In early June, two Major League baseball players were put on the disabled list for social anxiety disorder. The players were from two different teams (and in another twist, the teams played each other on the day the players were put on the disabled list).

Both the Cardinals and the Reds had players suffering from social anxiety disorder, and both teams handled the problem well. The Cardinals placed shortstop Khalil Greene on the disabled list and specifically labeled the reason as “social anxiety disorder.” The Reds’ first baseman Joey Votto left his club to deal with “stress-related issues.”

This is certainly a first for major league baseball, and is the first time social anxiety disorder was officially recognized as a reason for players to be placed on the disabled list.

You can read more in an article at the SportingNews: Baseball deserves credit for addressing mental, emotional issues.

Meeting new people can be a nerve wracking experience for some people and can be a nightmare for people suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder.

Dreading celebrations, shying away from conversation and avoiding social situations all together is part of the suffering associated with Social Anxiety Disorder. The holidays are an especially hard time for people who feel uneasy and insecure in social situations. Attending office parties, family gatherings and other social events can cause one suffering with Social Anxiety Disorder to feel miserable and insecure.

There are two types of social disorders. Performance Anxiety is often associated with public speaking and generally performing in public. Generalized social anxiety is the extreme of the two and affects a person’s every day life. Simple social gatherings, meeting new people and even going shopping or out to dinner can cause extreme anxiety. Symptoms of this disorder include sweating, a racing heart, and nausea.

According to The Myrtle Beach Sun News, approximately 12 per cent of adults in the United States experience some form of social anxiety. Many social disorders begin in adolescence and may have arisen after a humiliating experience.

While many people feel there is no cure, the good news is that there are treatments available to help ease the negative feelings associated with social anxiety.

Psychotherapy is a common and healthy treatment, helping patients get over the hurdles of negative thinking by talking about experiences and facing fears. Finding a qualified therapist is important and can be found by contacting the Anxiety Disorders of America www.adaa.org

Another option to treat social anxiety disorder is medication. Doctors may prescribe benzodiazepine to quickly ease feelings of anxiety or a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Medication can prove to be very effective, especially if taken with psychotherapy.

People with social anxiety should also avoid alcohol, large amounts of caffeine, and should get plenty of sleep and exercise. Exercise promotes a healthy body image and is an excellent way to reduce stress.

People with Social Anxiety Disorder do not have to live with their insecurities and fear of meeting new people. There are treatments and techniques available to make a person’s quality of life much more fulfilling.

Social Anxiety Disorder may be met with negative reactions from people who are not aware or have not experienced an anxiety related condition themselves.

Social Anxiety Disorder has been named one of the Top 10 “Yuppie” conditions. The disorder is categorized with similar conditions including: Chronic Fatigue, Tennis Elbow, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Gluten Allergy, Epstein-Barr virus (or EBV), Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Restless Leg Syndrome, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and Fibromyalgia.

A Yuppie is short for Young Urban Professional, people who are middle class and financially secure and have reached financial gain with little effort. Like Chronic Fatigue, which was coined “The Yuppie Flu” when it first emerged, Social Anxiety Disorder is often perceived to be a made up condition for people who do not wish to face every day situations. Like many anxiety related disorders, Social Anxiety Disorder may not always be taken seriously because it cannot be physically diagnosed with a blood test or an X-ray. According to ABC.com News, doctors who diagnose these disorders can at times come under criticism as people believe they are making money off of the drugs they prescribe to their patients.

Many people with Social Anxiety Disorder have, in the past, been perceived as ‘shy’. However, being a shy person and being afraid to enter into social situations are two different issues. Shy people are afraid of social situations but avoiding a social situation altogether, to the point of rarely leaving the house, is more extreme.

Dealing with social anxiety and not being taken seriously can heighten anxiety, causing people struggling with the condition to further enter into their personal shells. Being ridiculed and criticized will not cure a social disorder and should be taken seriously. The concept of a “Yuppie” condition exists because people who have not suffered from the condition find it hard to comprehend suffering from anxiety themselves.

Social anxiety disorder is a major problem that affects millions of Americans. And while this phobia is common in adults, more and more children are being diagnosed as well. As you can imagine, this leads to problems when it comes to education. Not only do children with social anxiety disorder need to learn how to overcome this problem, but teachers and counselors must also learn more.

Research has shown that some students have become so bad with social anxiety disorder that they are afraid to speak and interact within an educational setting. In basic terms, when social anxiety disorder effects a child it creates fear of being criticized by others. In some cases it can be so bad that it leads to physical sickness as well.

