My most appreciated achievement that that I take personal pride in is the fact that I am learning to overcome my Social Anxiety. The definition of Social Anxiety is: the fear of interaction with other people that brings on self-consciousness, feelings of being negatively judged and evaluated, and, as a result, leads to avoidance. Ever since I can remember, I have been afraid of social settings. In elementary school, I spent most of my recesses playing alone or with one friend that I felt very comfortable with. I gradually began to open up to others as I aged. As a sixth grader, I was obligated to deliver oral presentations. Back then, I would rather have gotten a zero than to give a speech in front of my peers. I avoided classes where …show more content…
Although I still despised giving speeches, I did not deliberately avoid my classes. When it was my turn to talk about my project, panic would set in. My face would flush and my words would start to tumble over each other. After the ordeal was over, I would request to be dismissed to the restroom to collect my emotions. In eighth grade I began volunteering to read aloud in my classes. I also started offering to present my projects before my fellow classmates. Both situations were terrifying, however by choosing when to show my project, I felt a narrow sense of control over my anxiety. Instead of focusing on the faces of the teens in my class, I would focus on pronouncing large words and making the article I was reading sound interesting. I decided that I was going to become even more daring when I entered high school. I found new ways to challenge and overcome my fear. Examples include Chorus and Drama. Chorus has been a monumental support system by giving me the reassurance that I did not have in junior high. In a chorus of people, every person is equal and every person is valued. I have learned to become more outgoing by reaching out to the friends I have acquired through music. I know now that I do not have to be nervous
While having a concert at Central Park in New York City, Barbra Streisand forgot the words to one of her songs, which caused her to not charge people for her singing for nearly 30 years in fear of forgetting the words again. Social phobia is one of the most common anxiety disorders, with a lifetime prevalence of 7%-13%. Many are affected by social phobia, or Social Anxiety Disorder. Social Anxiety Disorder is not genetically linked, the environment is what influences it.
Many of us had a stage in their lives when they were shy. Some will always be like this. While it might be considered as disadvantage, it's common and not surprising. But what if we're so embarrassed around other people that we start to avoid them, being in public makes us nauseous, and we have tremendous difficulty with even buying food in stone? What's more, it makes us feel worthless and totally destroys our social life... It's not a simple shyness anymore, even if many people would classify it as such. This problem, still not known very well, is called Social Anxiety Disorder. Hippocrates was apparently first human to notice symptoms of social anxiety, which was named social phobia for the first time in around 1900. It wasn't really known until 1985, when psychiatrist Michael Liebowitz and clinical psychologist Richard Heimberg done a research on this topic and made it more widely recognized. Moreover, it's actually world's third biggest mental problem - as The Kim Foundation claims, there are about 40 million people around 18 years old having this disorder. Psychologists researching causes of this phenomena. I am writing about social anxiety disorder, because I am trying to show you how it can change someone and why it's extremely difficult to live with it in order to explain how we can understand person suffering it, help him or her or recognize this disorder, so that we will know more about human psychology.
Almost everyone alive has a fear of something whether it be heights, spiders or even clowns. Some people however have more serious issues with their fears, fears that follow them almost everywhere they go, these fears are called phobias. It is estimated that 4 to 5 percent of Americans have some type of phobia, which is an irrational fear of situations and certain objects. There are over 500 known phobias; a very common phobia is social phobia.
A woman hates to stand in line in the grocery store because she's afraid that everyone is watching her. She knows that it's not really true, but she can't shake the feeling. While she is shopping, she is conscious of the fact that people might be staring at her from the big mirrors on the inside front of the ceiling. Now, she has to talk to the person who's checking out her groceries. She tries to smile, but her voice comes out weakly. She's sure she's making a fool of herself. Her self-consciousness and anxiety rise to the roof...(Richards 1) (1).
Social anxiety is a prevalent and common disorder amongst society. Social anxiety disorder is expressed as a fear in public and social situations for an individual (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf 2013). A person with social anxiety fears that a social appearance, outcome, or situation will lead a to negative response to their surrounding audience (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf 2013). However there are numerous treatments for social anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most efficacious treatments that a patient may receive (Hambrick, Weeks, Harb, & Heimberg, 2003. Cognitive behavioral therapy has numerous techniques that can be used on patients. The result of using cognitive behavioral therapy on patients shows that it has long-term and short-term effectiveness (Hambrick, Weeks, Harb, & Heimberg, 2003. In conclusion a patient with social anxiety disorder should have the opportunity to try cognitive behavioral therapy.
