Social Anxiety Support

Before you start looking for a social anxiety support group you first need to have a better understanding of what social anxiety is and how it can affect a person. Social anxiety can best be described as a feeling of fear or excessive nervousness when a person interacts with others. It can occur when you are meeting someone for the first time or it can even occur as a result of the anticipation of meeting them. For most people, the fear is that they will in some way not measure up to the other person standards and may be looked down on or laughed at.

Click here to find out about the Panic Puzzle and how it can help you

Typical physical reactions are similar to any other type of anxiety disorder and include palpitations, sweating, a racing heartbeat and shortness of breath. There are also a similar series of mental actions going on at the same time including such thoughts as “They will see that I am nothing but a loser” or “what am I doing here, I don’t belong with this crowd they are so much better than me.” These self destructive thoughts can lead to several different anxious behaviors which frequently act as a way to avoid being in these situations. These anxious behaviors can include, but are not limited to: totally avoiding social situations, only entering into “safe” places with “safe” people, and avoiding conversations by listening to a personal MP3 player or talking on your mobile phone.

In essence if you have a social anxiety issue you will do almost anything you can to avoid being in a social situation where you feel like you have no control or are going to be judged by another person. Other areas that can be affected by a social anxiety disorder are; simple pleasures in life like going out on a date or attending a party. You may also face the thought of public speaking or singing with so much dread that in the end you will be unable to perform when the time comes.

Much like any anxiety disorder, there are many factors that can lead to you having a social anxiety disorder. There may be genetic or biological factors at play whilst for some people their anxiety may be the result of a traumatic experience that has occurred at some time in the past. According to a study surveying some 9,000 Americans which was completed in 2005, approximately 12% of the public will most likely suffer from a significant level of social anxiety in their lives.

There are many different ways to help you learn to first understand, then cope with and finally overcome your social anxiety problems. The first thing you need to do is seek the advice of a professional to help you find out what is causing the problem in the first place. Like most anxiety issues there is usually a root cause for your anxiety and until you find out what it is, you cannot begin the road to recovery. In some cases, Zoloft or Paxil may be prescribed to help you with the depression and anxiety until you have a chance to learn how to control these feelings yourself. Once your anxiety levels are at a tolerable level you can begin to use meditation and other relaxation techniques as a way to relax your mind before you must enter one of these social situations.

CBT has been used successfully to help people relearn the power of positive thinking and how it can help them learn to cope with any anxiety that may come up in their lives, including social anxiety. Being able to overcome your social anxiety involves training your mind to stop thinking in the negative and to start believing in yourself. There are social anxiety support groups that can help you learn the social skills you may be lacking in due to your lack of social interaction. This will make it much easier to finally enjoy going out in public and interacting with the world at large.