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I think this song to me really represents what having social anxiety is about. It starts off by talking about the lonely road that they are walking down and you don't know where it leads. But it's home to them because they are alone and they feel just as alone as they are. Then it talks about how the road they are walking down is divided  in their mind and they are trying to read between the lines. They wish there was someone that is there that could find them on this empty road but there is no one there. I like this song because i when i struggled with anxiety i always felt like i was walking down a road alone. It basically is saying you're going down a path but there is no one there to help. I felt that a lot when I was struggling because I just felt like no one could help me. But then I realized there is a way I don't have to go down the road alone.

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this lastarticle talks about how phones are affecting anxiety among teens. It's crazy to think that teens spend 2 or more hours on their phones a day. Also many teens use their phones at night which affect your sleep and then you are tired the next day and don't want to do anything. They also found that since most parents don't limit their phone time they are on them more. It was found that more girls deal with anxiety from social media because everyone always is seeing what you watch and judging you on something. Whereas it was found that boys don't deal with this as bad but they are usually playing pranks on social media.

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this article talks about how having close friends in high school can help you out. They conducted a study of 169 young teens throughout a 10 year period. The researchers found that the kids that had better friendships at the age of 15 had a better self-worth than those who didn't have these close friends. After reading this article I found it very helpful because I think if I had found my friends that I have now earlier it would have helped with my anxiety.

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This article is about a day in the life of a girl struggling with social anxiety. Her name is sally and talk about not only how she deals with anxiety on the daily. They also talk about how she grew up and how her life as a kid lead to her struggling with anxiety. She was always involved in school activties when she was younger and she was always a good kid. But then her parents started to notice she was struggling not in school but with the social part of school.

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The MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds

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By Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Posted in: Grade School, Parenting Concerns, Teenagers, Young Adults

Most kids and young adults look forward to going back to school. But for those with social anxiety, school and all that comes with it can literally provoke dread.

I'm going to show you what I mean. Let's consider Sally.

Sally is a sweet, sensitive, likeable 16-year-old girl. In grade school, she was active in community softball, made the rounds for birthday parties and had a fair share of sleepovers. She loved acting, and had a few minor parts in community theater. Back then, she was a happy little girl and always had one or two best friends in the neighborhood. But her mom noticed that something began to change in middle school. She was less eager to play sports. She came home right after school and turned down opportunities to try out for the school play, even though she was specifically invited by the drama teacher who knew her from previous plays. And she was increasingly reluctant to attend parties and outings with her friends. In high school things got even harder. She was always dutiful about going to school, but came home and went right to her room. Her two best friends frequently asked her to join them to hang out with other friends, but she refused. "Too much homework," she would say. When her friends or parents asked what was wrong, she denied anything. This once quiet but chipper little girl looked very sad. She seemed lost - and lonely.

Something's not right, here. That much is clear. But is this just a normal phase? Don't all kids get a little shy as they get older? Doesn't this especially happen with girls?

Well, maybe. There's some data to support some minor changes in behavior as part of normal development, but this is different.

The key here is that Sally's troubles are almost exclusively in her social world. In fact, her parents note that she still happily attends dinners with her family. She still teases her cousins. Vacations are fine. It's when she's around her peers at school that things just get hard.

Her parents of course ran the usual and often frightening list of possibilities. Was she having problems with drugs? Was she being bullied? Had something awful happened at school? Maybe she was depressed? All of this would explain her isolation, her declining grades, and her sadness.

Except that Sally was perfectly fine at home. It was only when her parents challenged her to try new experiences, to meet new kids, that she became agitated. Her parents were struggling. How could they explain what was happening?

Sally's pediatrician looked for Mono. She looked for Lyme Disease. She talked to Sally about depression, but Sally just didn't seem depressed to her.

It was actually Sally's teachers who helped to make sense of her difficulties. They noted that her grades had fallen almost entirely because of poor participation in group projects. One teacher mentioned that when confronted about her failure to participate in an oral presentation, she "clammed up, and appeared intensely distressed."

"Kind of shaky," the teacher said. "All pale and sweaty. Like she was having a panic attack."

That was when the school counselor spoke up. She thought that Sally might have Social Anxiety Disorder.
What is Social Anxiety Disorder?
First, pretty much everyone has social anxiety. We can't call that feeling alone a disorder. Social Anxiety Disorder is different, though. It's on the same spectrum as social anxiety, but it is potentially debilitating. Previously known as Social Phobia, Social Anxiety Disorder is actually more common than people think. It affects about 7% of kids, according to most reports, though this figure may be low because it's so underreported. It is usually diagnosed around age 13, and it can have either a slow onset or a rapid appearance. The rapid onsets are almost always tied to a traumatic event.

