What is social anxiety, you ask? Well, to put it simply you fear certain social situations and will go to any lengths to avoid them. This doesnt necessarily follow that youll be of a retiring nature and that you wont like social gatherings. It only means that certain specific social situations lead you to feel anxiety and sometimes to experience panic attacks. So whereas a person with a shy disposition might shirk all social gatherings, you could be the life of the party one minute with all eyes on you and loving it and the next minute something could happen to bring about your Social Anxiety. Perhaps you find yourself in a humiliating situation or you find yourself in a position from which you cant remove yourself and thats when your Social Anxiety symptoms will all kick in at once drowning you in their viselike grip. So what can you do about it?
A fairly new anxiety, Social Anxiety disorder was overlooked for quite a long while by the medical community as it was often confused with shyness. That being said, the drug companies havent been backward and there are as many Social Anxiety medications on the market as there are other anxiety medications although truly most anti anxiety drugs are suitable for all types of anxiety disorders. Only a very few drugs are completely anxiety specific, so a general mild anti anxiety medication will probably work just as well as specific Social Anxiety medications.
Unlike some other kinds of psychological problems, people with social anxiety are often misdiagnosed almost 80% of the time because it is not well understood both by general public as well as the medical professionals. Nevertheless, I cannot stress enough that you must determine that your complaints reflect the symptoms of a social anxiety disorder or otherwise. Treatment alternatives and medications for social anxiety disorder are well within your range; therefore, do not presume that your problem is an anxiety disorder before you have carefully analyse your conditions against the symptoms of social anxiety disorder.
The physical symptoms of social anxiety disorder are associated with two or more of the signs that are caused by persistent fear of worry, negative feeling of embarrassment and humiliation such as restlessness, feeling of fatigue, trembling and sweaty palms, lack of focus, muscle tension or sleep disturbance. There is a high possibility when you experience irritability, shortness of breath and intense anxiety and worry that suggest that you are suffering from a social anxiety disorder. The social anxiety symptoms closely resemble the ordinary shyness but they can be differentiated in terms of the intensity and extreme experience of anxiety and tension.
Social Anxiety medications however can fix these problems easily especially if caught in the early stages so you need not suffer for too long. However if youre unwilling to get on the medication bandwagon, there are always alternative treatments available for you. Therapy can also be a viable alternative to Social Anxiety medications and can help you greatly. Talk with your doctor about all your alternatives and find the right one for you. Social situations need not be embarrassing or excruciatingly painful affairs; and who knows you might just find yourself enjoying yourself for the first time in a long while if you can find the correct suitable cure for yourself.
