How do you know if you have social anxiety disorder?
It is relatively easy to diagnose as the symptoms are generally the same for everyone who suffers from the disease.
The most common symptoms can be divided into the following 2 groups:
- Behavioral/Emotional
- Physical
Let’s take a look at each group individually:
Emotional/Behavioral Social Anxiety Disorder Symptoms
These symptoms relate to the way you feel and act before or in the midst of a social situation. They include:
- An unexplainable and often overwhelming fear when surrounded by people you don’t know
- The fear that others are watching you and notice how seemingly anxious you are
- The fear of being judged by other people
- Obsessive worry about making mistakes in social situations, especially in relation to public speaking.
- Extreme fear of speaking to or meeting new people
- Avoidance of social situations and people altogether. (this occurs only in extreme cases)
- Depression
- Negative Self-Talk during social interactions (i.e. “everyone’s looking at you,” “you look stupid,” “this is a disaster–you should have never come”)
Physical Social Anxiety Disorder Symptoms
The following symptoms manifest themselves physically. Most social anxiety disorder sufferers regularly have at least one or more of these symptoms:
- Shaking or body tremors
- Excessive sweating (usually noticeable on the forehead or palms of the hands)
- Blushing (red, blotchy skin near the neck or face)
- Upset stomach
- Speech difficulties (i.e. stuttering)
- Muscular tension
- Racing heart
- Diarrhea
- Racing thoughts
- Lightheadedness
- Vomiting (usually right before a social event, performance, or speaking engagement)
One thing to remember is that while these symptoms are annoying and often debilitating, they are usually not life-threatening. Furthermore, physical symptoms usually diminish or vanish completely with proper treatment.