Do you freeze up when you interact with other people? Do you have trouble expressing yourself? Do social functions make you nervous? Getting anxious around other people and especially in social situations is not a good feeling at all. It can be very unpleasant and limiting.

Social anxiety is a kind of anxiety disorder that limits a person’s ability to interact with others. It makes them scared, nervous, fearful, and jittery. Since most people today base their assessment of your personality by how you walk, talk, eat, and dress, the thought of being judged makes you feel like you want to jump out of a window.

Honestly, it is completely normal to feel anxious before meeting up with someone new. Meeting an entire group of people at the same time can be very frustrating, and sometimes it can be very hard to adjust yourself with the type of people around you that might already be secretly talking behind your back after you are introduced to one another.

Find YOUR way to curb social anxiety!

 

If these feelings of panic get worse as you progress in work life or social life, then it can be that you have already developed a disorder. There are a lot of ways that you can find out if you have this type of disorder, but the most common would be through online tests, or tests that are given by your doctor.

A social anxiety disorder test is designed to assess how comfortable you feel around a group of people. It will also help doctors assess if you have the disorder or not, and if you do end up having it, they can prescribe you with the right treatment that can help you get your condition under control.

What do these tests look like?

There are different kinds of tests that you can take online even before you visit your doctor. But generally speaking, most social anxiety tests that are either given by your doctor or taken online look like this:

Bothered by	None	Some	Moderate	High
1. Saying hello to a stranger	0	1	2	3
2. Talking to a friend during lunch time	0	1	2	3
3. Making calls to strangers from your cubicle at work, when others can hear you say everything	0	1	2	3

 

As you can see above, the questions are designed for every scenario that relates to a person’s fear and anxiety. If you were to take these questions and you have you know that you have social anxiety disorder what would you answer?

When answering these questions always remember to be as honest as you can about what you feel, so that doctors can determine your intensity. Don’t be scared if you will be judged, because doctors are good secret keepers, and they will make sure that whatever you answer on these tests is completely confidential.

Another benefit of a social anxiety disorder test is, you get to know yourself better. You will be able to answer these questions and you will figure out what bothers you and what doesn’t bother you during a social setting so you can avoid it from happening.

That is another reason for why doctors ask you to take these tests, so that you are aware of your emotions when put in situations where you have to mingle with different people.

Always think of it as a positive thing, because the more you are anxious just by answering the test, then the more the doctor can’t help you with your condition. Use it as a tool to get to know yourself better.
 

Ways to cope with social anxiety

If you have succeeded in finding out if you have this condition, there are also ways that you can spare yourself the humiliation by learning how to cope with it. There will be days wherein you will have such a hard time talking to people, and it will eventually begin to be more dominant in your personality, if you do not do anything about it.

Social anxiety can cause an enormous amount of damage in your life, if you do not let people help you. If you do not know how to start helping yourself, here are some ways that you can cope with social anxiety:

Practice taking deep breaths regularly – taking regular deep breaths before meeting someone new will help you relax and calm your mind. Breathing helps lower blood pressure, and alleviate heavy heart pounding.

So before you take on the challenge of meeting a new set of people, make sure that you take the time to do some breathing exercises, and you’ll see that it really works.

Try reading some self-help books – self-help books give a person with anxiety disorder a lot of insight about how to cope with their condition. You can also try this as an alternative if you a therapy based process of coping with your disorder.

Other than that, it will also engage you on how you can properly inject yourself into a conversation amongst people without getting anxious. Try it, you’ll find that it may actually help you a great deal.

Seek a therapist – asking for professional help is already a huge step towards recovery. Since you may not know the person that you will be asking help from, overcoming the urge to feel anxious towards your doctor will give you the push you need to continue with your progress to recovery.

Doctors will also give you relaxation techniques and other ways that you can cope with your condition. Just remember to trust your doctor, because they will know what to do for you.

 

Find YOUR way to curb social anxiety!

 

Conclusion

Making use of a social anxiety disorder test will not only help you get to know yourself better, but it will also help you manage your anxiety. Always make sure to answer everything honestly, so that your doctor can recommend the right treatment or that you can find the right self-help method to treat yourself.