Social Anxiety-What exactly is it?

 Hey! Welcome back everyone!

Social Anxiety.

A lot of us are more or less familiar with this term. We've heard it at school, we've heard it at parties-however, a lot of us have often used this as an interchangeable term with "shyness".

I saw this getting very common hence thought, why not help clear out some confusions we have about this topic?

First thing first,

What is "Social Anxiety"?

We all recognize the sensation of being frightened or uncomfortable in a social situation. Maybe you’ve clammed up when meeting a new person  or gotten sweaty hands before presenting a big presentation. Public speaking or walking right into a roomful of strangers isn’t very exciting for anybody, however most people can get through it easily-unlike the case in people having Social Anxiety.

Social anxiety disorder, sometimes also known social phobia, is an type of anxiety disorder that causes extreme fear and fright in social situations. 

People suffering from it tend to have difficulty in talking to people, meeting new people and an overall consternation of attending social gatherings. They fear being judged or scrutinized by others. They are inclined to classifying their fears as unreasonable or irrational but are powerless to overcome it.

In most cases it avoids you from "living your life" as it restricts you from socializing with people. One may avoid situations that most people consider "normal." They might even have a hard time understanding how others can handle them so easily.

What's the difference between Social Anxiety and Shyness?

In simple terms, shyness is a temporary feeling which doesn't have a disrupting impact on your life unlike Social Anxiety.

Shyness is a personality trait.

Social Anxiety can be persistent and debilitating.

A key determinant in setting apart a personality trait from a mental health condition is the effect that it has on the character’s calibre of life. So in the case of shyness and social anxiety, a person who's shy can be more reserved in social settings, and experience awkwardness for a while or anxious regarding initial interactions. These emotions usually deplete because the individual grows more comfortable and acquainted with the situation. While a shy person might also additionally usually keep away from the spotlight, being shy does not keep them from engaging with the people around them, attempting new things, or having close relationships.

For a person living Social Anxiety , their tension around interactions with others can be the cause of intense and obvious physical symptoms, and pressure them to isolate or otherwise restrict themselves in order to keep away from those reactions. This results in a dwindled quality of life for the person with Social Anxiety as they slowly cut themselves off from people, places, or activities that they could in any other case enjoy in order to discover some relief from their symptoms of anxiety.

I'm not going to give any tips on how to overcome it because this case differs from person to person and not all techniques can be applied to each individual. 

If you're a friend of a person you know living with Social Anxiety, try acknowledging their feelings-they're already going through hell in their heads. Even if they ask you for the smallest thing, for example, asking a teacher a question they're too afraid to ask, do it. It takes them a lot of courage to even ask for that.

Lets help each other.

That was it for today's post! Hope y'all enjoyed it! I'm going to do a fun Q&A soon so drop your questions in the comments below! 

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Signing off,

Kuhu :)