The Effects Of Social Anxiety On Higher Education

Anxiety is caused by stress and can causes a person to feel a sense of nervousness and fear. Studies have shown that anxiety can lead to habit forming usage of unhealthy substances. For example, chain smoking has been connected as a response to stress. Typically, people with a higher anxiety level have a higher desire to smoke cigarettes. For most people the nicotine in cigarettes helps regulate negative thoughts and emotions. It has also been supported that people are two times as likely to begin smoking regularly if they have a diagnosed anxiety disorder (Wiggert, Wilhelm, Nakajima, al’Absi). About 50% of college students who smoke cigarettes have a higher level of anxiety from classes.

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

Cognitive models of anxiety suggest that attention biases, like selective attention towards a threat, would contribute to the development and the maintenance of different emotional disorders (as cited in Heeren, Reese, McNally, & Philippot, 2012). These attentional biases could worsen an individual’s proneness to anxiety (as cited in McNally, Enock, Tsai, & Tousian, 2013). Since attentional biases can increase or prolong anxiety in an individual, attention bias modification would be beneficial to help reduce anxiety symptoms, and to help reduce a person’s proneness to anxiety (as cited in McNally et al., 2013). The purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between social anxiety and attention biases.

The starting pool of participants was 92 undergraduate introductory psychology students. The article did not state how or where they were recruited from, if any compensation was given, age, gender, or any other demographics. The participants were given the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Trait). Those who scored above the 80th percentile were rated high anxious and those who scored below the 22nd percentile were rated low anxious. They were also given the Beck

Finally, a summary of meta-analytic reports by Rodebaugh, Holaway, & Heimberg (2004) had a notable post- treatment effect in persons with social anxiety disorder: with effects ranging from moderate to large. These effects were larger in within-group interventions than in waiting-list interventions, and follow up studies done up to 12 months after treatment showed a retention of these effects. Generally, the use of cognitive restructuring and exposure was shown to have better results than the use of other interventions, and their combinations with cognitive restructuring. However, Rodebaugh reported that this difference was insignificant, with the insignificance being attributed to a small number of existing comparisons. In addition, the use of exposure alone and a combination of exposure and cognitive restructuring yielded similar results. Basing this observation, and on the findings from other interventions, it seems that exposure to stressors yields the best results. However, it is not clear whether such benefits are obtained from within- session exposure or from homework exposure.

Throughout my life I have dealt with many stressors that have affected me in different ways. The one major stressor, I feel that I have a hard time dealing with is anxiety, more specifically social anxiety. Growing up I have always been different than everyone else. I was born with Duane syndrome type 3. Duane syndrome is a disorder which the eye has limited mobility and type 3 means that there is limited or no ability to move the eye inward or outward. When I first found out about this I was about eight, due to the fact that I had to get surgery to fix my head turning. Having Duane syndrome has caused to become extremely self-conscious of myself.

     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.

Feeling anxious before giving a speech or presenting a project is normal, but when that anxiety carries over into being nervous before going to a casual party or meeting up with friends, that is when it might be more than just nerves. Social anxiety is one of the most common forms of anxiety. About fifteen million adults in America suffer from social anxiety, with the typical onset age being thirteen (Social Anxiety Disorder). Overcoming social anxiety takes tremendous efforts and can take many years. There are many different methods people have tried using to overcome their fears. Two common ones people use are learning to control their breath and cognitive-behavioral therapy. With persistence and determination, people can learn to deal with their social anxiety the healthy way, or better yet, overcome it completely.

Generalized anxiety is a problem that the United States faces nationwide. As we grow older and move into educational settings that are more taxing, anxiety becomes more prevalent. Today, college students are facing more stress than ever before. They are constantly pushed to be the best they can be, to be in the most extracurricular activities they can be in, and to attend the best schools possible. All of these goals and high expectations lead students to be harder on themselves, which makes other aspects of their life fall by the wayside, leading to high levels of stress and pressure.

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

Anxiety and Depression disorders are two of the most common mental disorders in the United States (Falsafi, 2016). It appears that the two disorders are widespread amongst college students and most cannot manage the high demands and stress (Falsafi, 2016). Therefore, they feel more prone to depression and anxiety (Falsafi, 2016). According to the authors Miller & Chung, mental health amongst college students in the United States is a growing public health concern and educators are concerned about the low academic performance of college students and how it influences their mental health (Miller, & Chung, 2009). Research indicates that university students suffer with low grades and poor academic performances, while trying to manage depression and anxiety (Falsafi, 2016). With the consistence of higher drop out rates, it is imperative that colleges and universities create programs that assist students with managing their depression and anxiety to help them through their education.

Oxford Dictionaries defines anxiety “as a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.” I believe it is safe to say that college students across the country experience anxiety quite often throughout their academic career. During the time a person spends in college, they will encounter many situations that yield “uncertain outcomes.” All the unknowns a person faces during college can be stressful.

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.

Such believes can be harmful to these students, and thus cause more severe aversion symptoms. My research is restricted to social anxiety in university student and its effect on academic level. It explains the consequences and different outlooks of social anxiety which occur due to different social situations.