Social Phobia is the fear of being stared at, being evaluated or being the centre of attention, with the core fear of worrying that others are thinking negatively or badly of you.

The individual with social phobia may worry that being judged harshly may result from looking anxious, from doing or saying something wrong, from making a mistake, or even from the way they look.

Situations where these fears may be activated, include having to speak in front of others, meetings, exams, meeting new people, parties, eating in public, public transportation, or a job interview.

The social anxiety leads to either enduring the situation with great anxiety or avoiding them altogether.

What can you do?

If your anxiety is very severe, you will most likely need to see a clinical psychologist in order to gain the support you need to over come your fears.

You could try:

• Learning about the particular problem (read about the adaptive versus maladaptive role of anxiety)
• Learning to relax, through slowing your breathing down and relaxation strategies or mindfulness or meditation
• Try to identify your anxious thoughts in the situations? How objective are those fears? Even if people notice you look anxious it is probably less catastrophic than you think. Is it possible you are over estimating the probability of the feared outcome? How realistic is your thinking or fears?
• Try not to escape situations at the peak of your anxiety as it will only act to confirm that you could not cope and make it harder to return next time.

For more information go to:

• www.CCI.health.wa.gov.au

By Dr Holly Kent, Clinical Psychologist

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