Social Anxiety Discussion Questions

Social anxiety, also known as social phobia, is a feeling of fear and discomfort of being judged badly by other people. Anyone can experience this at work, school, special events, and even at doing everyday things. Many people have experienced a feeling like this and that is normal. But having a social anxiety disorder can have a huge affect in someone’s life style. The effects of having disorder can lead to bad results in life.

Social anxiety is something I have always had although I did not always know what it was. I thought it was only something that those living under a rock and had never seen people had. I now know that anyone can have it. When I was a little kid, people would tell me what beautiful features I have and I would be so shy and self-conscious that I would hide behind my parents. My parents thought I was just shy but that was only part of it. I have failed many times and wasted many opportunities to expose myself to my anxiety and maybe even overcome it. Although I have always had social anxiety it only escalates the older I get. There was a time where I did not want to face my fears. I was told by not only my mom but many others that I would become agoraphobic. I never tried to get better. Ignoring “the monster” as I call

Current epidemiological data suggest anxiety disorders are the most prevalent type of childhood psychological disorders. Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD is described by excessive worrying about a variety of events, including those in the past, present, and future. Children with this disorder worry excessively about a number of issues, including past conversations or actions, upcoming events, school, family health, their own health, competence in sports or academics, and world events. Typically, children experiencing such excessive worry find it difficult to control the amount of time that they worry, and the worrying interferes in their daily life. Sometimes children don’t realize their anxiety is excessive considering the situation.

Ever since I was young I’ve had anxiety. Every single interaction I’ve ever had has been carefully calculated and thought out before it has happened. Every situation has been worried, confused, and excessively mulled over ever since I can remember. Every anger-filled conversation has left me crying and shaking, and every sad one left me worried and sick to my stomach. Headaches were common,

The DSM-5 (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) defines social anxiety as, “A persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by

Social anxiety. I haven't been diagnosed with this disorder, but I feel that it's the most accurate and I can relate strongly with the symptoms. I am afraid. I always am. Afraid of being in the presence of people who I don't know. I want to speak to them, to tell them what I'm thinking and

Ever since I was little, I’ve found difficulty in the most simple tasks. Talking to the server at any given restaurant, asking the teacher for a bathroom pass, or even getting up to throw something away at lunch. I had a really hard time talking to people or having attention drawn to me. I couldn’t communicate with anyone, and every time I was left alone I always thought something would happen. I would always worry about drawing too much attention, or looking a certain way, or getting the worst possible outcome no matter what I try to do. I thought that all of my fears were dumb and that I was being over dramatic about everything. I was always worrying about something, and it was futile. I got nowhere making myself worry

Many studies have been done with children trying to determine what causes anxiety and through that find out how to prevent it. One study was done with children who had mood problems and followed them through adolescence and young adulthood and showed consistencies with mood disorders while children and anxiety as they got older. (Roza, 2003). Programs implemented to try and prevent anxiety in children have not worked due to lack of information and costs. (Evans, D.L.,2005). There has been a lot of research done to find out the potential causes of anxiety, but no conclusive results. Although you can’t prevent anxiety disorders, you can take steps to reduce the impact. (Mayo Clinic, 2015). Step 1 is to get help early on and don’t wait for your symptoms to worsen. Step 2 would be to journal about how you feel and what triggers your anxiety. Step 3 is to organize and prioritize your life. Step 4 is to avoid alcohol and drug use to cope with your problems. Even though you can’t prevent anxiety, implementing these steps can go a long way towards lessening the impact of your anxiety

I had always been known to be an anxious child. My adolescence was filled with therapy visits, new medications, and a constant stomach ache. Throughout the entire fourth grade, I was probably at home more than I was at school. I worried about average kid things; my little sister, elementary school, my parents. I also worried about some not so average little kid things; like if someone poisoned my toothbrush, someone would get sick at school tomorrow, or even my grandma always feeding me so I would get fat and she would eat me. No matter what is was, I constantly would fixate on it and do things to avoid it. It wouldn't be until I was about 14 where I was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Social anxiety, the fear of being in social situations, is difficult and frustrating to overcome. For the 15 million Americans who deal with social anxiety, there are apps and online help available. Here are some ways to conquer your fears to improve your social life and relationships.

Social Phobia, also called social anxiety disorder (SAD), is one of the most common, but misconstrued mental health problems in society. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), over 15 million adults suffer from the disorder. First appearing in the DSM-III as Social Phobia, and later in the DSM-IV as Social Anxiety Disorder, this newly established disorder denotes afflicting stress and anxiety associated with social situations (Zakri 677). According to James W. Jefferson, two forms of Social phobia exist: specific and generalized. Specific social phobia indicates anxiety limited to few performance situations, while generalized indicates anxiety in all social situations (Jefferson). Many people often interchangeably link this disorder to shyness––a personality trait. However, although they have striking similarities, the two are divergent. To begin with, SAD has an extensive etiology ranging from multiple factors. Furthermore, symptoms of various aspects accompany SAD. Moreover, SAD has detrimental impacts affecting quality of life. Lastly, SAD has numerous methods of treatment. Social Phobia is prevalent in both women and men beginning at the onset of puberty (ADAA).

     Social anxiety is the fear of social situations and the interaction with other people that can automatically bring on feelings of self-consciousness, judgement, evaluation, and inferiority. Put differently social anxiety is the fear and anxiety of being judged and evaluated negatively by other people, leading to feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment, humiliation, and depression. If a person usually becomes anxious in social situations, but seems fine when they are by them selves, then social anxiety may be the problem.

The Social anxiety Association classifies social anxiety as the fear of interacting with other and social situations. Social anxiety causes fear and anxiety in most if not all aspects of ones lives. Social anxiety is the fear of being negatively judge or evaluated by others. It is a chronic disease that it does not go away on its own, only direct cognitive-behavioral therapy can help people overcome their social anxiety. There are a few situations that can trigger social anxiety such as being introduced to

Fear is a common emotion exhibited by people who stutter (PWS). The fear of negative evaluation is commonly displayed by PWS (Fjola, 1246); when this fear is significantly excessive, the PWS may meet the criteria for a clinical diagnosis of social anxiety (Brundage, Winters, & Beilby, p. 499). Social anxiety frequently causes PWS to isolate themselves from social interactions, and, when in situations, to utilize safety behaviors to prevent stuttering and reduce anxiety. Safety behaviors consequently maintain social anxiety in PWS rather than exacerbate the disorder (Lowe et al., 2017, pp. 1246-1247). More is known regarding the development of social anxiety is adults who stutter (AWS) than the information pertaining to children who stutter (CWS) and their fear of negative evaluation which results in social anxiety (Iverach, Menzies, O’Brian, Packman, & Onslow, 2011, p. 228). The difference in available information may be due to the thought that social anxiety is a short-term effect in CWS but a life-long effect in AWS (Iverach, Jones, McLellan, Lyneham, Menzies, Onslow, & Rapee, 2016, p. 15).

Social anxiety is “a feeling of discomfort, fear, or worry that is centered on our interactions with other people and involves a concern with being judged negatively, evaluated, or looked down upon by others” (Social Anxiety Support, 2014). Social anxiety can affect anyone. Individuals with social anxiety tend to prefer to keep to themselves because they are afraid others will judge them negatively and have a hard time interacting socially.