I Am Afraid Of Socializing: Do I Suffer From Social Phobia?
If you feel that you blush easily when you are going to present or speak in public, you are afraid that people will think badly of you, you do not like when you are the center of attention, you are hurt by negative comments about your person or the way you dress or think; Either you stay silent or you don’t give your point of view for fear of being criticized or judged. Then your diagnosis is probably Social Phobia.
Social Phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that is characterized by having cognitive, physiological and behavioral symptoms. The physiological symptoms are characterized by:
Cognitive symptoms are characterized by:
Behavioral symptoms are characterized by:
How is it diagnosed?
It is important to keep in mind that the evaluation and diagnosis is carried out by a specialist in Anxiety Disorders. You can contact me if you wish to go through a psychological evaluation process and subsequently the intervention process. Until then, I leave you information on how you can identify what is happening to you and if these symptoms resemble your case.
The person with Social Phobia has difficulties interacting with people at social events such as a party, a birthday, a meeting, a walk, it is difficult for them to ask another person to dance, sometimes it only happens with men or only with women. Their tone of voice is usually low, they lower their heads, their posture is hunched over. Their limiting beliefs are related to feeling inferior than others, they do not usually defend their rights, they are quiet, with feelings of worthlessness, and low self-esteem. They sometimes tend to bite their nails.
I present the case of Laura who comes to consultation stating: “I have problems participating in class, giving oral exams, giving presentations, I don’t like speaking in public, since I get very nervous, that is, my hands and legs shake. , I start to sweat, my face turns red, my heart beats quickly, my body becomes very tense, I don’t like being looked at, I think “What if I make a mistake”, “they are going to make fun of me”, “ I’m going to do it wrong”, “I’m not going to be able to bear it”. This also happens to me when there are dynamics, the teacher asks for volunteers or chooses someone at random, which is why I avoid it.
Likewise when they deliver the exam results, because everyone starts to wonder about their grades, and I’m afraid that they will ask me and not like the grade I got. Likewise, I get nervous when I talk to a stranger on the street, or when I meet someone I know, I think that they are going to reject me, that they are not going to like me.
All this since I came from Piura, 4 years ago, to live in Lima, to start my university studies, I was at the academy for a while, and I didn’t get used to it, my way of speaking was different because of my “leave”, and my My classmates made fun of me, laughed because sometimes they didn’t understand me and I didn’t understand their jokes either; Then I applied to university and didn’t get in, my brother started telling me: “How could you not have entered”, “the exam was easy”, “you probably haven’t studied as you should”, so I decided to start studying pharmacy at an institute.
This year I finished my degree, but I feel that I am not prepared to work, I feel insecure, I think “And if I make a mistake when delivering a medication they will say that I don’t know anything, that I haven’t learned anything”, “I’m sure I haven’t studied in a good place”. On the other hand, I am also afraid of traveling to Piura to visit my grandparents, because surely people will think “why haven’t you come back sooner”, “surely you have forgotten your town”, “You have changed”, “You are no longer the same.” “, “You have become Lima and now you are different.”
All this makes me feel bad, that is to say sad, sometimes I get discouraged and my head hurts, I can’t do my internship calmly and I don’t want it to be like that when I start working, since before I was different, I was quiet, reserved, shy, but I didn’t feel all this like I do now.”
In the case presented we can observe some of the mentioned symptoms. With respect to the emotional area, a level of severe anxiety is evident because the person evaluated is constantly tense and worried, especially in social situations where he has strong heart palpitations, sweating of the face and hands, facial flushing, tremors in his hands and legs, which causes headaches, discouragement and sadness.
He also tends to take things very seriously, which is why he does not tolerate jokes and often misinterprets his colleagues’ comments, anticipating rejection or criticism. Likewise, she misses opportunities by not deciding in time, for example, when she is invited out or to participate in social events.
Likewise, he sees that the difficulties are piling up and he cannot handle them like the homework, assignments and exams at school. She worries too much about unimportant things, which causes her to feel distressed and worried, for example when they call her attention to her, she keeps remembering it constantly.
Conclusions
As can be seen in the case presented, Laura presents the diagnosis of Generalized Social Phobia, because it occurs in several events and not just one in particular, where the diagnosis would change to Specific Social Phobia. If you are experiencing the same symptoms and want to start urgent treatment, do not wait for the symptoms to become more complicated become more resistant, start timely treatment and transform your life, contact me internally, my specialty is anxiety cases, together we will be able to overcome the pathology.
