Switched-On Magazine

You have two minutes until the curtain rises, the school auditorium is packed, with your classmates, friends, and family. The lines that you have practiced the last two months to memorize, are starting to fade, your body starts to overheat, your palms start to sweat, and then slowly the curtain inches up from the floor and the lights beam directly in your face. Thousands of eyes are looking directly at you. As they say, when someone has social anxiety disorders, life can be a stage. The feeling one may have before a public performance may be overwhelming, and scary, but just imagine that feeling every time
you are in a social situation. You may feel the need to hide and avoid places you may run in to someone, or have to engage in a conversation. Many times this happens to people who deal with social anxiety on a day-to-day basis.
There are many teens today that have these same feelings, and you may be one or know of someone. Sometimes referred to as a wallflower, they can be some one in you class that avoids raising their hand, constantly trying not to be noticed. But deep down inside they may be dealing with anxiety that prevents them from talking and engaging with others; this can be a very devastating and lonely thing to deal with as a teenager. Because anxiety disorders are becoming more and more public and accepted, today there is more help out there then there has in the past. Anxiety disorders can be caused by many factors, a traumatic event, like a death, overall stress and pressures, and sometimes a chemical imbalance in the brain. Whatever the cause, living with fear and not being able to be your true self can become a life sentence on stage.

Tips for social anxiety relief:

Make goals: start to push yourself into situations that will make you feel more confident. If you are someone who never raises your hand in the classroom, set a goal to raise your hand once a week. Even if
you don't get called on, at least you are taking the risk.

Become aware: Sometimes people don't like to talk because they feel they will not have anything good to say. If you start to watch the news, read the paper, you are more likely to want to jump in to a
conversation when a topic you know about is being discussed.

Be a good listener: Sometimes starting with being a good listener can eventually lead to a conversation. Ask people questions about themselves; try talking with someone else who also looks shy.

Present yourself with confidence: A lot of people avoid conversations or a group setting because they do not feel confident and always concerned with what they will say and how they will look saying it. If you stand up straight and look people in the eye, you will appear and feel more confident about yourself. Try practicing at home, in front of a mirror or talking to a stuffed animal. Even though this may seem silly, you may just find that you have lots to say and that everyone else has been missing out.