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eLearning Series: Mental Illness
Explain Mental Illnesses To Me
Social
Anxiety Disorder Symptoms
If
you have an overwhelming feeling or self-consciousness
and anxiety in social settings that most people are fine in
then you might have social phobia, otherwise known as social
anxiety disorder. People suffering from this disorder feel
like they are being judged and watched intensely by others
and think that they think horrible thoughts about them. They
are afraid that they will embarrass or humiliate themselves
in front of people when they meet them. This can seriously
interfere with daily life such as school, work, relationships,
and activities of daily living. Even though most people with
social anxiety disorder know they’re feeling are not valid
and excessive they cannot seem to manage or control them. When
they a function they have to attend they can worry for months
or weeks waiting for the dreadful day.
Social
anxiety disorder can range in its behavior. Some individuals
may only suffer from a specific fear such as eating or drinking,
speaking, or writing if others are around or watching. Some
people have a fear or going to the bathroom in a public restroom.
This can be as serious as causing physical sickness or weakness
to the bladder because of the anxiety involved, while some
people are fearful in all social situations and is never comfortable.
The normal daily activities that most people take for granted
are so horrifying and worrisome of social phobias it can be
physically debilitating. This illness can cause people to miss
work or school if they fear they will have to get up and be
seen or noticed. Many persons with social phobia may have problems
with relationships and can find it very hard to meet and keep
friends. Even when the person has friends they may not be able
to enjoy going out with then or being with them in large crowds
of other people who might be less known. Some of the common
symptoms include:
- blushes
often in social situations
- profuse
sweating when anxious
- trembling
when approached or spoke to
- nausea
as anxiety increases and possibly vomiting
- extreme
difficulty talking
You may be extremely embarrassed by all of these symptoms
if you have social phobia. It can feel like there are million
people watching you all the time and you can’t get away. You
might even be able to stand being around your own family for
fear of ridicule and rejection. This is a common irrational
fear that with out medication cannot be controlled. Even if
you tried to face what fears you have the anxiety level before
can be almost debilitating and can linger through out the whole
experience. The anxiety can also linger after wards and keep
you feeling scared and anxious for weeks or months. Affecting
approximately 5.3 million American adults with men and women
being affected equally, social phobia usually starts to develop
in childhood or the early teens. There is belief that social
anxiety disorder can also be hereditary so if a family member
has it you are at a higher risk of developing it as well. Because
of the nature of the severe anxiety people with this disorder
have a higher risk of self-medicating with drugs and alcohol
to try to relax and calm down. This only leads to worse problems
and possibly addiction. To treat this disease one need to see
a doctor and seek psychotherapy and/or medications.
There
is hope and treatment for those persons who suffer with
social anxiety disorder. There have been more and more drugs
capable of helping control the feelings one may suffer with.
The antidepressants Paxil and Effexor are excellent and wide
used to help suffers of social phobia. It can take two to four
weeks for the medications to start to take effect and it can
also take some time to find the right dosage that works the
best with the least side effects. The user needs to always
follow the instructions on the prescription and take the medication
every day. If the side effects are too bad or there is no improvement
in four weeks call your doctor. Many patients will have to
continue medications for months, years, or even a lifetime.
Another important aspect is therapy. Most doctors use cognitive-behavioral
therapy that changes the individual’s cognitive thinking patterns
to help them eventually face fear in all social situations
without debilitating anxiety.
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SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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