If you are getting nervous or anxious, from time to time this does not necessarily mean that you have social phobia, better known as anxiety social disorder. There are many people about, who are just self-conscious or little bit shy from time to time, but this is not preventing them from doing their normal daily routine. On contrary – people having this terrible condition are not able to do their normal things very frequently and this is causing them a lot of distress and anxiety on a regular basis.

It is a quite normal thing to get a bit nervous before you have to give a speech, for example. The difference when you have a social phobia is that you will be worried about this event weeks and maybe months before it takes place. When the time comes you may even call off sick just to get slip out of it, or if this does not work to get so nervous during the speech that cannot speak properly and are on a verge of collapsing at any time.

The psychological symptoms of the social anxiety disorder/social phobia are: 1. Intensive anxiety for days, weeks, or even months before a certain oncoming social situation; 2. Enormous fear of being watched or judged by others, especially by  strangers; 3. Extreme anxiety in everyday social situations; 4. Fear that with your acts you will embarrass or humiliate yourself; 5. The fear that other people will notice your nervousness; 6. Avoiding social situations to a level that limits your functions or disrupts your life in general.

The physical symptoms of social anxiety disorder are: 1. Pounding heart or tight chest; 2. Shaky voice; 3. Rapid breathing; 4. Sweating or hot flashes; 5. Upset stomach, nausea; 6. Dry mouth; 7. Trembling or shaking; 8. Muscle tension; 9. Blushing; 10. Dizziness, feeling faint; 11. Clammy hands; 12. Twitching.

There are many methods known to date that can help you overcoming the social anxiety.

First thing that will have to be considered is a lifestyle changes. These alone probably will not be enough to overcome social anxiety disorder, but they will support the overall treatment progress. The lifestyle changes that will help you reduce anxiety levels and set the stage for successful treatment are: 1. Avoid or limit caffeine, because it act as stimulant and increases anxiety symptoms; 2. Drink alcohol only in moderation. You may be tempted to drink before a party or other social situation in order to calm your nerves, but alcohol increases your risk of having an anxiety attack; 3. Quit smoking, nicotine is a powerful stimulant and smoking leads to higher levels of anxiety; 4. Get adequate sleep, because if you are sleep deprived, you are more vulnerable to anxiety.

Sometimes medication is used to relieve the symptoms of social anxiety, but it is not a cure for social phobia. When you stop taking it, the symptoms will most likely return. Medication is helpful when used in combination with therapy and other techniques that affect the roots of social anxiety disorder. There are three types of medication used in the treatment of social phobia: 1. Beta-blockers – they are used for relieving performance anxiety. They are blocking the flow of adrenaline that occurs when anxious. While beta-blockers do not affect the emotional symptoms, they control physical symptoms like shaking hands or voice, sweating, rapid heartbeat; 2. Antidepressants – they can be helpful when social anxiety disorder is severe; 3. Benzodiazepines – these are fast-acting anti-anxiety medications, but they are sedating and addictive, so they are only prescribed only when other medications for social phobia have not worked.

Therapy is the only way to treat and cure the social phobia completely and the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proven as the best for doing so. CBT is based on the premise that what you think affects how you feel, and your feelings affect your behavior. So if you can change the way you are thinking about situations that give you anxiety, you will feel and function better.

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