Approximately 19.2 billion Americans have social anxiety disorder [http://www.stopmyanxietypanicattacks.com]. It is considered the third most common mental illness, and interferes with a person's ability to handle social situations. People with social anxiety disorder fear being around other people. There is usually no specific cause for the development of this disorder, however it has been suggested that it may be the result of either psychological, environmental, or genetic factors.

The symptoms of social anxiety disorder include an irrational view of social situations, fear of embarrassment, rapid heart beat, anxiety attacks, diarrhea, blushing, muscle tension, intense nervousness, shaking, dizziness, and confusion. Some or all of these symptoms may occur when a person knows they are about to enter a social situation.

Symptoms may also occur weeks prior to knowing about the social activity.

People living with this disorder may take great measures to ensure they have no contact with other individuals. Although they may still socialize (however, some do not), they will do so with very few people of whom they feel most comfortable. They avoid interactions with others by centering their lives around their fears. Individuals living with this illness have developed unrealistic views about the opinions of others; they believe that people are going to stare at them and judge them.

Not everyone suffering from social anxiety disorder [http://www.stopmyanxietypanicattacks.com] is terrified of the public. Some people still force themselves out, but can be easily triggered into a fit of anxiety by being put into the spotlight, being forced to talk out loud in front of others, catching someone that is staring at them, receiving a nasty look, or having to eat and drink in front of people. Once the anxiety starts, all of the usual symptoms follow - racing heartbeat, dizziness, etc.

The best way to treat this type of disorder is to learn coping techniques. A lot of people choose to get put on medication for their symptoms and usually find that it is a quick fix, but not a real cure.

Daily meditation has been suggested to be one of the best coping mechanisms for people who become easily stressed in social situations.

Visualization techniques can also work. A typical treatment would involve the individual sitting and visualizing how they want the social situation to turn out. This exercise is repeated over and over again for about 30 minutes. Deep breathing is also involved in the exercise.

Another technique is to go out and confront the illness. By going out and participating in social situations, the individual becomes in charge. An effective way to make this work is to actually want to do it so that it becomes something fun and exciting. After a while, the symptoms will subside.

What most people experience as excitement and adrenaline, anxiety sufferers experience as fear and nervousness. However, once effort and a positive attitude are applied to the problem, the desired result will become the outcome. The more a person runs from the illness, the more intense it will get. Anxiety is like a real-life monster, looking to devour everyone in sight. If you can defeat the monster once, then you'll never have to worry about it again.