Social anxiety also known as social phobia is an and overwhelming fear of social situations.
It’s one of the most well-known and common conditions in Anxiety.
It can be a very intense fear and anxiety over everyday activities, such as Shopping, Going to Work, Travelling on Public Transport, Meeting people.
Sometimes people will worry about certain social situations, which is perfectly normal. However someone with Social Anxiety or Phobia will worry to the extreme about them before, during and afterwards. They will often build up thoughts of doing or saying something that they think appear as if they are embarrassing or humiliating themselves , like Blush or start to Sweat or even appear as if they are incompetent.
Social Anxiety Disorder is a complex Phobia. It is likely to result in a disruptive or disabling impact on one’s life. It can severely affect a person’s self-belief and self-esteem and have an impact with family and friend relationships and impair performance at work, school or sport.
Social anxiety is likely to start in early childhood or adolescence and tends to be more prevalent in women than man. It’s a recognised disorder that can be effectively treated with Clinical Hypnotherapy.
Signs of Social Anxiety
Teens and adults with social anxiety disorder may dread everyday activities, such as:
- Meeting Strangers or Figures of Authority
- Public Speaking or Presenting to an Audience
- Conversing on the Telephone
- Going to Work or being at Work
- Eating or Drinking with company
- Shopping
- Playing a particular Sport
Mental and Physical Symptoms of Social Anxiety
The fear of a social situation can sometimes build up to a panic attack, where you feel an overwhelming sense of fear, apprehension and anxiety. This usually only lasts a few minutes.
You may also experience physical symptoms, such as feeling sick, sweating, trembling and heart palpitations. These symptoms often reach a peak before quickly passing.
Although these type of symptoms can be alarming, they don’t cause any physical harm.
Many people with social anxiety disorder will also have another mental health problem, such as:
- Nausea
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Racing Heart
- Palpitations
- Headache/Migraine
- Fainting
- Vomiting
- Feeling of feeling unreal.
- Depression
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Panic Disorder
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Alcohol and or substance misuse as direct result of the social anxiety
What causes social anxiety disorder?
Social Anxiety Disorder is most likely the result of learned behaviour or environmental factors. In some case it can also be genetic and you’re more likely to have social anxiety disorder if a close family member is affected. However, the exact nature of the relationship between genetics and learned behaviour is not clear.
It’s possible the behaviour of parents may have some kind of influence on whether their child will develop social anxiety disorder. If you have anxious parents, it may often affect your ability to cope with anxiety during childhood, adolescence and adulthood.
Some examples of people with social anxiety disorder often describe their parents as:
- Overprotective
- Show little affection towards them
- Constant criticism
- Excessive importance of manners and grooming
- Over exaggerated danger of approaching strangers
Social Anxiety (Social Phobia) Help Hypnotherapy
Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy and Counselling can be used in combination to successfully treat social anxiety and social phobia.
