Social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia) is an anxiety disorder in which a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations.
I suffer from social anxiety, and I can tell you from personal experience that it isn’t something that can be taken so lightly. I’m scared of any sort of social situation, whether it’s a quick trip to the dining hall or attending a party on the weekend. After being diagnosed with this anxiety disorder years ago, I’ve realized many people underestimate the effects people like me go through every day.
Just to make it clear, this is a disorder that doesn’t just go away. Every day of my life I’m forced to be involved in social situations that I’m not comfortable with. Family and friends get disappointed in me when I don’t want to go out in public. My anxiety holds me back from doing things that I want to do. I’ve missed so many opportunities to enjoy myself all because this disorder keeps me from doing some of the things I love.
People tell me all the time that I’ll get over it. Just like any other mental disorder, it’s impossible to just "Get over it.” I’ve wished for years that it was possible by putting myself into social situations that were uncomfortable to me, but, unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
A lot of people don’t even realize I have social anxiety. In order to avoid confrontation, I put a smile on my face and suffer from the inside. I’ve gone through multiple panic attacks in public because I forced myself into public situations I was not comfortable with. Of course, to anyone else it’s just a social gathering of people. To anyone with social anxiety, it’s so much more.
Only one-third of those affected receives treatment for social anxiety disorder. On top of this, people who have social anxiety have a better chance of suffering from another mental illness (panic disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, etc.)
I know it can be hard to understand a disorder that you don’t have, but take the time and learn to appreciate that something like this actually exists…especially since it’s the most common mental disorder in the United States.
For those of you who don’t suffer from this sort of disorder, just know that this isn’t something 40 million of us Americans ask to go through every day. It might not be a huge issue to you, but it affects our whole lives.
