Do I have Social Phobia?

[Anonymous]

I think I may have social phobia, although I'm not sure.

I will list my symptoms and tell me what you think:

- Huge fear of reading aloud in class, if there's ever the slightest hint that I have to do it; heart starts pounding, shaky etc. In the past I have avoided school because of this.

- Same thing when it comes to presentations.

- Comfortable in the company of my friends, not comfortable however around strangers. I don't get panicky around strangers however, just uneasy.

There probably are a few more but the main problem is the reading aloud/presentations.

Feel free to ask me any questions and tell me what you think.

Cheers.

 

[GettingThere]

I would say that you most likely just have shyness. I was very much like that at school but I did not become socially phobic until later (brought on by an episode of depression). Perhaps you have the potential to develope SP and you may be best advised to read a good antistress type book to develope good philosophies to avoid becoming phobic.

 

[dan246]

The avoidance is what catches my attention. If you are missing school because of this then you should do something about it. Like GettingThere said, read more about this and try and get rid of this problem before it turns into something worse.

 

[Anonymous]

sounds quite like specific performance anxiety

the uneasyness around strangers is very common for "normal" people

public speaking (giving presentations) is also a fear that many "normal" people list as being one of their biggest fears (they're more fearful of public speaking than death) but if it gets to the stage where you're anxious for days before the event and ultimately avoid it, it may well be that you have specific performance anxiety

go see your doctor and see what they say - there are probably physical and mental relaxation techniques that may be beneficial when a presentatino looms and perhaps even taking a quick acting drug may give a quick boost in confidence on the day of the event

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your comments. I'm going to the doctor next week so I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Anonymous]

Can anyone point me in the direction of some self relaxation technique 'guides' on the web? This is getting stupid now.

Cheers.

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone?

 

[GettingThere]

Don't know of any sites but there are lts of good books many of which are listed by people on postings here (there is one posting titled "best self help books).

If you can't afford to buy then you could always borrow from a library.