Are You Shy? Do you have a disorder? This is the Start of my blog

If you have always been a shy person or have a hard time doing things in front of others because you feel like you may embarrass yourself, you may actually have a disorder known as social anxiety disorder. How do you know if you are just shy or have this disorder? Being shy or quiet around others is common and very much normal. Shyness is a personality characteristic, whereas, social anxiety is a psychiatric disorder. People with social anxiety disorder, unlike those who are shy, spend great amounts of time having negative thoughts in anticipation of participating in social activities. After encountering a social event, they replay it in their mind and concentrate on failures or negative moments during the event. It doesn’t matter if during the social event everything went well, one with social anxiety disorder imagines they did so many things wrong and tend to over exaggerate. They believe that others will see them as “stupid or inadequate”. Individuals with this disorder have immense anxiety in social situations which is abnormal. Does this discribe you??? If you have already been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, you are not alone. Actually, I have been diagnosed with this in the past. I live with it everyday and I function as a normal person. This is why I want to make the public more aware of this disorder and want to help others in need. Social anxiety disorder (S.A.D.), also known as social phobia, is the third most common psychological disorder in the United States behind alcoholism and depression. I struggled a great amount of my life with this disorder mainly because I didn’t know this disorder existed. I thought that my shyness was just a personality trait that I would eventually grow out of. However, I never did grow out of it and I eventually sought out answers to why I acted the way I did in front of others. When I was around familiar people like my close friends and family, I felt like I was myself. However, once in the presence of people that I had never met, I was once again that quit, shy guy. I wish I would have been educated about this disorder a long time ago so I could have received adequate treatment that could have made my life a lot easier. I feel like it is my calling from God to make the public more aware of this common disorder and help those that suffer with it. I have read many books on social anxiety disorder and have not found one that gave me the answers I was looking for. I didn’t feel like I identified with what the authors were saying. Being a psychotherapist or Ph.D. and reading about a disorder is one thing, but actually living with the disorder and writing to tell about it is another. I will try not only to give pertinent facts but also give you some personal stories of my own past which I am sure you will identify with if you are suffering with this disorder. This blog is also very helpful for parents of children that may exhibit these symptoms. This can help parents better understand their child and give them treatment options to consider.