by Jason Medina

Created on: March 24, 2008

As an individual who has been struggling with social anxiety disorder since my late teens, I can attest to the negative impact that this disorder can have on the life of a sufferer. Social anxiety disorder, loosely defined as a persistent and irrational fear of being ridiculed, scrutinized and/or embarrassed in social situations, is one of the most common anxiety disorders today; it is especially prevalent in teenagers and young adults. Left untreated and without adequate intervention, social anxiety disorder can wreak havoc on a person's ability to function and lead a normal, healthy, and fulfilling life!

I was always a shy, introverted kid. From my earliest childhood recollections, I can remember never feeling quite comfortable and/or at ease among people in general. There was always a tremendous feeling of unease on my part in social situations. Even amongst people that I knew fairly well, I always harbored feelings of timidity and fearfulness. As I grew up and made my way through my school years, I developed a habit of always keeping quiet and never willingly interacting in classroom activities or in other social type activities. The outgoing and bold kids were the kids who played sports, belonged to clubs, dated, and basically just had a fun, enjoyable time; I was the guy who was on the sidelines, basically keeping to myself and doing just enough to get by but little else. I was afraid. I was afraid of drawing attention to myself; I was afraid of showing the world who I was, and I fell into negative way of acting and thinking that basically short-circuited any chance I had of evolving into a secure, confident, and well-adjusted person.

As I grew older and left adolescence and moved into young adulthood, my behaviors were basically the same. I felt weak and timid in social settings; I felt as if I were somehow inferior and less-capable than the next person. I didn't date. My social life basically consisted of hanging out with a few close friends that I had and going to a few family functions here and there. My anxiety and fear worsened. I began to avoid things that might cause my anxiety to spiral: dating, college, socializing with new people or trying to expand my social circle, certain family functions, career goals, e.t.c. The word "constriction" fits my life and lifestyle like no other word can. As my fears and anxieties blossomed and grew, my life became so constricted that you could fit my life and the quality of that life inside a shoe box! When you

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