The validity of Social Anxiety "Disorder"

[verboten]

Hello. This is my first post, though I've been lurking for a little while. I've seen a couple of other posts that I feel have alluded to my point, so I apologize if what I have to say has been repeated many times before.

I can relate to much of what has been said on this site, including, at one point, the feelings depression and self hate that some have expressed. I used to wonder if there was something physically wrong with me because I didn't love socializing or going to parties. But I think it had much more to do with what general society expected of me.

Though I have enjoyed reading about experiences so similar to my own, I have been a bit disappointed with the often morbid tone of this site. While I'm sure there are people who genuinely desire to be social butterflys, I think that in equal measure there are those who would benefit from accepting that they aren't precisely the same as everyone else in the world. I've become happy, more confident, and even a slightly more ambitious person because I accepted that I neither would ever have a million friends nor would I want to. I take pride in the facets of my personality that allow me see things in ways most people seem to be incapable of. I don't have a disease, I'm just different On the day of my birth, no one in a white coat gravely informed my parents of the discovery of a rare form of SAD virus in my bloodstream.

The majority of the people in the world are extroverts. The majority of introverts in the world like most people and greatly enjoy socializing, even if it tires them. It is only natural that they view such behavior as "normal". While I admit to disliking most people, i.e. people who aren't fairly similar to me, I don't think society is evil; people are just people. But I wonder if "Social Anxiety Disorder" is simply the manifestation of a widely misunderstood personality type. I'm not too bitter about people over the years teeling me to change; they honestly thought that the things that make them happy apply to everyone. But that doesn't change the fact that they were wrong.

Also, it bothers me that the focus of this site seems to be the "curing" of SA. This may sound silly, but if anything it should be a celebration of extreme introversion.

...sorry about the length of this post, waaaay too long I know, but it felt great to finally get this out.

 

[Pyrophosphate]

First off, welcome to the site.

Second, there is no such thing as too long of a post here.

And finally, I have to disagree with the idea of "a celebration of extreme introversion." People on this site focus on "curing" SA because it is a problem. While it may give a person a kind of unique insight, it also prevents that person from functioning normally in a world where isolation and self-sufficiency is not an option. You HAVE to be able to communicate with others to get anywhere in life. I know that I would never celebrate the fact that I have a panic attack the moment I see somebody of the opposite sex. That's a problem, and it needs to be fixed. And most of us know that we will never have millions of friends and such. The point of curing SA is not to change who we are, but to be able to live a somewhat normal, functional life.

 

[CrystalBear]

I never expect myself to be a social butterfly, however I'd love it if I no longer felt controlled by my anxiety. I mean because of it the simple task of going to get job applications is a nightmare. This isnt something I really want to be "celebrating"

I think the difference between being just introverted and being someone with social anxiety is that peopel with SP are prevented from doing things they want or even need to do. Also it makes life more difficult with the constant worrying of what people are thinking of you.

 

[Helyna]

Anxiety causes depression, panic attacks, or uncontrollable compulsions to some people. It causes some people to be evaluating their moves every moment they are not alone. It causes some people to not be able to speak when they want to. Humans are social by nature, and when someone can't interact socially, something is wrong and they suffer from it because they, like almost all humans, want social interaction. If you're happy with your life, that's great and you don't have to be any more extroverted, but if you are like some people here and can't go out of your house without tensing, blushing, sweating, etc, anxiety qualifies as a disorder. It all depends. I call it a disorder in general, but not necessarily for me.