Time appeared to stand still as I waited in my seat. My turn was soon to come, and my hands were drenched in sweat. My mind was racing as I was so nervous about what my other students would think of my speech. I tried desperately to keep my paper from rattling while trying to remember it one last time, My heart dropped as I heard the dreadful words “next”. Now every nerve in my body seemed like a strained harp-string ready to snap at a touch.Every, and or any change in my behavior, and movement was being closely watched by my peers. The upset feeling started to cloud my thoughts, as I tried to scramble the next words to convey. This was one of the hardest things for me to do, but in my case, anxiety disorders happened to be more than limited concern or panic. Many often mistaken mental disorders for weakness or self-indulgence, and because of the serious interior functional impairment social phobia can cause, help is usually not amiable. For many people Infrequent anxiety happens to be a average part of their life, and may not go away. Basically, all phobias are anxiety disorders, clumped in the same catagory as post-traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder. Anxiety disorders are, essentially, based on fear(Winnerman6). Social Anxiety Disorder (social phobia) “is the world’s third biggest mental health care problem today”(Richards1). Despite the brief anxiety, people with social phobia are typically introverts, silent, and not in favor of being the life of the party(Stein,Gorman1). Researchers have shown that there are “several parts of the brain that may be part of “anxiety, and fear; In fact, studies are looking for ways in which “anxiety, and fear” could be able to build better programs by searching for places on which mental anxiety, and outside factors could uphold a position(NIMH1). People diagnosed with “social phobia” happend to feel upset to their abdominal when surrounded by other people, and have a intense feeling of anxiety when surrounded by guest(NIMH1). Social Anxiety Disorders are psychological problems that are often undiagnosed because people are too afraid to ask for help. Some experts state this disorder “is a mixture of genetics and environment, while others state brain chemistry plays a bigger role ( Suszynski).” Although some people are more prone to anxiety than others, ‘researchers believe that some people have a biological exposure, such as an excessively active nervous system, that makes them more liable to anxiety”(Ssszynski).” You can acquire this exposure the same way you inherit anything else.
Most children are diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorders at an early age. Growing up, I was usually extremely anxious about being with other people, and I have had a hard time socializing. While in my public speaking class, I would convince myself that all eyes were on me, watching and waiting for me to make a mistake. I was terrified of doing or saying anything that would cause humiliation. According to Child Mind Institute “Children with social phobia are often inordinately fearful of criticism.” As a result, they may have a mental break-down or they may tear up when challenged with a postion that scares them.(Child Mind Institute1). This was fear so real that I wanted to avoid places where other people were, and wanted to avoid activities that involved others. As a result, I had a really hard time making and keeping friends. Social anxiety is the panic of social situations that include communication with other people(Richards1.) You could say that that the panic and fear I felt while being evaluated by my classmates was social anxiety. Because of my common disorder, social phobia had caused anxiety and fear in many aspects of my life. Such feelings can compromise average daily task such as work, and relationships. (NIMH1). I was in desperate need of help, and due to the interior illness of my disease, none was to be found. According to Dr. Thomas A. Richards, It is neurologically imbreded in the brain, and does not go away on its own. Only “honest cognitive-behavioral therapy” can get people over their social anxiety.(Richards2). National Institutes of Mental Health-funded studies address a very high accomplishment rate using cognitive therapy with a behavioral therapy group. Both are crucial to easing anxiety symptoms affiliated with social anxiety disorder. Cognitive Behavior Therapy helps teach an individual different ways of thinking, behaving, and reacting to situations that can help him/her feel less anxious and fearful.(NIMH4). Medication such as “anti-anxiety” and “antidepressants can help people with Social anxiety Anxiety and stress are a normal part of life so avoiding stressful situations is not the answer. In fact avoiding stressful situations will often make the child’s anxiety and nervous anticipation even worse.(Child Mind Institue1). Because people with social phobias are usually misunderstood, and neglected by the community, many do not receive treatment due to the stigma associated with social phobia.Luckily for me, I was diagnosed and treated using cognitive behavior therapy. For someone else, this is probably one of the worst mental disorders that an individual can have, because it is usually misunderstood and misdiagnosed. What makes the position even more vital is the fact that the disorder does not just come and go like other disorders, an individual is faced with it everyday of their life. Every Time that person has to go out anywhere or are put in a certain situation where other individuals are involved. The person has to endure this all the time, until they are treated. Unfortunately, most individuals do not know that they possessed with it, and, without some kind of treatment, social anxiety continues to ruin other people's lives. And if they finally do try to seek help, usually help is not amiable. In fact, this is the reality for over fifteen million American, but yet there is very little effort on trying to help them realize that they are not just introverted or shy, they really have serious interior illness. Hopefully, one day, this disorder will be researched and understood more.