'Anxiety' is an umbrella term used in the mental health sciences to describe a wide variety of individual anxiety disorders. One of these disorders is known as social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, which affects between 7 and 8% of Americans at any given time.

On the face of it the symptoms of social anxiety disorder sound like shyness, something that most of us experience in social situations at some point in our lives. However, social anxiety disorder sufferers experience something much more profound than simple shyness; their condition inhibits their lives, makes them deeply unhappy and can hinder their progress and uptake of opportunities because of their fear of socializing with other people.

This specific condition is characterized by a fear of social situations. Someone with social anxiety disorder often dreads socializing or going places where there is a chance that someone will engage in conversation with them. They may avoid social situations or put up with the feelings of awkwardness and intense discomfort when they do go to somewhere social, but the fact is that they find it difficult to socialize normally as many people do. This can be for any number of reasons, for instance paranoia about a speech impediment they might have. In many cases people do not have a speech impediment when talking normally, but when talking to a stranger their nerves cause the impediment to show itself and it is fear of this happening that puts them off. Embarrassment often features heavily in the mind of someone with social anxiety disorder too, as does blushing; a physiological reaction which we often have no conscious control over.

Unfortunately for sufferers of social anxiety disorder the best thing that they can do to help themselves is to visit a professional therapist, trained in cognitive behavioral therapy and other ways to overcome various anxiety disorders. Of course, this means talking to a stranger, but it is the first step in overcoming an illness that can take over your life and make you unhappy when it's wholly unnecessary.

The most important thing to keep in mind if you have a friend, relative or colleague who is suffering from social anxiety disorder is to not try to push them too hard. Their condition will improve with exposure to social situations, but not if they are forced into them and when they are not at all ready. Remember that they will always try to resist but if you are going to try to help them through this properly then you need to be there for them, both in person and just out of contact when they feel they want to be alone. There are always other ways of communicating apart from face to face (via phone, email or text) and letting them know you are there for support when they go to the therapist for the first time, or when they go shopping will help immensely. Above all, let them know that you have been reading about social anxiety disorder and trying to understand what they are going through; this will arm them with the knowledge that they are not alone which is something that can boost confidence tenfold.

Stan Tian

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