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Articles Who is judging who? - Social Anxiety by Carolyn Barker This article about social anxiety is written by Carolyn Barker, former Coordinator of the Panic Anxiety Disorder Association Inc in South Australia. Carolyn had Social Anxiety for 28 years before recovering. Her article was the feature article in PADA's Newsletter. We thank Carolyn and PADA for giving us permission to include it on our website. Social Phobia or Social Anxiety is not well understood by the general public. It is defined as a fear (anxiety) of being judged, criticised and evaluated by other people. This fear is recognised by the individual as irrational, but the fear of judgment in social situation persists. People who experience Social Phobia find it difficult to perform particular tasks or behaviours in the presence of others such as writing, eating, being introduced, speaking to a group, or doing anything where they feel attention is drawn to them and they may be judged negatively by others. This fear elevates anxiety levels and produces a variety of symptoms which may include shaking, sweating, trembling voice, nausea, rapid heart beat, hyperventilation, dizziness, blushing, tightness in the throat, 'mental blanks' and/or confusion. Anxiety becomes more intense when the person fears they're going to be singled out, ridiculed, criticised, embarrassed or belittled. Life is difficult for the person with a Social Phobia because they feel they don't fit in with everyone else. They feel something is wrong with them. Therefore, it is easier to stay away and avoid social contact whenever possible. More than anything else, a person with Social Phobia does not want others to know he/she is afraid. The bind that people with Social Phobia find themselves in is this - the more afraid they become, the more likely they are to experience symptoms, therefore, the more likely their worst fear will be realised - that others will notice how afraid they are and make a negative judgment. A man finds it difficult just walking down the street through fear that he may see someone he knows. All sorts of anxiety- provoking thoughts swamp his mind, 'What if I can't remember their name? What is I can't think of anything intelligent to say? What if I start to stammer and make a fool of myself? What if they think there must be something wrong with me?' With anxiety peaking, he becomes super vigilant, perceiving anyone and everyone as a threat. He crosses the street rather than risk a stranger ask directions. His behaviour is erratic, he's tense and uneasy, and it shows on his face. His fear (anxiety) has created all the signs by which a person may judge him as 'having something wrong with him', the very thing he so desperately wants to prevent. People perceived as 'authority figures' can create particular fear in the mind of someone with Social Phobia. Sometimes this can be traced back to memories where a significant adult (parent, teacher, doctor, lecturer, boss) brought about feelings of fear, shame or guilt in the young person. This does not mean we need to dwell on the past. Rather, in understanding how these feelings originated, a person can begin to examine the appropriateness of perpetuating such feelings, when dealing with 'authority figures' in the present. Most people experience high levels of anxiety before, during and after job interviews, but to a person with Social Phobia, an interview, is pure torture. They're afraid of coming across as nervous, anxious or fearful. They just know they'll blush or give stupid answers to the questions. They just know the boss will notice there's something not quite right. Past experience tells them this is likely, which only goes to add to the anxiety. So their worst fear is realised; they do feel afraid, they do blush and they do believe they've made a fool of themselves.  |
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Last modified: June 12, 2007