How Social Anxiety Can Be Effectively Managed ?

Social anxiety is nervousness in social situations. Some disorders associated with the social anxiety spectrum include anxiety disorders, mood disorders, autistic spectrum disorders, eating disorders, and substance use disorders. Individuals higher in social anxiety avert their gazes, show fewer facial expressions, and show difficulty with initiating and maintaining a conversation. Nearly 90% of individuals, more of whom are women, report feeling symptoms of social anxiety i.e. shyness at some point in their lives. Half of the individuals with any social fears meet the criteria for social anxiety disorder SAD). Age, culture, and gender impact the severity of this disorder. Social anxiety, being of great concern during this modern era, Siddha Spirituality of Swami Hardas Life System wishes that our valuable readers know about social anxiety in-depth for well-being.

What Is Social Anxiety?

Social anxiety sometimes referred to as social phobia, is a type of social anxiety disorder that causes extreme fear in social settings. People with this disorder have trouble talking to people, meeting new people, and attending social gatherings. They fear being judged or scrutinized by others. They may understand that their fears are irrational or unreasonable, but feel powerless to overcome them.

Social anxiety is different from shyness, which is usually short-term and doesn’t disrupt one’s life. Social anxiety is persistent and debilitating. It can affect one’s ability to:

• Work
• Attend school
• Develop close relationships with people outside of their family

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), approximately 15 million American adults have a social anxiety disorder. Symptoms of this disorder may start around the age of 13.

What are Social anxiety Symptoms?

• Blushing

It is a physiological response unique to humans and is a hallmark physiological response associated with social anxiety. Blushing is the involuntary reddening of the face, neck, and chest in reaction to evaluation or social attention. This occurs not only in response to feelings of embarrassment but also other socially-oriented emotions such as shame, guilt, shyness, and pride. Individuals high in social anxiety perceive themselves as blushing more than those who are low in social anxiety.

Types of blushing

Three types of blushing can be measured:

• Self-perceived blushing (how much the individual believes they are blushing)
• Physiological blushing (blushing as measured by physiological indices), and
• Observed blushing (blushing observed by others).

1. Self-perceived blushing

Social anxiety is strongly associated with self-perceived blushing, weakly associated with blushing as measured by physiological indices such as temperature and blood flow to the cheeks and forehead, and moderately associated with observed blushing.

2. Physiological blushing

The relationship between physiological blushing and self-perceived blushing is small among those high in social anxiety, indicating that individuals with high social anxiety may overestimate their blushing.

3. Observed blushing

That social anxiety is associated most strongly with self-perceived blushing is also important for cognitive models of blushing and social anxiety, indicating that socially anxious individuals use both internal cues and other types of information to draw conclusions about how they are coming across.

Individuals with social anxiety might also refrain from making eye contact, or constantly fiddling with things during conversations or public speaking.

What are Social anxiety Causes?

The exact cause of the social phobia is unknown. However, current research supports the idea that it is caused by a combination of environmental factors and genetics. Negative experiences also may contribute to this disorder, including:

• Bullying
• Family conflict
• Sexual abuse

Physical abnormalities such as a serotonin imbalance may contribute to this condition. Serotonin is a chemical in the brain that helps regulate mood. An overactive amygdala (a structure in the brain that controls fear response and feelings or thoughts of anxiety) may also cause these disorders.

Anxiety disorders can run in families. However, researchers aren’t sure if they’re actually linked to genetic factors. For example, a child might develop anxiety by learning the behavior of one of their parents who has an anxiety disorder. Children can also develop anxiety as a result of being raised in controlling or overprotective environments.

How Social anxiety is diagnosed?

There is no medical test to check for social anxiety. Your healthcare provider will diagnose social phobia from a description of your symptoms. They can also diagnose social phobia after examining certain behavioral patterns.

During your appointment, your healthcare provider will ask you to explain your symptoms. They will also ask you to talk about situations that cause your symptoms. The criteria for social anxiety disorder include:

• Constant fear of social situations due to fear of humiliation or embarrassment
• Feeling anxious or panicky before a social interaction
• The realization that your fears are unreasonable
• The anxiety that disrupts daily living

What are the Treatments for Social anxiety?

How Social anxiety is identified among Children?

Some feelings of anxiety in social situations are normal and necessary for effective social functioning and developmental growth. Cognitive advances and increased pressures in late childhood and early adolescence result in repeated social anxiety. Adolescents have identified their most common anxieties as focused on relationships with peers to whom they are attracted, peer rejection, public speaking, blushing, self-consciousness, panic, and past behavior.

Most adolescents progress through their fears and meet the developmental demands placed on them. More and more children are being diagnosed with social anxiety, and this can lead to problems with education if not closely monitored.

How Social anxiety is identified among Adults?

It can be easier to identify social anxiety within adults because they tend to shy away from any social situation and keep to themselves. Common adult forms of social anxiety include performance anxiety, public speaking anxiety, stage fright, and timidness. All of these may also assume clinical forms i.e. become anxiety disorders.

Tips for parents of children affected with Social anxiety :

As a parent of a socially anxious child, it can be hard to know how best to offer your support. It’s important to manage your child’s social anxiety in a constructive way.

Give your child or teen chances to expose him or herself to feared situations.

Choose realistic goals for your child or teen such as joining a club or making a new friend. Also, encourage activities that help your child or teen to relax such as arts and crafts, music, yoga, and writing.

Be a good listener and let your child or teen know that what he or she is experiencing can be overcome. Remind your child or teen of past successes and build his or her confidence.

Finally, seek help for your child or teen if anxiety becomes severe. Some problems are too big for you to handle on your own and require intervention such as medication or professional therapy.

How Social anxiety can be managed with Siddha remedies

 

Reference:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_anxiety
• https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/social-phobia#causes
• https://www.verywellmind.com/social-anxiety-disorder-in-children-3024430
• https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/social-anxiety-treatment#takeaway
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_anxiety