Do You Experience Social Anxiety?
Social anxiety is a reality for many people. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 12% of U.S. adults will experience social anxiety disorder (SAD) at some time in their life. An estimated 9% of adolescents have or will experience social anxiety disorder. More than 47 million Americans say anxiety is an issue in their life. So, if you experience this, you are not alone.
To be clear, all of us experience fear like the fear of drowning, electrocution, or the fear of heights. But when fear is crippling and paralyzing it can cause us to miss-out on so much of life. It can cause us to avoid very meaningful and helpful relationships and fellowships with other people. Sometimes people with social anxiety disorder avoid going to work or church. When you are afraid to go into a new environment for the first time, you have experienced social anxiety. Multiply that by a thousand and you can appreciate what someone experiences who has social anxiety disorder.
One of the confidences we can have – this fear was not given to us by God. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy we find, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” We also know from Luke 5:26, people can be “filled with fear.” When we are filled with fear nothing else matters. We may not be able to fully appreciate what someone is going through when they experience social anxiety disorder, but it is very real for them.
The definition of social anxiety disorder is the feeling of worry, nervousness, and fear about an event or situation. There is usually a physical component such as sweating palms or a tightening in the gut (major butterflies in the stomach). We may know in our mind everything will be alright, but we feel things will not be alright.
People who experience social anxiety disorder have feelings of nervousness and restlessness. They think about a possible situation and negative emotions start flooding in. Those with social anxiety disorder share testimonies to reveal it is the fear of the unknown. Since they do not know how things will turn out, they protect themselves by staying at home at out of the flow of people. Just thinking about the what ifs, can cause an increase in their heart rate, a change in their breathing patterns, and tightness in the chest. If you or a loved one experiences social anxiety disorder, what is a common experience, like eating out, is often avoided. The intense fear of messing-up is very crippling.
The intensity of fear is not the same for everyone and is not a constant for most people. There are ebbs and flows of fear. If you would ever like to talk with someone, just to chat or walk through some possible coping skills, please give me a call.
