Social Anxiety

What is Social Anxiety?

Social Anxiety is a mental health condition that involves feelings of extreme dread and fear of social situations. Such feelings of fear are especially prominent in situations that are unfamiliar or events that involve being watched or scrutinised by others.

Symptoms of Social Anxiety

Symptoms of SAD may fall into three categories:

1. Physical: Blushing, sweating, palpitations and shortness of breath. Feelings of nausea and headaches.

2. Cognitive/Emotional: Excessive negative belief of self-inadequacy in social interactions. Discounting personal positive social encounters while magnifying and harshly evaluating the negatives.

3. Behavourial: People with SAD tend to structure their decisions based on fear, to avoid and escape from social activities.

The Statistics of Social Anxiety

The global estimate of the prevalence of anxiety disorders is 24.9% among adults. This would mean more than 7 million Malaysians suffer from a type of anxiety disorder.

However, it should be noted that studies and surveys of SAD are outdated and usually conducted in Western countries – which goes to show just how important it is to reform and educate our healthcare system.

Living with Social Anxiety

Being a teenager, especially in a boarding school where the eyes of your peers area constantly on you, the fear and desire of being liked and not being judged is extremely prevalent. That fear creeps into all decisions of my daily life, from avoiding social events such as induction activities, athletic evetns and to minute detais such as the way I sit and the way I smile.

People tend to fail to understand that people who deal with SAD do not have to see or hear someone judging them to feel as if the whole world was judging them. I recall moments where I had to take off my glasses or contacts to walk by hallways in school to avoid the gazes of students and teachers– even though they may not be looking at me, in my head I picture them laughing and humiliating me. This has resulted in me blocking out what is around me to place a ‘cross X’ around the faces of others. But today, with the guidance and care of my family, my counsellor and friends, the crosses are slowly but surely peeling off. –– Anonymous