If there is something that makes you think that you might be suffering from what is generally referred to as social anxiety disorder, it is advisable that you evaluate yourself and try to identify if you are really undergoing such problem. The best way to deal with it is to find out everything that is there to know about the symptoms.
But before we discuss the symptoms here, it is important to understand what anxiety disorder actually is. To put it simply, it is condition wherein one finds all such situations dreadful in which one has to interact socially.
This means that if you were to speak in a public gathering and you feel absolutely terrified, you might be suffering from social anxiety disorder. However, to be termed as a disorder this kind of social anxiety should be something more than the normal nervousness attached with social interaction. It has to have a rather disabling effect on you. The fear in case of social anxiety disorder is no less than overwhelming.
Coming to the symptoms, they include an accelerated heartbeat, excessive sweating, dizziness, lack of concentration and other such anxiety-related symptoms that are very much capable of disrupting ones daily activities. These symptoms can occur in case of any normal person and the presence of them does not necessarily mean that you are suffering from social anxiety disorder.
However, if these symptoms keep recurring consistently for over six months, it is time for you to take them seriously. If there are plausible explanations for their occurrence, it is fine. But if they occur without a reasonable cause or the cause is just too feeble to justify their occurrence, you might be suffering from social anxiety disorder. And this could grow serious over the time and could make you immobilized.
In its more serious forms, the disorder can compel a person to stay at home for the most part of his day. He or she just might start fearing stepping out due to the sheer dread of socializing.
People suffering from this disorder tend to be reclusive and tend to get depressed, which may lead them to substance abuse and alcoholism. Therefore, social anxiety disorder has serious associated complications. If left uncorrected the disorder may get more complicated and bring repercussions. It is, thus, important that the problem is taken care of at the earliest. Being aware of the problem and the symptoms is half the battle won.
