Symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder

Any disorder has its own symptoms, the same goes with social anxiety disorder or SAD. It is not that if you get occasionally nervous in social situations you have social anxiety disorder. Majority of people are self-conscious and shy but it doesn’t affect their everyday functioning. However, social anxiety disorder causes huge distress and interferes with the daily routine of a person.

For instance, it is normal to become nervous before giving a public speech but if you start worrying for many days or weeks ahead of a social event and find it hard to come out of it then you have fallen prey to social anxiety disorder. The main causes of social anxiety disorder are hereditary and neurobiological.

Also known as Social phobia, in social anxiety disorder you get anxious about social events and will go to any level to avoid getting yourself into that social situation. It is the fear of being judged, examined or feeling embarrassed in public. There are no abnormalities involved in a child who is shy, but children having social anxiety disorder experience tremendous stress while performing everyday activities such as reading in class, taking tests and the most common, performing in front of others.

The symptoms of social anxiety disorder can be divided into two parts—Physical symptoms and psychological symptoms.

Physical symptoms of social anxiety disorder: The physical symptoms are plenty and mainly include rapid breathing, upset stomach, nausea, dry mouth, twitching, clammy hands, and shaky voice, pounding heart or tight chest, dizziness or feeling faint, muscle tension, blushing and trembling or shaking.

Psychological symptoms of social anxiety disorder: The psychological symptoms are also many and are mainly characterized by:

• Avoiding social situations which restrict activities that cause various disruptions in life
• Anxiety in social situations and excessive self-consciousness
• Fear of acting in a way, which will lead to humiliation and embarrassment
• Fear that others will come to know that you are getting jitters
• Excessive worry for days, weeks and even for months prior to an upcoming social event
• Excessive fear of being judged or watched by others especially people who are strangers

A proven treatment of social anxiety disorder exists and includes deep relaxation techniques, cognitive therapy and others.