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Overcoming Social Phobia and Social Anxiety Disorders

Overcoming Social Phobia and Social Anxiety Disorders

Nobody forgets those moments of anxiety when they were left out. For instance, when picked last for kickball as a kid or being the only one left with the chaperons at the school dances. There are similar situations that apply to you and boy, those memories make us want to fade away into the wallpaper…

That’s for sure!

However, for some people… these events can be so traumatic that they don’t want to repeat it. And so for folks with social phobia… they really do fade way from being in contact with others because they are so afraid of being rejected again. In short, people that suffer from social phobia are so scared of being judged as insignificant, unworthy of attention, being laughed at or shunned.

Another thing to be aware of is these folks also imagine that everyone in the room is watching them and judging them. And because of this… many sufferers of social anxiety disorders are extremely reluctance to go to parties, business conferences, training sessions or even to attend classes at school.

This is something to keep in mind if someone you know keeps making excuses not to go where there are people…

And because this fear of social phobia can get so overwhelming… it is enough to prevent that person from going to school or work.

Here’s the thing… the BIGGEST problem these sufferers of social phobia has is… admitting it! Yes, they are so embarrassed about it that they have a very hard time telling those who are close to them about their condition or even seeking help for overcoming social phobia.

Some of the common symptoms of social phobia can be nausea, trembling, blushing and internal disturbances. These symptoms can be cause just by the fear of going somewhere that people are. So it falls into an excuse that you are too “sick” to go. Which is a perfect excuse when you think about it because rarely anyone questions someone being sick. It always falls into the too much information zone.

But here is the thing, you know that your fears of being rejected or shunned by people isn’t realistic and you talk to yourself that next time… next time you will go! But you don’t and it’s no surprise… social phobia is a very hard condition to overcome on your own.

Guess what? Over fifteen million adults in the United States is estimated to have social phobia. It isn’t rare! Lots of people have this problem and the silver cloud in the lining is that you have the power for overcoming social phobia within yourself. (I’ll talk about this at the end of this blog post).

Experts suspect the REAL number of sufferers is much larger because of the simple fact that most people who have it never seek help. Again, it is an embarrassment issue… which to me makes no sense. Why should you suffer needlessly if you can fix it forever and live a normal life again?

Here is another fact about social phobia… it affects equal number of men and women. It isn’t a gender specific condition… and that means many men won’t seek help because it is an unmanly thing. Unfortunately, it also means that guys are more likely to suffer from this condition until they seek help.

To me, most of the success and comforts of human life is being social. Having good friends and caring family to turn to for comradeship, warmth and fun. So if you find yourself missing out… because of your fears… it is very, easy to get depressed and angry about spending a lot of time alone.

And many folks turn to illegal drugs or alcohol to forget their inadequacies and fears.

Which of course just adds on to your problems… you start missing more and more work and lose it. Your self confidence takes a beating and you start to avoid making it to a job interview…

And on and on it goes into a downward spiral.

This is a horrible way to not admit that you may have a social phobia and seek help for it… so you can move on and life live the way it is supposed to be lived.

Social phobia also has other ways to insidiously ruin your life. It can affect friendships… at the time when you really need someone to lean on. Folks can write you off as a loner, snob, or a rude person when you don’t show up.

When this happens… the vicious cycle of the fear of being rejected comes home. You ARE being judged and rejected for sure now!

The only way out is to admit your fears and seek help. Reach out to your closest friends or family. Overcoming social phobia can be done with prescription medication, hypnotherapy or professional counseling.

Good luck and please seek help,

Kate

P.S. BTW, I always urge my readers to seek medical advice from their family doctors for the correct diagnosis. And for those that do… your doctor may recommend prescription medication or therapy. However, I recommend that you check out Panic Away for overcoming social phobia. It is a very effective program that has helped 1000s of regular folks get their normal life back… including me.