t least 30,000,000 Americans suffer from some form of social anxiety.

And they are just the people we know about because they‟ve reported
their symptoms to their doctor. The real figure is likely to be very much higher
than that with some experts saying it could be as high as 100 million people or 1
in 3 members of the population.

Social anxiety comes in many guises as well as the obvious fear of public
speaking. Severe shyness, fear of using the telephone, an unwillingness to enter
situations where conversation with strangers (and sometimes even people we
know) may become necessary and a reluctance to eat in public can all be
symptoms of social anxiety.

Whereas to the casual observer some of this stuff may seem either just a tad
weird or no big deal, to the person involved it may be incredibly debilitating and
distressing to the point where it completely dominates their life.

The modus operandi for the majority of people that suffer from social anxiety is
to:

Make every effort to avoid the circumstances that can trigger an attack

When such a situation does arise, fight it like hell

Paradoxically about the only thing this approach will guarantee, is to make the
situation worse and not just the immediate situation either. It will almost certainly
serve to make future occurrences more intense and stressful.

Everything you say, think or do is a communication with yourself.

Therefore, when you avoid something through fear you are telling your
unconscious mind danger is present and it stores that message for similar events
in the future.

In severe cases avoidance can lead to agoraphobia and/or depression as
people withdraw further and further into their shell in an attempt to avoid
whatever it is they believe will cause them problems.

So why do we replicate such behavior if it doesn‟t work efficiently?

A