Kids with Social Anxiety Disorder have an intense fear that they are being judged or scrutinized by others, especially in social situations. They are plagued with concerns that they said or did something wrong, and they feel embarrassed and humiliated. They leave a social situation, particularly with kids or adults they don't know well, and they obsess about what they said or did. Most often they're certain they made fools of themselves, and they're certain they'll do it again. Face-to-face social interactions are, therefore, fraught with pain. They feel like they're going to pass out. They avoid any eye contact. They might struggle to catch their breath. When someone asks them something, their minds go blank, and of course this only perpetuates their worries.

It's pretty awful, and to avoid all this, they do what any of us would do if we felt the same way. They avoid social situations.
Causes, Risk Factors and Associated Conditions
Social Anxiety Disorder, like many other anxiety disorders are hereditary. They run in families. This means that Separation Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder may be present in relatives.

Some researchers have considered that people with anxiety disorders have an overactive amygdala and other regions of the brain that deal with the fight or flight response. After all, all anxiety disorders have something in common - the fear that one thing or another is going to result in serious personal harm. They are wired for vigilance. Yet, the "danger" is not really threatening in the moment. It's like an alarm that goes off without need. The problem is that it feels - physically and emotionally - like real danger. These "learned" situations then become generalized and associated with all social situations. That's when kids start staying home.

Kids who develop social anxiety have several other risk factors. They may be naturally shy, timid or restrained in social situations. These are innate personality traits. In other cases, they may have an obvious trait that draws public attention, such as a physical disability or stuttering. Still, in other cases, they may have trauma histories of abuse or neglect at home.

Finally, these kids can have associated Depression. The mood disorder may be biologically based and hereditary, or may be brought about by the lack of social contact that Social Anxiety engenders.
What Can Be Done?
Social anxiety is quite responsive to treatment. Here's what we need to do:

1. Get a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation. All good care must first be based on the right diagnosis. An evaluation can determine if this is social anxiety alone, or if there are other psychiatric disorders, such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder from bullying.

2. Find a good, competent therapist. Any kid that is afraid of criticism, embarrassment or humiliation needs to place their trust in a therapist. After all, if shame is involved, even discussing the situation is painful, and a trusting therapeutic relationship is crucial - particularly since some of the treatment is going to be painfully difficult.

3. Use Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). Group or individual CBT is the "gold standard" for social anxiety. It involves two components:

Learning new ways to think about social situations and understanding that exaggerated or distorted thoughts need correction.

Gradual exposure to anxiety-provoking social situations, such as group presentations, parties, etc. to de-mystify the perceived dangers.

1. Use social skills training. This kind of training is a form of group therapy in which kids can practice a variety of social skills and talk about their reaction. Role playing and modelling by therapists is often a part of this treatment.

2. Consider medications. Antidepressants including the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) have been demonstrated as the best pharmacological treatment for social anxiety. Beta-blocking agents, such as propranolol, may also be helpful in diminishing the physical symptoms of anxiety. While these agents may diminish the symptoms of anxiety that are experienced, they are no substitute for CBT and exposure to social situations. There is evidence that the combination of pharmacotherapy and CBT increases the effectiveness of both.

Treating social anxiety is not going to be easy for anyone. It's like asking you to walk into a lion's den - to face what you most fear, what is most dangerous to you.

But with a good therapist, supportive family, friends and teachers, the outlook is excellent.

Comments

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Kids with Social Anxiety Disorder have an intense fear that they are being judged or scrutinized by others, especially in social situations

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this article I read talks about the roles the teachers can play in kids having anxiety. They talk about doing a study to see how teachers deal with their students and if they can identify ways they can find them help. Because most students aren't willing to find help on their own so if teachers can help it will play a big role in helping the students, Many students feel that in high school they have a lack of information about jobs and different career paths. When they get out of high school many kids find themselves scared of the real world not having that information. They found out that many high school students have a lack of communication skills which leads to social anxiety.

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This video talks about how how kids with social anxiety are in school. There are many cases they have a hard time with eye contact. They also feel embarrassed around there peers and don't know how to help it. Older teens that have a hard time dealing with this they may deal with by using drugs or alcohol. They also mention tips on how to deal with social anxiety.

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Symptoms and Strategies for Social Anxiety in Children and Teens