Therapist, Margarita Politis writes about dealing with the dreaded social anxiety disorder.
Are you suffering from a social anxiety disorder? While away from home do you feel as though everyone’s watching you and silently judging you? Are you afraid you’ll embarrass yourself and people will laugh? You may feel like you’re all alone, but you’re not. Social anxiety disorder is a debilitating mental illness affecting millions of people like you worldwide.
Carrying out – or even considering – simple tasks like going to the shop or bank, heading to school or work, walking the dog, or making phone calls can wreak havoc on the minds and bodies of individuals with social anxiety disorder.
Here’s some useful information, as well as some things you can do to help yourself:
What is social anxiety disorder?
Social anxiety disorder (also referred to as ‘social phobia’) is the persistent fear of being judged in social or performance-based situations, of being made fun of, acting embarrassingly, or looking anxious. Social anxiety becomes a disorder when your fear significantly affects your ability to function in your day to day-to-day life.
While some mental illnesses eventually resolve on their own, social anxiety disorder rarely does. So, without treatment, you’ll suffer with it for the long haul.
How can social anxiety disorder affect your life?
You may drop out of school early, accept jobs you don’t like, or quit jobs altogether so that you don’t have to deal with other people. You may avoid social interactions or avoid situations where you feel you can be judged. And you may find it incredibly difficult to reach for a helping hand or seek treatment.
There is help
Fortunately, I have found Rapid Transformational Therapy yields results fast, getting to the root cause of the anxiety while addressing the core belief system. Most people will try and change the behaviour (symptoms), however this is the wrong way around. Anxiety is the activation of the flight/ fight/ freeze mechanism, usually through a triggering thought, circumstance, or unresolved trauma that’s set off this alert.
Self help
To help boost serotonin, go for walks outside in nature. Daylight makes serotonin which in turn makes you feel pleasure. Stimulate serotonin in your body for longer by being outside in daylight, exercising, walking, and eating certain foods such as bananas, eggs, chicken, turkey, pears, celery, dates, and very dark chocolate.
