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Breaking Free from the Prison of Fear Source: by Sue Cleland…
Breaking Free from the Prison of Fear
Source: by Sue Cleland Copyright held by 2000 Mental Health Net
Excerpt from Sue Cleland’s journal “Living with Social Anxiety Disorder”….
“To feel fear in your everyday life is such a draining experience. To dread
any social contact with anyone whether they know you or not is one of the
worst feelings imaginable. It doesn’t even need to be contact – just being
visible to others was enough to bring on severe bouts of anxiety. Social
situations are impossible to control, anything can happen at any time due to
the nature of human nature. At any time, you could be asked to, or expected
to make some contribution to conversation, at any time you may be walking
along and trip in front of a line of cars, or people waiting at the traffic lights.
At any time, someone beside you might have a sneezing fit, or their mobile
phone might ring, which would surely attract public attention to that
person, and if you are in the vicinity of them, public attention to yourself –
oh no, what a horror! Maybe you have a hair out of place, or that pimple you
pushed that morning on the top of your nose feels like it is the size of a golf
ball. What are people going to say about you if they see you, what are they
going to think? “Look at her, look at that pimple – I’m glad I don’t have a
face like hers.” But deep down, what you are really afraid of is the belief
that people can see your fear, that they know you are scared and a
quivering mess inside. The whole time you feel so vulnerable like the
essence of who you are, your fears, your past experiences, your weaknesses
are all exposed, to be analyzed, criticized and judged by everyone who
comes in contact with you.
I was unable to look into anyone’s eyes, whether it be my parents, my close
friends, acquaintances or people I had never met before without feeling that
they were seeing all my insecurities, fears and failures. The eyes are the
essence of the soul, and the pathway to the soul. Whenever I had contact
with someone’s eyes, the only thought that ever occupied my mind was –
they can see my fear, they think I’m weak, hopeless, useless, ugly, etc. For
this reason, my memory for conversations is incredibly poor, because I was
there in person, but I was not there at all. I was unable to focus on what
anyone was saying to me as my head was constantly preoccupied with what
I believed other people were thinking of me. It never occurred to me that
the person who was talking to me was thinking about what they were
saying, not about me…. services.
…At no instant did I ever stop to think that the answer to my fears and
subsequent anxiety lay within me. The answer to my unhappiness lay within
me. The answer to my thoughts lay within me. The answer to the path I was
taking in my life lay within me. The answer to the people I attracted into my
life lay within me.”
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social Anxiety Disorder is a fear of being embarrassed, judged or evaluated
negatively in social situations. Because of this fear, the person with Social
Anxiety Disorder experiences physical symptoms of anxiety, and as a result
tends to avoid the social interaction or social situation that brings on the
symptoms of anxiety. The level of anxiety experienced by the person with
Social Anxiety disorder is excessive, and results in substantial impairment
in the person’s social, emotional, interpersonal and occupational life.
Equally common in men and women and found across all cultures, Social
Anxiety Disorder is estimated to affect approximately three percent of the
population of Australia, and as many as eight percent of the population of
the USA.
Characteristically, Social Anxiety Disorder develops in the mid-teenage
years. The World Psychiatric Association suggests that as many as ninety-
five percent of those who have Social Anxiety Disorder will have developed
the disorder before the age of twenty. If left untreated, Social Anxiety
Disorder can add to the onset of other developmental problems, and other
conditions such as depression, avoidant personality disorder, drug and
alcohol abuse, and sometimes suicide.
The most common situations that are feared by people who have Social
Anxiety Disorder can include one or all of the following; speaking in public,
eating and drinking in public, writing (or using a keyboard) in front of
others, meeting new people, meeting or talking with people in positions of
authority, meeting or talking to members of the opposite sex, being
watched doing something, and being teased.
When the person who has Social Anxiety Disorder is confronted by the
feared situation, or even just thinks about the feared situation, extreme
symptoms of anxiety result. The symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder
include one, or all of the following: high levels of anxiety when exposed to
the feared situation (palpitations, trembling, sweating, tense muscles, dry
throat, blushing, dizziness, sinking feeling in the stomach); an
overwhelming feeling of wanting to escape, feelings of self consciousness
and inadequacy; avoidance of the feared situation which can often lead to
isolation from friends, family and society; and a reliance on drugs or alcohol
to get the person through the feared situation.
