How to tell if you are suffering from social anxiety

It’s morning. You wake up and suddenly your heart starts beating a bit fast, you feel you have butterflies in your stomach. You are still sleepy and tired but you are too anxious to stay in bed. You feel you have a lump in your throat, you want to run away so you walk from room to room trying to calm down. It doesn’t help. Now you have palpitations so you head for the window, open it and hope that the fresh air will help calm you down. After several minutes you start to breathe normally but you are visibly shaken. What was that? Is something wrong with your heart, you wonder? You start to imagine all sorts of things.

What you experienced was actually what is called “morning anxiety”. If it happens frequently then it can be attributed to stress.

Stress has a way of showing up in various forms, in ways you wouldn’t imagine. It can cause illnesses and mental problems, like anxiety and panic attacks, and social withdrawal. A curious example, which actually happened: a friend of mine was attending a concert by the beach. Suddenly this strong wind came out of nowhere. The stage lights were blown off stage, music sheets were flying all over the place, as was sand. Chairs and tables were flown into the sea. My friend got the fright of his life. He thought a tsunami was coming, that’s it, he said, it’s the end. Fortunately, after a while the wind stopped and it was announced that what happened was that a small tornado had passed by. After several days my friend noticed big black spots flying around his right eye. He went to the eye doctor who told him what it was and explained that this kind of thing can be caused by a strong form of stress. There you have it! Stress was the culprit.

With the kind of lifestyle we lead today, where it’s all a rush-rush - rush to take the kids to school, rush to work, rush to the supermarket, rush to the gym, rush here and there -no wonder we suffer from stress. You can’t avoid being stressed out.

It’s worse if you are introverted or reserved. Going out and dealing with people can be plain torture. You get anxious, you get nervous just at the thought of going out. It can get so bad that you avoid going out altogether. You get a medical certificate for the office and lock yourself home. You don’t answer the phone, you don’t answer the doorbell. You’re not available for anyone. Will hiding from everyone cure your anxiety? Yes, as long as you stay secluded at home. You feel safe. You don’t have to confront yourself with others.

Just not to be bored, you log into Facebook. Here you see all your friends happy, smiling, having the time of their life. They don’t have problems, not a care in the world. How lucky they are! You feel miserable. Your anxiety gets worse. You feel your self-esteem going lower and lower. You feel inadequate,  you start thinking that you are such a loser. 

Before you lose your mind, find a life coach and enroll in a personal development course.