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Social Anxiety
Social Anxiety or Social Phobia is defined as a
fear of being judged, criticised and evaluated by others. This
fear is recognised by the individual as irrational, but the fear
of judgment in social situation persists.
 People who experience Social Anxiety can find it difficult to
perform particular tasks while being observed such as writing,
eating or drinking. Doing anything where they feel attention is
drawn to them is likely to cause extreme self-consciousness.
People tend to avoid these situations out of a fear they will
embarrass themselves in some way.
Physical symptoms include: sweating, shaking, nausea, a
trembling voice and blushing. Some people experience a
panic attack. Mental
blanks or an inability to concentrate can also make conversation difficult.
After social interaction, the socially anxious person is
inclined to focus on what they think they should have done
better, rather than on any success. While the socially anxious
person fears being judged negatively, they can be their own
harshest critic. The pressure to 'perform' according to what are
often unreasonably high expectations is a major generator of
anxiety. Another generator is
low self esteem. This
stems from a belief they're not quite as good, deserving or
acceptable as others. To their thinking, there's no freedom to
simply be all that being human encompasses. This includes being
able to fumble, make mistakes and says
things that make no sense at all without being highly critical
of themselves.
Overcoming social anxiety involves addressing the
underlying belief system that prevents a person from behaving in
a spontaneous and natural manner. Where lacking, developing
social skills in a variety of settings is also of benefit.
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