Social Anxiety DisorderSocial Anxiety Disorder, or Social Phobia, blocks millions of people from the fun and friendships they deserve. If you have Social Phobia, you fear having strong physical anxiety, perhaps a panic attack, in the presence of other people. You fear that they will observe your anxiety, judge you to be a weak and strange person, and thereafter want nothing to do with you. The Fear of Public Speaking and Stage Fright are specific instances of Social Anxiety Disorder. Similar to Panic DisorderSocial Phobia is based on the same Trick as Panic Disorder and works in a very similar manner. You fear making a display of yourself in front of another person, with symptoms such as:* blushing * trembling * voice cracking * sweating and other visible symptoms of anxiety. You anticipate this kind of anxiety, and struggle against it. This makes the symptoms more persistent. Finally, you begin to avoid social occasions, so that people cannot see your anxiety. People often think of shyness as being related to Social Anxiety Disorder, and there are some similarities. Shyness is more of a general inhibition in front of others, and doesn't always include the panic symptoms that are a part of Social Phobia. The Differences from Panic DisorderDifferent Situational CuesThe situations and activities which trigger the fears of Social Anxiety Disorder are different from those associated with Panic Disorder. Social Anxiety Disorder involves situations in which others are present, and able to notice you. Examples include: dinner parties, making introductions, speaking in a meeting, and passing through the security checkpoint at an airport. Panic Disorder involves situations where the physical environment may limit your freedom of action, making it difficult to "escape" in the event of a panic attack. Examples include: divided highways, bridges and tunnels, churches, and crowded malls.Different Feared OutcomesA person with Panic Disorder fears dying, going crazy, fainting, and otherwise losing control of himself. A person with Social Anxiety Disorder fears showing extreme nervousness in front of others who will think it peculiar, judge him harshly, and shun him thereafter.The feared outcomes of Social Phobia are more subtle, and trickier to evaluate, than those of Panic Disorder. It's generally pretty easy to tell if you're dead. But how can you tell if someone is thinking poorly of you? You have to guess. And your guesses will be biased by your fears. If you have Social Anxiety Disorder, you're very likely to think that people are much more interested in you, and your anxiety, than they really are. Most people are more interested in themselves! Different Range of Physical SymptomsThe physical symptoms of Panic Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder are similar. One important one is identical - the difficulty in catching your breath - and the Deep Breathing exercise will be very useful whichever fear you have.But there are also important differences in the symptoms. If you have Social Phobia, you're more likely to experience symptoms which will be visible to others, such as turning red in the face, trembling, voice cracking, sweating, and so on. If you have Panic Disorder, you're more likely to experience internal symptoms which are not so visible - heart racing, chest pain, and feeling lightheaded. Why is this so? Because, with chronic anxiety disorders, you struggle against what you fear most, and then that's what you get. If you fear dying, you'll have symptoms that seem like dying. If you fear social disgrace, you'll have symptoms that suggest that. This is why practicing some accepting responses, such as the AWARE steps is so much more helpful than the resistant, "anti-anxiety" responses that seem to come instinctively to people. It's the Same TrickIn my work with patients who struggle with Social Anxiety Disorder, I often find that they have been fooled by the same Panic Trick that fools people who suffer from Panic Disorder. They respond to the anxiety as if it were a danger that needs to be fought at all costs, rather than a discomfort which needs to be accepted, and managed, before it will fade.Unfortunately, many self-help books, and even some professional therapists, unwittingly perpetuate this Trick by emphasizing efforts to "stop being nervous". The harder you try to "stop being nervous", the more nervous you'll feel! This is why your specific physical symptoms reflect your fears. When you fight anxiety, you get more of what you don't want. "Float", don't fight!So the first step in getting over this fear is, paradoxically, becoming more willing to feel afraid. You don't have to like it...you don't have to plan on always being afraid...but you will do much better in your recovery when you can develop an accepting, or willing attitude. This is what Claire Weekes meant by floating through your anxiety. It means not fighting it; not trying to hide it; and not blaming yourself for it.
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