ANXIETY DISORDERS
Social Anxiety Disorder
What Does Social Anxiety Disorder Feel Like?
Imagine walking into a room full of people. Or running into a group of your friends at a cafe.
A nerve racking experience for some, but for those with Social Anxiety Disorder, this ordeal triggers waves of excruciating fear and anxiety.
One diagnostic feature of Social Anxiety Disorder is the experience of disproportionate fear or anxiety in social situations, from the fear of being judged or criticised by others. Ordinary social situations like maintaining a conversation, eating, drinking, or even just walking into a clothing store can be extremely anxiety-inducing.
Individuals suffering from social anxiety fear that they may be negatively perceived by others.
They feel afraid of behaving in a manner that may be perceived as embarrassing or humiliating. And sensitive to how others may perceive them, they fear rejection or offending others.
What is Social Anxiety?
Credits: Osmosis from Elsevier
One common (and unhealthy) coping mechanism is choosing to avoid social situations. If a social situation cannot be avoided, such as a work function or a family gathering, sufferers are often forced to endure the situation with intense fear and anxiety. These experiences are debilitating and they face immense struggles in their personal, work and social life (if you know someone suffering from intense social anxiety, please be kinder to them!).
Can Social Anxiety be Addressed?
Psychotherapy is available for social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety disorder responds well to a combination of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Exposure Therapy. CBT helps by allowing us to recognise our thoughts and images that trigger our fears and/or anxiety to social situations, and teaches us to shift attention away from ourselves. Exposure Therapy is allows the confrontation of fears in a graded and gradual manner. This helps us learn that we are not only capable of functioning in social situations, but also it’s maybe not as frightening as we imagined.