Social anxiety or social phobia may have you afraid of leaving your house if you know you will have to interact with people in any way.  This disorder can affect you and how you deal effectively with people as well as your family and friends.  This phobia can prevent people from living a normal life because of how it manifests itself within the person. Anyone suffering from this disorder has an overwhelming fear bordering on irrationality when it comes to interacting with people or even if they are in a position where people will be observing them. Social phobia tends to affect their life people to the point where they are unable to have an active, productive and healthy lifestyle.  This article will discuss how you know you may have social anxiety phobia and what you can do to get some help for it.

How Do You Know If You Suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder?

Social anxiety is the fear and anxiety of being judged and evaluated by other people. If a person becomes noticeably anxious during social situations, but does not have the same reaction in the comfort of their home, then social phobia may be the culprit to their uncomfortableness. When someone is suffering from social anxiety they are usually unable to function in normal social events. Their life is affected negatively because they may be afraid of certain people, cannot function in front of people and may not be able to interact publicly in front of or with their colleagues.

Read the rest of this entry

Social anxiety disorder is the third largest psychological problem in the United States today.  It affects 15 million people a year. People with this disorder are misdiagnosed frequently misdiagnosed and sometimes are labeled as being schizophrenic, manic-depressive, clinically depressed, have some type of panic or personality disorder. Horrible guess work by physicians and mental health professionals.  Not only does this disorder affect the person suffering with it, but also others that you may encounter.

For most people, it is difficult to make sense out of what the person is going through. Many people that know someone that is having social anxiety have no clue how to be supportive or even how to help them.  The best way to start helping people that suffer from a social anxiety disorder is to understand as much about the disease as you can.  Let’s begin by defining the term social disorder anxiety.

Why Is It Called Social Anxiety Disorder?

Read the rest of this entry

Shyness is not necessarily a problem unless you make it one. It’s okay if you need time warm up to new people and situations. However, you have to keep in mind that shyness can prevent you being as comfortable or sociable as you would like to be or see your being able to do so in social situations.  The goal of most shy people is to feel less shy so they can enjoy socializing and being themselves when around other people. Here are some tips to assist you in overcoming your feelings of shyness:

• Overcoming shyness takes practice. People who are shy tend to give themselves fewer chances to practice social behaviors that would help alleviate their shyness. It’s no wonder that people who shy away from socializing do not feel as socially confident as people who are outgoing because it’s obvious, they have less practice! The more you practice strategies to help with shyness, the easier it becomes and the more natural it feels to you.

• Take slow, steady steps forward. Going slow is OK. But be sure to go forward. Stepping back from any situations that might trigger you to feel shy can reinforce shyness and keep it at a level that’s hard to get past. Build confidence by taking one small step at a time.

Read the rest of this entry

What is shyness? There are a number of explanations for the term and the feelings linked with it. More than likely the best definition of shyness cannot be established.  Some experts and others think that shyness can be associated with some type of psychological disorder. However, you will be glad to know that shyness has been declared to not be a psychological disorder. This is insulting to the shy person.  Shyness is like beauty, how deep or extreme a person’s shyness is depends on the person and why. Shyness sometimes is only in the eye of the beholder. This article will explore some of the definitions assigned to someone that is known for their shyness.

Common Definitions For Shyness

Read the rest of this entry

Shyness is sometimes associated with our genes or even learned behavior. However, everyone can agree how important family is and how they shape us as people. There are many incidents within our family that can cause shyness among our family members.  If your parents were the kind that made statements or expressions such as, “Children should be seen and not heard”.  You may have grown up feeling that what you had to say was not important. Usually, this expression would come after being disorderly and it may have been that it was your parents’ way of quieting you down so as not to cause embarrassment for them.

Additionally, if your siblings were always teasing you, calling you names or telling you that sometimes say the stupidest things, you may have discovered to just keep your thoughts to yourself.  Another way that may promote shyness is that you were teased by other kids because you didn’t wear the latest brand name clothing or even wore hand me downs from your siblings. Kids can be cruel and if you were teased, this too could cause shyness or feelings of inferiority.

Our family is very important to us and therefore, can be very powerful in how we think and feel about certain incidents and situations.  Sometimes, what your family thinks or tells you about yourself, helps to mold your personality.  As you grow into adulthood, many of these incidents you have experienced or even some of the painful comments that have been made to or about you during your childhood can affect your future emotional health and well being.

Read the rest of this entry