What is social anxiety? According to various resources, social anxiety or social phobia is referring to excessive social anxiety causing a person to experience significant distress, which later lead on to an impaired ability to function even under normal circumstances. Symptoms include being overly self-conscious; setting high standards for one self and despairing when they are not met; and paying great attention to one’s actions after an activity. In the behavioral aspect, people with great social anxiety tend to fear situations in which they are exposed to possible scrutiny. Physical symptoms may comprise blushing, stomach ache, a fast heartbeat and gagging while in public. Research say that the cause of this disorder encompasses multiple perspectives on neuroscience and sociology. Basically, scientists have yet to pinpoint the exact cause of social anxiety or social phobia. But studies suggest that genetics can be a major contributor, in combination with environmental factors. Studies have rendered evidence of the efficacy of two forms of treatment fro social anxiety. One is a certain medication and the other is a specific form of short term psychotherapy called Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. If you are suffering from social anxiety, here are some tips that could help make you comfortable when subjected to a social gathering.

Preoccupy your self

Focus on other people

Fit in like everyone else

Release anxiety through breathing

For me, social anxiety is a result of the lack of care and support from distinct authority figures, a highly competitive culture and poor social education in families.