Is your extreme shyness in public really social anxiety? Feeling a little shy around people sometimes is usually nothing to worry about. First dates, meeting people for the first time, being asked to present the next meet at work, asked to demonstrate something in front of others; it’s perfectly normal to experience nervousness or shyness in these social situations.

What’s described above is not social anxiety disorder. Social situations are extremely feared by sufferers and difficult to deal with. They may have irrational thoughts such as thoughts of being laughed at or scrutinized by others even if this is not the case.

The term Social phobia and Social Anxiety Disorder are used interchangeably. Many people develop this disorder in their childhood often not recognizing their problem until adulthood. Being asked to stand up in class, being bullied or made fun of by other children, being left out of groups, being criticized by parents; growing up can be tough for a child.

Some sufferers find it difficult to seek help from a doctor out of fear and embarrassment and are not treated as a result. Some sufferers resort to binge drinking and even drug use to help alleviate their symptoms. These can further worsen the symptoms in the long term. Also, there are some severe sufferers that simply think that they aren’t treatable.

Even for long-term sufferers of social anxiety disorder there is hope with effective therapies and treatments available. Furthermore, new therapies are being used aside from old methods. If you’re interested in these latest techniques click here to read more.