It is very natural to feel nervous and anxious in unfamiliar social situations. But it’s different for people who suffer from social anxiety disorder. For them, everyday social interactions cause irrational anxiety, fear, self-consciousness, and embarrassment.
Social Anxiety can be defined as a chronic mental health condition in which social interactions cause irrational anxiety. You have a persistent fear of messing up in front of people or being disliked by them. Because of this, you might end up actively avoiding any and every kind of social gathering.
Social anxiety can often be dealt with on your own but if it’s causing a hassle in your lifestyle then you must seek help. People with social anxiety take time warming up to the presence of others and must be dealt with gently.
Symptoms of Social Anxiety
Comfort levels in social situations vary from individual to individual, depending on personality traits and life experiences.
Social anxiety is drastically different from everyday nervousness; social anxiety disorder includes fear, anxiety, and avoidance that interfere with daily routine. Social anxiety disorder typically begins in early adolescence, though it can sometimes start in younger children or in adults. Symptoms of social anxiety disorder can include:
- A persistent fear of situations in which you may be judged like social gatherings.
- Consistently worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself in front of others
- Intense fear of interacting with strangers or meeting new people.
- Avoiding any kind of situation where you might end up being the center of attention
- Severe anxiety in anticipation of a feared activity or event
- Overthinking on repeat after a social situation analyzing your performance and flaws in your interactions
- Expecting the worst from a negative experience during a social situation.
- Feeling Blank. It is a strong feeling that envelops your body in which you feel extremely numb to everything happening around you. An extreme feeling of loneliness sets in even though the individual is surrounded by friends. People with social anxiety often feel this in most social situations.
Physical Symptoms:
Social anxiety often has some physical signs and symptoms which are often accompanied with its emotional symptoms. These physical signs of social anxiety can be:
- Blushing is a sudden rush of blood in the body evident through the reddening of cheeks.
- Heart Palpitations are your heart beating too fast or out of rhythm because you are anxious or nervous.
- Trembling and Sweating. Your body can suddenly start trembling and profusely sweating if you are scared or nervous around someone or with something.
- Upset stomach or nausea. Feeling queasy while anxious is a very common symptom and the experience is very uncomfortable.
- Shortness of breath. You might all of a sudden find yourself struggling for breath when your social anxiety is acting up. This is also known as hyperventilation and is very common in anxiety patients.
- Dizziness or lightheadedness can also be experienced during anxiety where you feel faint and dizzy without any physical illness.
- Muscle tension. During an anxiety attack, your body might tense up or be semi-contracted for a little while. It is common in people who are stressed.
Social Anxiety signs and symptoms may change over time. They can flare up in stressful situations. If the symptoms are too severe then one should quickly seek professional help.
Treatment of Social anxiety:
Treatment depends on the severity of your social anxiety disorder affects your ability to function in daily life. The two most common types of treatment for social anxiety disorder are psychotherapy or medications or both.
Psychotherapy is talking about your issues with a professional who guides you and helps you cope with them. The therapy improves symptoms in most people with social anxiety as you learn how to recognize and change negative thoughts about yourself and develop skills to help you gain confidence in social situations. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most effective type of psychotherapy for anxiety, as it helps you alter your problematic behavior with constructive activities.
Another option is exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy, you gradually work up to facing the situations you fear most. This can improve your coping skills and confidently deal with anxiety-inducing situations.
If an individual suffers from severe social anxiety then medication is prescribed often along with therapy. Anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medicines are the most commonly prescribed drugs. Sometimes serotonin uptakes are also given to the individual.
How to deal with social anxiety at work?
Dealing with social anxiety disorder ( SAD) at work involves recognizing the day-to-day impact of the disorder on your work and identifying solutions.
You should first get diagnosed by a medical professional specialized in this and receive the prescribed treatment. This is the first step toward managing your anxiety symptoms.
As networking is important in almost every job now one must strive to expand their comfort zone. It might be helpful to start with building a rapport with your colleagues.
Informing your employer may also help in that you may receive accommodations to help you do your job better.
Feel free to reach out to us for counseling and psychotherapy sessions from our trained psychologists, and psychotherapists.