This article is a continuation of the Living with Social Anxiety Disorder series where web visitors are given a small insight into the daily lives of social anxiety sufferers. This particular article focuses on the difficulties of going to school and keeping up academic performance.
Imagine dreading going to school, more so than others. You sit in the back of the classroom or find ways to “blend” , because you fear being called upon by the instructor to answer a question. You also avoid lunch and may even skip it, or other classmates see you as aloof or snotty because you don’t talk others. You have a question about class work, but you’re too afraid to ask for help because you fear that other students or your teacher will think you’re uneducated. If even one or all the situations describe the way you feel, then you probably have social anxiety disorder.
Some people with social anxiety disorder do very poorly academically and some may even drop out of school if the anxiety is too much to bear. Students with social phobia do not usually ask for help, in the classroom setting, out of fear of embarrassment. Most students will remain relatively unnoticed (won’t stand out) or invisible by others in the classroom.
Students with social anxiety will tend to stay away from school activities such as sports, choir, and band where their “performance” can be criticized. These same students are often seen by others as loners, snobby, or just uninterested in anyone or anything.
When it comes to classroom participation there be little or none on part of the student with social anxiety. In groups, the person with social phobia may not voice his or her opinion about something even if she or he wants to. Projects that require the student to do public speaking will probably not be done by the student. In high school academics, social anxiety suffers who don’t participate in class or ask for help might be overlooked by educators that think the student is uninterested with academics which will further make them overlooked.
We hope this article has given you some insight into the difficulties of people with social anxiety when they seek an education. If you’re one of millions that feels this way, then read more of the articles for information on getting help and treatment for social phobia.
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