Having anxiety is common and a part of everyday life however; there is a huge difference between a fear and a social phobia or anxiety disorder. The difference and important distinction psychoanalysts make between a fear and a phobia is “a true phobia must be inconsistent with the conscious learning experience of the individual” (Karon 1). Patients with true phobias “do not respond to cognitive therapy but do respond well to psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy” (Karon 2). Social phobia is a serious anxiety disorder that should not be taken lightly or mistaken as a fear you will simply grow out of the older you get. Social phobia has the power to destroy lives and can prevent people from living and enjoying their life to the fullest. Social phobia is a disabling condition that often starts between the ages of early childhood and late adolescence. The origins of social phobia can be linked to “traumatic social experiences and social isolation” (Hudson118-120). Social phobia is treatable however; research and statics show that not many seek help.
The term social anxiety is, by most, not associated with being a serious, mental sickness. The common person usually thinks someone with social anxiety is simply not a “people person” However, social anxiety has been defined as either a disorder or phobia. Social Anxiety Disorder is an actual, underdiagnosed psychiatric disorder which should be recognized not as mere shyness, but a psychological illness with symptoms and treatments. It is a disorder which is becoming more and more prevalent as time progresses. Due to the technological advances and appliances that exist in the modern age, there has been an overall change in the average amount of social interactions that the everyday person may have. This leads to an exceeding amount of people who get nervous, frightened even, of being in any type of social situation. Just about half of Americans labels themselves as shy; mostly everyone has had stage fright at some point in his/her life. For a shocking amount of people, that sort of situation is dreadful (“Beyond Shyness and Stage Fright” 1). The stage fright “becomes a disorder when the resulting symptoms make individuals miserable or seriously interfere with their work, friendships, and family life. This crippling dread of certain personal encounters and social situations is called social anxiety disorder or social phobia, and it is increasingly understood to be a treatable condition” (“Beyond Shyness and Stage Fright” 1).
Social anxiety is the fear of interaction with other people that brings on self-consciousness, feelings of being negatively judged and evaluated, and, as a result, leads to avoidance.
Almost every day throughout high school I experienced something that I could not identify. It was over a year since I had graduated until could put words to emotion. I discovered that I was not free in my own mind. I was in a prison. One that I couldn't touch and for many years I could not see. After several visits to counselors and therapists I finally had the words to describe what my experience was.
Social anxiety disorder is also known as social phobia. It is defined as the fear of social situations that involve interaction with other people. It is the fear and anxiety of being judged and evaluated negatively by other people or behaving in a way that might cause embarrassment or ridicule. This leads to feelings of inadequacy, self-consciousness, and depression. The person with social anxiety disorder may believe that all eyes are on him at all times. Social anxiety disorder is the third largest mental health case issue in the world, and it can effect 7% of the population (15 million Americans) at any given time.
Stein MB, Fuetsch M, Müller N, Höfler M, Lieb R, Wittchen H. Social Anxiety Disorder and the
Social phobias are fears of being in situations where your activities can be watched and judged by others. People with social phobias try to avoid social functions at all costs and find excuses not to go to parties or out on dates. This avoidance is the difference between having a social phobia and simply just being shy.
Coming into speech class, I mentally and physically prepared myself for what was in store. I never really like giving speeches, especially impromptu speeches. Signing up for speech was hard for me to do because I absolutely did not want to take it and was considering not taking it in high school and wishing that I would never have to take it. My fears for COMM 101 was being judged. I am not really one to care about what people think about me, but something about public speaking gives me a fear that people will judge me if I stutter or not be able to complete a speech. I just wanted to do my best in this class and just breeze through this class and get it over with. Getting up in front of the class for my first speech, was petrifying for me
For over three years, I have suffered from social anxiety disorder and shattered my social life in the process. Social anxiety disorder, also known as social anxiety or social phobia, is a psychiatric disorder where the sufferer has a fear of being in social situations, and is unable to interact with other people. This might appear as bashfulness to those that lack understanding of the problem. However, this is a problem that is much more severe than that. Social anxiety has the potential to ruin peoples’ lives. By fearing other people, you become unable to communicate with them, and therefore you are unable to live a normal, everyday lifestyle.
At first, I dislike public speaking because I get stage fright standing in front of the whole class. Throughout this semester, I learned the proper format to write the outline of