Tips for Overcoming Social Phobias

Life is sometimes a little funny. We tend to remember the defeats and the awkward moments rather than the good times. Some of us remember being the last kid picked for kickball or being rejected for a date. There are other things that we tend to remember that makes us want to curl up into a ball and just roll away.

And this is when social phobia comes in. You see, those who are suffering from social phobia are deathly scared of being judged as unworthy, being laughed at or even being ignored.

And if this is you, you probably know what I'm talking about. You feel that everyone in the room is watching and judging you on everything that you do. And you get so worried and so scared that you will find it close to impossible for you to go to a party, work conference, job training sessions or even attend classes at the University.

The worst thing is that those who have social phobia are too embarrassed to tell anyone about their condition. And this makes you feel more isolated than ever.

What about the symptoms of social phobia? Well, you may feel nausea, trembling, blushing or even stomachaches. You will notice that you cannot go to an event because you don't feel well. And you know it, nobody questions that excuse so it is safe to use whenever you don't want to face a situation like that.

Afterwards, you will be doing some self-talk about why you didn't go to that event (the one you made an excuse for). You typically will swear to yourself that the NEXT time this event happens, you will go. But darn it all! Your fear of social events is so overpowering that it makes it so hard to face down your fears. And you may feel so alone but I want you to know this... there are over 15 MILLION adults in the United States alone that has social phobia too!

No kidding!

Also, that number I just gave you might be a little low because a lot of folks who have the symptoms of social phobia never report it to their doctors. As I mentioned above, social phobia is considered embarrassing for a few reasons. Such as it is "unmanly" or "just a woman's problem." And so on...

You know what I mean. Here's another thing, social phobia occurs equally between men and women. Which is a little unusual because for most panic and anxiety disorders, the female suffers outnumber the males.

The worst thing that I can think about social phobias is the loneliness. You feel so alone and so angry about what you are missing. All your happy friends and family members. And not surprisingly, it is quite common for those who have social phobias to also exhibit symptoms related to depression. Many times, those who have social phobias will turn to intoxicants and illegal drugs to bury their feelings of inadequacies.

You got it. Social phobias generally lead to problems on top of new problems. And it can lead to unexplained absenteeisms from work that may end with losing your job. Then your self-esteem takes a hit because of that and you avoid going to job interviews because you are so afraid of the fears.

Other ways that social phobias can adversely affect your life is your close relationships and friendships. You can actually push them away when you need them the most. And if you don't share what you are going through to the important people in your life, they may write you off as rude, snobby or even a loner.

In a ironic way, having social phobia confirms what you suspected all along... that you are being judged by those who don't know or understand about your condition. So if you find yourself constantly saying "No" to dates, social get-togethers, making promises that you can't keep or just not being there... it is possible that you have social phobias. And having social phobias is a vicious cycle that can only be broken when you reach out for help. Either professional or self-help resources.

So how else can you overcome social phobias?

Well, the options is precription medication from your family doctor, hypnotherapy or counseling. Another alternative that you can look into that I recommend is Panic Away by Barry Joe McDonagh. You can find out more information about overcoming social phobias through his popular book that has literally recovered the lives of 1000s of folks all over the world.

Please Note: This article is copywritten material.