How to Overcome and Get Rid of Social Anxiety Disorder

 Symptoms Signs and Treatment

Getting rid of social anxiety disorder starts by knowing the symptoms and signs. Some of the most common symptoms of social anxiety disorder are, sweating profusely, nausea, dizziness, heart palpitations, panic attacks and obviously, the fear of public places with severe shyness.

Common treatments for social anxiety disorder are zoloft, paxil and effexor. Some people have reported great results with these medications while others have experienced no relief with the help of them. Ultimately the choice is up to you and your doctor. As a social phobia sufferer myself, I believe the greatest results to find relief and a speedy recovery are through social anxiety disorder self-help methods, as opposed to meds or psychiatric therapy. If treatments are unattainable, which most are for people, a self-help approach is the next best option.

Most people have felt awkward or embarrassed in a social or performance situation at some point in their lives. However, people with social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia) experience much more symptoms than this. They go through life feeling extremely uncomfortable or paralyzed in social situations because they intensely fear being scrutinized or embarrassed.

So they either totally avoid social encounters, or face them with dread and endure them with intense distress. Although social anxiety disorder is often dismissed as shyness, studies have shown it to have a chronic and unremitting course that is characterized by severe anxiety and impairment.

It is difficult to estimate how many individuals actually have social anxiety disorder, as most people with the condition do not seek professional treatment for their fears. Social anxiety disorder was thought to be a rare and usually mild condition until the 1980s, when it was recognized as a separate disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
 
Then in the 1990s, several epidemiological studies suggested that social anxiety disorder was associated with significant impairment and was far more prevalent than initially thought. In fact, by this time, it was considered one of the most common mental disorders. Because few people are formally treated, however, epidemiological population-based studies are really the only way to estimate the prevalence of social anxiety disorder and the burden it can impose.

The most commonly feared situation for people with social anxiety disorder was performing or giving a talk, but many reported facing several other situations with anxiety; for example, meeting new people, talking to authority figures, or entering a roomful of people. The majority with social anxiety disorder reported fearing 10 or more of the 14 social situations covered by the CCHS, and close to 95% feared 5 or more. For half of the situations, women were slightly more likely than men to report a fear.

Knowing that you are afraid of these feelings more so then the social situations is one of the best self-help tips for social anxiety disorder. "The fear of social public places is the fear itself". Ask yourself, do I have social anxiety; am I truly afraid of people in public? or am I afraid of what will happen to me while in public?. Social anxiety self help is the best way for a fast recovery, educate yourself on social phobias, and know what the signs and symptoms are and ultimately, what you are truly afraid of.

Most often a person is more afraid of the feelings that they will experience while in a public place and not the people themselves, such as having a panic attack or passing out.