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Symptoms

People with social anxiety disorder usually experience significant emotional distress in the following situations:

• Being introduced to other people
• Being teased or criticized
• Being the center of attention
• Being watched while doing something
• Meeting people in authority ("important people")
• Most social encounters, especially with strangers
• Going around the room (or table) in a circle and having to say something
• Interpersonal relationships, whether friendships or romantic

This list is only to be seen as a guide. Other feelings may well occur, too.

Physical signs along with Social Anxiety may include intense fear, racing heart, turning red or blushing, excessive sweating, dry throat and mouth, trembling, swallowing with difficulty, and muscle twitches, particularly about the face and neck.

Constant, intense anxiety that does not go away is the most common feature.

People with Social Anxiety Disorder know that their anxiety is irrational and is really out of place. However, "knowing" something is not the same thing as "believing" and "feeling" something, therefore, for people with Social Anxiety, the anxiety itself remains persistant and does not go away although it is faced every day by sufferers.

Therapy may work to alleviate Social Anxiety Disorder, the largest anxiety disorder, and the one that few people know anything about.