A common misconception amongst some of the medical profession and the
general public is that Social Anxiety Disorder is the same as shyness. It is
important to clarify that shyness and Social Anxiety Disorder are different.
Shyness is a normal characteristic. Social Anxiety Disorder is a recognised
medical condition, where the symptoms are so excessive that they cause
significant disruption to the person’s life. In 1980, Social Anxiety Disorder
was classified as an illness in the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual, the highly
recognised manual to diagnose psychiatric disorders. Since this time,
diagnostic criteria has been widely improved, allowing for correct diagnosis
of Social Anxiety Disorder and more appropriate treatment options to be put
in place.
Can Social Anxiety Disorder Be Treated?
Can Social Anxiety Disorder be treated? The World Psychiatric Association
suggests that yes, Social Anxiety Disorder responds well to treatment.
Medications, in conjunction with various psychological therapies have been
seen to be the most successful in the treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder.
Medications found to be the most effective to treat the disorder include
those that inhibit the monoamine oxidase enzyme in the central nervous
system. (RIMA’s, MAOI’s and SSRI’s), while psychological therapies such as
cognitive therapy, behaviour therapy and graded exposure therapy are seen
to be the most effective psychological approaches. Other techniques useful
in treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder include; self esteem therapy,
relaxation techniques, correct breathing techniques, assertion and
perception training, social skills training, meditation, visualisation and
focusing skills. The World Psychiatric Association suggests that as few as 25
per cent of people who have Social Anxiety Disorder currently receive
treatment. Treatment options need to be introduced as soon as a diagnosis
is made to alleviate the impairment to the sufferer’s life, to prevent the
further development of other related conditions such as depression,
avoidant personality disorder, and drug and alcohol abuse.
A Word from Sue…
“Social Anxiety Disorder is a very real and distressing illness that needs
more recognition in our community. Research suggests that Social Anxiety
Disorder is very common, although often underestimated and undertreated.
I believe it is important to diagnose and treat this disorder in the early
stages before it leads to other related disorders and before it has the chance
to develop into an illness that is extremely debilitating to a persons social,
emotional, occupation, interpersonal and physical well being. I know there
are many people who are sitting out there in their homes who are going
through what I went through, believing that the world is a frightening
place, too scared to seek help, or not sure where to go to get it. If you have
been diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder, or if you believe you have
Social Anxiety Disorder, tell someone how you are feeling. Find a
practitioner who is experienced in this area and engage in therapy, as
believe me, it will change your life for the better. There is no longer a need
for you to live a life of fear and extreme anxiety. With the right support and
therapy, you can break free from your prison of fear, and find that the world
is not such a frightening place.”
About Sue…
Sue Cleland, a professional Social Worker with extensive experience
providing individual and group psychological therapy to people who have
major mental health problems, recognised a large need for supportive
therapy to assist people in overcome Social Anxiety Disorder after seeking
support for herself during the recovery phase of her illness, but was unable
to find it.
As a result of recognizing this large gap in our health service, Sue has now
set up a private practice in Brisbane to work exclusively with people who
have been diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder. Sue has developed a
holistic treatment program which is based on recent research on treatment
options that have been proven to be successful, therapies that worked for
Sue in overcoming Social Anxiety Disorder, and an understanding of the
illness and its impact, gained from her 17 years of living with Social Anxiety
Disorder. Sue has also set up a Social Anxiety Disorder Support Group,
S.A.D.S. which runs on a fortnightly basis, provides a consultation role to
other service providers, is working on two books on the illness, other
various programs aimed at education with an emphasis on prevention of the
illness, and has developed the first informative Australian Internet Web Site
exclusively on Social Anxiety Disorder which will be available for viewing
from 21st February.
For more information on Social Anxiety Disorder, resources and treatment
options in Brisbane and around Australia, contact Sue Cleland at her Mental
Health Consultancy on 07 3878 6044, or visit her web site at
http://www.scmhc.com.au.
Briefly summarize the symptoms associated with social anxiety disorder.
How is social anxiety disorder similar to other types of disorders, including other anxiety disorders (e.g., phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorders) and mood disorders?
How can social anxiety disorder be treated?
What approach does the author of this paper recommend for treating this disorder?
What is your overall reaction to this case?
