Being assertive is hard because when people who should meet our needs don't, we get angry, frustrated, and disappointed. This will keep happening unless we tell each other what we need. If you have social anxiety disorder, you might sometimes feel like this, which is a mix of frustration and anger. You usually keep your feelings to yourself and don't tell others about them. Since people can't read minds, your needs are never met.

Those with social anxiety disorder are more vulnerable to the damaging effects of criticism, even when it is constructive, because of the heightened awareness they will get of being scrutinised.

Social anxiety disorder makes it harder to be assertive and talk to people verbally and nonverbally. Therapy and practice can help improve communication skills like making introductions, listening actively, getting over a fear of the phone, and accepting and giving compliments, all of which are important for getting along with other people.

While dealing with social anxiety disorder, it might be comforting to withdraw from interactions with others. It is hard to keep up with people, which can lead to loneliness and, in the worst cases, depression. People with social anxiety disorder sometimes start using drugs to be able to function in social situations. Isolation can also make it hard to do well in school or at work because you miss out on a lot of chances to improve yourself or show that you can do well in school or at work.

The first and most crucial step in resolving any mental health issue, including social anxiety disorder, is seeking assistance. It might be challenging, but it has to be done. Most people with this disorder had it for years before they got help, probably because they didn't know what was making them uncomfortable in social situations or didn't know how to deal with it.