The problem with social anxiety disorder in children is that it can be difficult to determine the difference between this phobia and basic shyness. It is much easier to diagnose social anxiety disorder in adults because they will usually shy away from all situations and stay to themselves. But in children this is not always the case. Instead, they often times act out in fear which makes a diagnosis much more difficult.

As a parent it is important to closely monitor your child. Although you cannot do so while your child is in school there are ways to check up on them. For instance, are your child’s grades as good as they usually are? If not, this may be a sign that they are experiencing some sort of trouble. Additionally, stay in touch with your child’s teachers so you can quickly get word if this problem begins to rear its ugly head.

Social anxiety disorder can lead to children not wanting to go to school and/or receiving bad grades. While social anxiety disorder can be difficult to diagnose it is the job of the parents and school officials to watch for this phobia in their child and students.

An interesting study was was recently performed by Swedish scientists to measure the placebo effect on participants in a trial treatment for social anxiety disorder.

The scientists recruited 25 participants with an exaggerated fear of public humiliation, (what we refer to as “social anxiety disorder”). Each of the participants were required to give a speech at the start and end of an eight-week treatment. However, unbeknownst to the participants and their doctors, the treatment was actually a placebo.

Here’s what happened….

The researchers found that ten of the volunteers responded to the placebo much better than the rest, with their anxiety scores halved by the end of the study. Meanwhile, the anxiety scores of the other participants remained the same. Brain scans revealed that activity in the amygdala, the brain’s “fear” center, had decreased 3 per cent.

While this doesn’t necessarily advance the treatment of social anxiety disorder, it does provide some intersting insight into placebos and the possibility that the “placebo effect” may be more pronounced in people with a certain gene.

Below is a list of medications commonly prescribed for the treatment or control of social anxiety disorder. Let us know if you have any comments on any of these meds.

Brand Name	Generic Name	Drug Class	Common Side Effects
BuSpar	Buspirone	Azapirones	Excitement, dizziness, nausea, headache, lightheadedness, and nervousness.
Paxil	Paroxetine	SSRI	Nausea, diarrhea, constipation, decreased appetite, sleepiness, dizziness, yawning, sweating, abnormal vision, and sexual side effects.
Lexapro	Escitalopram Oxalate	SSRI	Nausea, insomnia, problems with ejaculation, increased sweating, fatigue, and decreased libido.
Zoloft	Sertraline	SSRI	Upset stomach, having trouble sleeping, diarrhea, dry mouth, sexual side effects, feeling unusually sleepy or tired, tremor, indigestion, increase of sweating, feeling agitated, and decreased appetite.
Xanax	Alprazolam	Benzodiazepine	** Sleepiness, susceptibility, vibration, state of unconsciousness, coma, problem in inhalation; closing of your throat; swelling of your lips or mouth.
Effexor XR	Venlafaxine	N/A	Dizziness, nausua, abnormal ejaculation, dry mouth, sweating, abnormal vision, gas, trouble sleeping, constipation, confusion, gas, and sleepiness.
Adapin	Doxepin	Tricyclic Antidepressants	Dry mouth,drowsiness, and blurred vision.

NOTE: ** denotes symptoms associated with an overdose.

Treatment is the only option for an anxiety disorder that will become worse overtime.  Social anxiety can keep you from living a happy successful life by hindering your ability to work or have interpersonal relationships. Life with social phobia may feel like it’s without hope, but there are treatment options available to treat social anxiety.  With time, most people will be able to live productive lives, without the fear of anxiety. This article will overview treatment options available for social anxiety disorder.

Finding treatment

Before you can get treatment for social anxiety disorder you have to find treatment.  You will want to know which health care professional is right for you, what questions to ask him or her, and much more.  You can learn how to find treatment and what to do when you find it by reading our articles on treatment of social anxiety disorder.

Which treatment option(s) are best for me?

Treatment that best helps someone with social anxiety varies from person to person.  For example, some people might respond to well to medications, but others maybe require behavior therapy plus medication.  You should consult with your mental health professional to help you decide what is best for you.

Home Treatment

There are many things an anxiety sufferer can do by themselves that can help alleviate some of the anxiety.  Firstly, a person should get plenty of sleep, have a balanced diet, and exercise. Some people use alcohol or illicit drugs to help them gain confidence in feared social situations; it only leads to addictions such as alcoholism or substance abuse.

