Why you need to overcome your social anxiety

Reaching out for help is the basic step required for overcoming or dealing with mental illness in which social anxiety disorder is not excluded. It might be hard but it still needs to be done. Most people living with this disorder has been living with it for years before they got help probably because they were not aware of what was causing their anguish in social setting or they knew, but didn’t know it could be managed.

It is very important to address your social anxiety because of the negative impact it has on your life. It can cause a major dent in your career, academics and relationships. The reason why you need to overcome your social anxiety disorder is because it can cause:

• Low self esteem and self- criticism: This may be as a result of emotional or physical abuse caused by bullying, rejection and being ignored. Social anxiety disorder contributes to lowering your self esteem as you feel that you are less important to other people and when you speak they will disapprove of what you will say. You tend to judge yourself critically and harshly without appreciating your positive assets.

 • Difficulty in being assertive: When our needs are not met by people that should meet them, we become angry, frustrated and disappointed. This will happen continuously if we are not communicating our needs properly. This feeling of frustration and anger might be occasional felt when you are living with SAD.  You tend to keep your feelings to yourself and not share them with people and because humans cannot read minds, your needs are continually unmet. 

• Hypersensitivity to criticism: Sometimes constructive criticism yields good result but in people living with SAD,all case of criticism can lead to more damage because youfeel you are being judged.

• Poor social skills: Social anxiety disorder reduces your ability to be assertive, to communicate non verbally and verbally, making introductions, practicing active listening, overcoming telephone phobia and  also, accepting and giving compliments which are all important for managing social interactions.

 • Isolation: It is easier to live in isolation when you are living with social anxiety disorder. It is difficult to maintain social relationships which can lead to loneliness and to theextreme, depression. With depression, suicide or suicideattempts can come into play. Sometimes, to be able to function in social gatherings people living with SAD tends to abuse substances to be able to survive the situation. Isolation can also cause low academics and employment achievement as you miss out on a lot of opportunities to improve yourself or showcase your ability to do well either in school or in your workplace.

I would advise that if you are living with social anxiety disorder, you should take a bold step of getting help and I would love for you to. You might not overcome it at once but you are a step forward into getting better.

Do you think overcoming SAD is possible?

Do you know of anyone living with SAD or are you living with SAD?

Share your experience with us.

Kindly engage and give a feedback on this article. Thank you.

References

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/memberarticles/low-self-esteem-and-social-anxiety

https://www.verywellmind.com/how-can-i-be-more-assertive-when-i-have-social-anxiety-3024311

https://www.verywellmind.com/social-skills-4157216

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/social-anxiety-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353561

By

Alalade Opeyemi

I am a health writer and enthusiastic about improving lives through public dissemination of information about your health.

LinkedIn: Opeyemi Alalade

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