Social Anxiety Disorder

I have had this problem for a very long time. About 10 years ago is when I found out that there is actually a name for this problem, which is Social Anxiety Disorder or Social Phobia.

What is Social Anxiety Disorder?

Social anxiety disorder aka Social Phobia, is diagnosed when people become overwhelmingly anxious and excessively self-conscious in everyday social situations. People with social phobia have an intense, persistent, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and of doing things that will embarrass them. They can worry for days or weeks before a dreaded situation. This fear may become so severe that it interferes with work, school, and other ordinary activities, and can make it hard to make and keep friends.

While many people with social phobia realize that their fears about being with people are excessive or unreasonable, they are unable to overcome them. Even if they manage to confront their fears and be around others, they are usually very anxious beforehand, are intensely uncomfortable throughout the encounter, and worry about how they were judged for hours afterward.

Here are some of my own experiences

When ever I am out at the store and about even if at a friends house I fear this. That they are thinking or talking bad things of me, weather it be the clothes I’m wearing, my makeup (or lack of), or even about the way I talk.

If I need to go somewhere (even if just to get our mail) and going alone (I tend to feel better about it with someone else), if there is someone right outside I often find myself waiting for them to leave before I will open my door and go. If I open my door and see someone I tend to close it and wait.  it could also be why I am such a nosy neighbor and always peaking out our front windows.

I have called into work sick in the past to avoid a situation.

Crowded small areas are another thing I tend to avoid. While at the store if there are too many people in a aisle, I will skip that aisle and come back to it later. Thankfully Terry knows about my anxiety and understands my need to avoid it, she will let me stay behind while she goes to get what we need or we will just come back to it later.  During my past jobs their would be times when it was my lunch break, I would walk into the lunch room and find it too crowded for me and I would turn around and go the other way.  It doesn’t matter if I know everyone in there.

I still think about my past, as far back as childhood and think of how I may of been judged by others in situations.