Social anxiety disorder is when you feel nervous during everyday social interactions. It is also known as a social phobia because of the fear it often brings. It is an intense condition that can be severely debilitating in the way it makes a person avoid social situations.
Because it is normal for everyone to occasionally have anxiety over social situations, it can be difficult to tell the difference between normal amounts of nerves and social anxiety disorder.
What triggers social anxiety?
If you have a social anxiety disorder, several situations can cause you to experience symptoms. Common examples include the following:
- Public speaking
- Talking to strangers
- Eye contact
- Dating
- Entering rooms
- Public restrooms
- Parties or social events
- Eating around other people
- Going to school or work
- Starting conversations
These are typically nerve-wracking because of a debilitating fear of:
- Being judged by others
- Being embarrassed or humiliated
- Offending someone
- Being at the center of attention
- What are the symptoms of social anxiety?
- The experience varies from person to person, but typically physical symptoms include the following:
- Rapid heartbeat
- Muscle tension
- Gastrointestinal distress
- Trouble catching your breath
- Dizziness
- Lightheadedness
- An “out of body” sensation
Why do people develop social anxiety?
Like other anxiety disorders, no one thing leads a person to develop a social anxiety disorder. It is instead a complex mixture of genetic, biological, and environmental factors.
Social anxiety tends to appear around 13 years of age, sometimes as a result of bullying or abuse.
How does social anxiety affect a person?
Social anxiety can have seriously debilitating ramifications on your life. It tends to make you avoid situations that may not affect others at all in fear that they will spark the symptoms of your social anxiety. It may make it difficult to understand how others can perform these tasks seemingly unharmed.
If left untreated, social anxiety can lead to further complications, such as:
- Lowered self-esteem
- Negative thoughts
- Depression
- Poor social skills
- Sensitivity to criticism
- How can I find relief from social anxiety?
Lifestyle Changes
Mental and physical health are closely linked. Support your physical health to support your mental health:
- Exercise at least 30 minutes, three to five times a week
- Get around 8 hours of sleep every night
- Avoid abuse of substances like caffeine or alcohol
How does ketamine treatment for anxiety work?
Exactly how ketamine treats anxiety disorders is still being researched by the medical community. The current understanding indicates that ketamine binds to receptors in the brain that increase the amount of a neurotransmitter, glutamate, is released. This will then set off a chain of reactions within the brain that affects thinking and emotional regulation.
To put this in simpler terms, the brain reacts to ketamine in a way that triggers hormones that help create more positive emotions. This can occur within minutes after a person receives their infusion, but some people may need several treatments before they experience the highest level of benefits. Contact us today to find out if this innovative new treatment opportunity is right for you.