SchülerartikelChildren and teenagers with social anxiety

Definition and causes of social anxiety:

In a society full of different people with different personalities, races, social backgrounds, where we humans have to socialize in order to keep a bond between us, this is a big struggle/problem for people with social anxiety disorder. According to Delano, in 2020, 16,5 per cent of people aged 10 to 19 have mental disorders in Luxembourg, including social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety disorder is classified as an intense, persistent fear of embarrassing moments and being watched and judged by others, for example these people have a really hard time expressing their own opinions, they have a fear of embarrassing moments, like presenting in front of the class, speaking in class, they get anxious when talking to strangers or even friends – in short, public performances in general. It was said that the causes of this disorder are very unclear, but it’s thought to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors, like having your parents with social anxiety disorder or being exposed to an abusive, neglectful household. This disorder can effect a person’s daily activities, like school or work.

Physical symptoms of social anxiety:

A lot of people with social anxiety also deal with depression, mostly lead by loneliness caused by avoiding social situations. According to the internet, the nine most common symptoms of social anxiety are blushing, fast heartbeat, trembling, sweating, upset stomach, trouble catching your breath, dizziness, feeling that you mind has gone blind and muscle tension. For example when your teacher calls you out to read something in front of the class, you don’t want to but as you go up and see that everyone is watching you, your heart starts beating fast and your voice starts trembling and your mind goes blank, this could possibly be social anxiety. Here, I advice parents to seek treatment for your child, if they tend to have these symptoms.

Treatments for social anxiety:

For the treatments of social anxiety you could go to psychotherapy, take medication or both. During psychotherapy, called „talk therapy“, you talk to a therapist and they help you find various solutions to cope with that anxiety of yours, help identify and change troubling emotions, thoughts and behaviors. Naturally, you won’t be able to overcome it in a year or two but these tips might help you coping with social anxiety during the process of overcoming it.

Reality and advice:

These treatments might help some people but sometimes even these won’t help them overcome their social anxiety, in this case they have to cope with it during their entire life, meaning there’s still a lot of people, the cause for it might be that they got treatments too late, for example children/teenagers these days deal with anxiety and their parents don’t know about it, my advice for parents is to always ask their children about how they feel and if you see any symptoms of anxiety, you should let your child get treatment as soon as possible before it gets too late …

Goal of this article is:

I want people from all ages, generations to be aware of this problem. For the children/teenagers, if you are dealing with social anxiety, I hope you will eventually tell your parents about it and get treatment, because if not it will get worse. For the parents of these children, please make sure that you as a parent are making sure your child is feeling well and is feeling secure outside of their home and even during their time at home, take time to understand your child, their feelings and their worries in order to built a good relationship with your child and their present and future self!