Triumph Over Shyness: Tips to Beat Social Anxiety Disorder

(NewsUSA) - Suffering from much more than shyness, people with social anxiety disorder experience severe anxiety in social encounters, often accompanied by a racing heart, shaking, sweating, blushing, nausea, shortness of breath, or other physical symptoms. Most people with the disorder avoid the types of social situations -- meeting with coworkers, attending family events, even talking on the phone -- that cause them extreme mental and physical distress.

This anxiety disorder can prevent people from participating fully in life. They often become dependent on alcohol if they try to self-medicate. And social anxiety disorder frequently occurs with other anxiety disorders, as well as depression. Studies show that people with depression and social anxiety disorder have an increased rate of suicide attempts.

The Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) offers hope in the form of a new self-help book. "Triumph Over Shyness: Conquering Social Anxiety Disorder" (second edition), by Murray B. Stein, MD, MPH, and John R. Walker, PhD, offers tips for handling a socially anxious situation:

* When you are feeling anxious, remind yourself to focus on others.

* Make it your goal to listen carefully to what the other person has to say.

* Think about how that person feels about what he is saying: Is this a situation involving strong emotion?

* Often your attention will move back to yourself. Just accept anxious thoughts and physical sensations and direct your attention back to the other person.

* Don't spend much time planning or rehearsing what you will say next. This will distract you from listening to the other person.

* Don't try to figure out what others are thinking about you.

The book is now available through the ADAA bookstore at www.adaa.org. To learn more about social anxiety disorder, visit www.adaa.org/socialanxietydisorder.

"Article By: NewsUSA"