You can check of simple things you can do to relieve anxiety that is plaguing you. Check our tips for relieving anxiety and stress.

Treatment by medication

Medications are usually on the front lines in the battle against social phobia, but there are many different classes of drugs that help alleviate symptoms of social anxiety.

Once you have figured out that you may suffer from social anxiety disorder, what do you do now? 
Depending on the severity of your anxiety, you may choose to seek professional help. Seeking assistance can be relatively easy (if you are lucky) or it can be more difficult. It depends on your situation and how you approach it.

If you have a family doctor that you regularly see, then ask for a referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist he or she may know.  Other ways to find a therapist or psychologist are through your phone book’s yellow pages. Similarly, you can call the psychiatric ward of a local hospital ask the head nurse for a recommendation.  Also, if you have insurance, review a list of approved mental health providers.

Guidelines for selecting a mental health professional

When selecting a mental health practioner he or she must be able to answer all of the basic questions below.  Remember, its your health, don’t settle for second best.

• What training and experience do you have in treating anxiety disorders?
• What is your basic approach to treatment?
• Can you prescribe medication or refer me to someone who can, if that proves necessary?
• What is your fee schedule, and do you have a sliding scale for varying financial circumstances?
• What kinds of health insurance do you accept?

There has been a lot of concern over children being prescribed pscyhotropic medications, but the studies available today are largely incomplete. Children are in a state of rapid growth and change; treatment and diagnosis of mental disorders which include anxiety should be considered with developmental changes in mind.

It was thought, in the past, that many brain disorders such as anxiety disorders developed after childhood, but scientists and researchers now know that these disorders can develop during early childhood. An estimated 10% of all the children and adolescents in the U.S. suffer from mental illness that is severe enough to cause a level of impairment; less than 20% of those will receive treatment.

This article will help you become more informed on how to help your child if he or she seems to have mental disturbances.

Q: What should I do if im concerned about behavioral, mental, and emotional symptoms that my child is exhibiting?

A: First, talk to your child’s doctor. Find out everything you can about the symptoms or behavior that bothers you, concerning your child. If your children is in a daycare or school ask the teacher or caretaker if she or she has noticed any worrisome behavioral changes.  Share all of your collected information with your child’s doctor.

Q:Who should I talk with to help my child?

Your child’s doctor should be your first option. Describe, in detail, the symptoms that worry you. If the situation warrents more help, a social worker, psychiatrist, or child psychologist maybe be needed.  One of your child’s educators may also play an important role in your child’s treatment.

Q:Why haven’t many medications been tested in children?

A: Many of the anxiety medications available today were not studied in children because of ethical concerns involving children in clinical trials. The lack of testing in children has led to a shortage of knowledge about how to treat children with mental disorders.  Currently, the Food & Drug Adminstration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are looking at the issue of medication research in children and developing research approaches.

Q:Which medications are used for treating childhood anxiety disorders?

A: The medication drug class widely prescribed for use in treating children with anxiety disorders are the SSRI’s.

In the brain, there are many neurotransmitters that affect the way we think, feel, and act. SSRI’s affect mainly serontine and have been found to be effective in treating anxiety and depression without many side effects.

Q:Should medications be included in my child’s overall treatment plan?

A:If medications are recommended, they should not be the only strategy in treating your child’s anxiety.  Behavior management or family therapy should also be considered.

Living and coping with social anxiety disorder is hard, but it’s even harder when an anxiety sufferer feels that his or her family doesn’t understand. The strain that social anxiety disorder puts on family relationships can have a negative impact. For example, if a relative wants to go out to eat at a restaurant, the socially anxious person may be extremely reluctant to participate because of the fear of eating in public. It’s not the fear of just eating in public, but it’s also the fear that he or she might not be displaying the proper etiquette. This form of anxiety is commonly referred to performance anxiety by researchers.

If you’re a family member of someone who has social anxiety disorder, then you first need to realize that it is a serious medication condition that affects millions of people each and every year. You can learn more about social anxiety disorder on this site.

Steps to helping your family member cope successfully

Learn about the social anxiety disorder as much as you can, and even read case stories if available.

If your family member has made some achievements in the fight against anxiety, then praise him or her for their accomplishments.

Don’t try to force your family member into social situations they are not comfortable with, but rather try to be flexible while sticking to a normal routine.

Lastly, do not treat them differently because they have anxiety, but act normally as usual.