Explain SA to the outside world.

[TailsAlone]

The deal is, I've been asked to give a speech about SA at an education center. They help young people with anxiety and other disorders get their GED's and such. My aunt works there and when she found out from my mom that I had SA/AVPD, she came to me. After thinking it over I said yes, but the meeting is in less than a month and I have no idea what I'm going to say. So I thought, why not ask other people with SA?

I want these teachers to understand the issues we all deal with every day. So if you could tell the outside world what it's like to have SA, what would you say?

 

[Flanscho]

"people with SA are scared of social situations". Or just take information from a Wikipedia article, reword it in an understandable way and add some personal experiences.

 

[sahxox]

The deal is, I've been asked to give a speech about SA at an education center. They help young people with anxiety and other disorders get their GED's and such. My aunt works there and when she found out from my mom that I had SA/AVPD, she came to me. After thinking it over I said yes, but the meeting is in less than a month and I have no idea what I'm going to say. So I thought, why not ask other people with SA?

I want these teachers to understand the issues we all deal with every day. So if you could tell the outside world what it's like to have SA, what would you say?

I think that sounds great. That's kicking it right in it's *** lol

May sound corny, but speak from the heart and you can never go wrong.

 

[squidgee]

Recite a moment of anxiety that everyone has probably experienced before, then tell them to imagine feeling that anxiety in every situation where you could be judged harshly. That might relate to the audience more than just reading out a list of symptoms. Personal anecdotes are good as well.

 

[R3K]

Social Anxiety Disorder (S.A.D.) is also commonly referred to as "Social Phobia" inside the S.A.D. community; the term is fairly self explanatory in that phobia science is already well established-- arachnaphobia, clsotrophobia, etc.

take the same thesis, that of an individual possessing an innate, deeply imprinted psychological auto-response command set to the given phobia, then replace "arachna" with "all social encounters with other human beings," and then you'll have a little bit of an understanding about what Social Anxiety Disorder, and other related disorders are.

most importantly, it is a psychological disorder, not a mental disorder, so the source of the problem exists outside the mind. or underneath in the unattended subconscious. therefore any applicable solution to the problem exists not in the S.A.D.-sufferer's mind, but somewhere else.

 

[Kiwong]

There are a few good web pages that explain it very well.

 

[Scandic123]

I've purchased an e-book by a guy who formerly suffered from SA. I'm obviously not allowed to upload it or copy/paste text from it, but I've made some notes myself. Maybe you can use some of this information?

The causes of SA:
It’s not a real illness – medication doesn’t help, and can only be a temporary fix
It’s not a personality trait – you’re not shy all the time
It’s a set of learned mental and physical behaviours you may use to react in certain situations – You can unlearn these behaviours and replace them with new ones

People with SA think / are scared that:
…someone will criticize or reject them based on their behaviour
…they will make a negative impression on someone
…someone will judge their actions negatively
…they are weak, inferior, inadequate or less good than others
…people will notice this defect and disapprove of them

They are scared of disapproval or rejection => they are quiet and withdrawn – they don’t want attention that could mean potential disapproval => people will not notice them and therefore not disapprove of them => the risk of disapproval can increase => the cycle starts over and gets worse

They are only more loud and outgoing in situations where disapproval is unlikely – with family or close friends – they know how the people will react to their actions

Fear of disapproval is a build-in survival mechanism:
Many of our behaviours are secretly driven by a subconscious need to survive and reproduce.

If a caveman was disapproved by his tribe, he would be kicked out, forced to be on his own and eventually die – therefore disapproval = death
Shyness is not always a problem, it can prevent us from doing things that could have severe consequences – but people with SA take it too

The Amygdala:
The Amygdala is a subconscious part of the brain that connects a certain stimulus to pain or pleasure – negative social feedback is registered as pain and therefore danger
A “fight or flight” response is activated, leading to symptoms such as rapid heart rate, trembling/shaking, short of breath, sweating, cold hands, blushing, etc.
Panic attack = the symptoms come very quickly and intensely