Social Anxiety
Generally speaking, social anxiety disorder is an intense fear of social and performance situations, and includes fearing of initiating conversations, performing in front of an audience, unstructured activities amongst peers, inviting people to get together, and speaking in class. Teens who’s lives are affected by social anxiety disorder can be severely debilitated by the disease. Some signs that your teen might be suffering with the disorder include:
- discomfort, passivity, and hesitation when the center of attention
- avoidance of initiating conversations, performing, calling classmates on the telephone for needed information, and ordering food in restaurants
- little to no interaction with peers
- hanging out on the fringes of the group or in isolation
- sitting alone at lunch, in the library, or separating from the group during meetings
- avoiding eye contact or mumbling when speaking to others
- overly worried about negative evaluation, embarrassment, or possible humiliation
- problems when speaking in public, reading aloud, or being called on in class
When a teen with social anxiety disorder is faced with uncomfortable situations, they often experience sweating, racing heart, stomach discomfort, dizziness, and the uncontrollable urge to cry. Because their discomfort leads them to isolate and avoid certain situations, social anxiety disorder disrupts their ability to lead a normal life.
