The number one step towards solving any problem is to first admit that you have a problem, before you can start to do anything about it. The same goes for social anxiety and shyness – you have to first understand whether you suffer from it, before you can take the necessary steps and actions to get rid of them. If you want a shortcut, then you can start by checking out How to overcome Shyness.
If you are currently not sure whether you are suffering from social anxiety or shyness, then maybe this article will help you. If not, you might end up wasting your time trying to cure something which you do not even have in the first place!
Luckily though, almost everyone suffers from some sort of social anxiety, the only difference is how much the problem affects that particular person. Everyone probably has some sort of social situations where they might feel nervous or tense, it is just that a lot of people have the ability to just grip their teeth through and pull through it.
For instance – public speaking. I honestly do not know of anyone who do not dread or fear public speaking at all. Even the most confident public speaker also feel tense and nervous when speaking in front of a large group of people, the only difference is that he or she has managed to keep his emotions under control and overcome their fear.
So how do you know whether you have a serious case of social anxiety or shyness?
There are a few red flags or signs that you can look out for. Firstly, if you are a person who always coops yourself up at home, then there is a high probability that you are suffering from social anxiety. The longer you stay cooped up at home, the less interactions you would have with normal people, and you would become uncomfortable interacting with people over time as this would be something you do not normally do.
If you feel that you are unable to take the lift together with another stranger when you are going somewhere or going home, then that is another sign that you have social anxiety.
If you feel afraid to talk to someone else you do not know or even just raise your hand in class to ask questions, then that is also another sign of having social anxiety.
As you can see, there is a definite pattern to finding out whether you have social anxiety or not. The common thing in all of these cases is that you tend to avoid people and social situations whenever you can, at any chance. That is definitely a very serious of social anxiety, and you ought to do something about it right now before it gets worse and end up paralyzing you in social situations.
I know, at first glance, it may seem difficult to accept that you have social anxiety. I was the same at first too. But if you are currently suffering from something similar and the doctor you visited said that there is nothing wrong with you, then the only explanation can only be social anxiety, or just normal anxiety.
If not properly kept under control or treated, this can escalate into depression, which can be something even worse and harder to get rid of in the future.
So how can you get rid of social anxiety? Well, maybe you can first start by checking out this article for the cure for social anxiety.