 Ever wondered what goes through the mind of someone else? Trust me, you can't even imagine the thoughts that plague people who suffer from social anxiety disorder. Let me give you a hint. Apprehension, avoidance, pain, anxiety over other people's opinion, fear that they've just said something wrong, worry about others' disapproval, afraid of rejection or not fitting in, anxious to join a conversation, afraid to have nothing to talk about, hiding what's wrong with them deep inside, putting up a defensive wall to protect a secret. Does this resonate with you or sound like someone you know you might want to check out? People battling with a social anxiety disorder or those who have suffered in the past tend to live their lives by strict rules and protocols that mere mortals would find hard to fathom. Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, involves intense fear of certain social situations, especially in unfamiliar situations. These situations may be so frightening that you get anxious just thinking about them. Most of the time, you go to great lengths to avoid these situations, disrupting your life in the process. Some of the things only people with social anxiety will understand includes the fear of being scrutinized, judged or embarrassed in public. In this video, I'm going to share with you 15 things that people with social anxiety will understand. If you're new here, I'm sure it would benefit you so much if you subscribe to our channel for more awesome videos like this. The social anxiety doesn't just stop if we tell it to. It takes time and effort to learn how to overcome it. Or, at best, learn to live with it comfortably. Only those with social anxiety can understand the frustration that comes with people saying just get over it. Because if we could, we certainly would. Many people unfortunately have no idea what people go through who have social anxiety. So, hopefully, this list will shed some light on the disorder. One, the idea of a great evening is staying at home with a media sauce. They seem to be able to communicate on Facebook or Pinterest, but in person, they just can't find words. It's so easy to communicate when we don't have to do it face to face, and we do not understand why this is so. It's almost as though they find their voice in writing or posting on social media, then lose it faster than the blink of an eye when they have to speak to someone, or was still a group of persons. A simple hello is first, totally scrutinized and analyzed to ensure it doesn't have an outer of embarrassment laced within before attempting to approach anyone publicly. Two, they are always forced to attend a party. Party lovers always end up wondering how they manage to live a boring life without parties. They usually arrive at parties, certain that everyone is judging and evaluating us. They find an excuse to leave early, or when unable to do that, they quickly find a corner where they can be alone. During an introduction at a party, they cannot find the words to strike up a conversation with a person, or if the other party approaches first, they respond with one word or short phrase answers. That person soon leaves for more interesting conversation else, and then they end up feeling left out and shunned. Three, they feel trapped in a vicious cycle. Most times, they struggle with the realization that their thoughts and actions don't make rational sense, but they feel doomed to repeat them anyway. It's almost as though they don't know any other way to handle scenarios in their life. It is difficult for them to change their habits because they don't know how. Four, they take lunch to work. I know you might be thinking, oh, that's a wise and cheaper plan. This has absolutely nothing to do with saving costs. This is because they need a strong excuse not to go out to lunch with their fellow co-workers. When they are invited for a happy hour lunch break, they don't hesitate to find an excuse not to be able to attend. Their co-workers eventually get tired of reaching out and simply stop inviting them. People come to view them as anti-social when in fact, they are really just fearful and cannot explain why. Five, they are unable to contribute to conversations that are corning around us. People who suffer from social anxiety disorder have more conversation within themselves than with others. So, when a conversation is ongoing around them as eager as they are to join in, they just simply get tongue-tied. They might really have something good to add to the discussion but because they are afraid that someone will think badly about their contribution or might criticize them, they would rather keep quiet. Six, they seem to be tired all the time. This is not because they have engaged in any strenuous activity but rather as a result of living in a continued stressful state. Being overly careful, looking over your shoulders often, overthinking, experiencing constant fear and worry, these little things can leave you mentally drained and constantly tired. Chronic anxiety is exhausting and sleep is usually a blissful escape. Seven, they experience rapid heartbeat, sweating and heavy breathing when they are in any uncomfortable social situations. These are physical reactions they face as a result of anxiety. They struggle to control them. Usually, they think that everyone around them notices these physical responses, disenforces their need to isolate and, furthermore, move away from any situation leading to that even more. Eight, they are hypersensitive to criticism and evaluation. People who struggle with social anxiety disorder interpret things in a negatively skewed way. Their brain's default position is irrational and negative. Even a minor misunderstanding can lead to a linty period of self-criticism. Sometimes, when other people try to offer them advice, they can perceive it the wrong way. They avoid events or activities where they feel judged and this contributes to their lack of experience and sociability. Nine, they are overwhelmed when there are just more than a few people in the room. Every noise, light, smell and action is taken in and they struggle to process it all or filter things out. They feel bombarded by too much at once and as a result, they go into flight mode and actively look for ways to exit from the situation. Ten, they zone out when several people are speaking. It gets very overwhelming to listen to several people at once. They usually go into their comfort zone where they are at least temporarily safe. They shut everything out and people around them get confused by such behavior. Sometimes, they may think of them as aloof or rude, even though we have a strong desire to be a part of the social experience. Eleven, they are overly concerned about their hair, complexion, dress and looks in general. You may think this is pretty but leaving with social anxiety disorder makes you super sensitive about your looks. You can't afford any form of public embarrassment because your intended looks came out wrongly. It's like social suicide for them. It takes them days to stop replying the mental images of the incidents in their head and to actually start to recover from the shame they must have felt as a result of the embarrassment. They always think that everyone is judging and evaluating them on these things. In fact, most other people really do have their own issues, their own priorities and their minds are not on them. It's impossible for people suffering from this disorder to accept this even though we actually realize that our thinking is irrational at that moment. Twelve, they engage in proxism. Grinding their teeth or clenching their joys almost a completely unconscious behavior for people living with a social anxiety disorder. And in many cases, it is. They are unable to stop it even though some of them are aware that it is unhealthy. They may know that other people are noticing and think there is something wrong with us but still be unable to stop. Sometimes, these actions help them deal with anger issues, shame, disgust, irritation and any form of frustration they may be dealing with at the moment. But unfortunately, society is not very kind to abnormalities or strange behavioral patterns. So, such people are avoided, criticized or ridiculed instead of actually comforted, understood or accepted. Thirteen, they lose sleep or daydream imagine the worst possible scenarios. Their imagination can easily go wild with strong mental images or horrible possibilities even though they understand that these things will probably never happen. This activity only serves to increase the anxiety level and the continued need to isolate themselves. Again, we understand that our thinking is negative but we struggle to turn it off and think of positive things in life. Fourteen, they are prone to panic attacks. People who suffer from social anxiety disorder are very prone to panic attacks. Extreme events usually immobilize them and cause them to seek medical help. But in most cases, the real cause is just the anxiety. There is actually nothing physically wrong but we are convinced there is. As astute medical professionals will perhaps pick up on these issues and recommend a counselor or therapist who may be able to help them. As a caregiver to someone living with social anxiety disorder, you must learn to help them open up to medical assistance. You need to let them understand that therapy is a gesture of kindness, not an affront. Fifteen, they want orders to understand their anxiety but they have a difficult time explaining it to others. They don't want to show any kind of weakness for fear of being judged or quietly criticized but what they fail to understand is that most people empathetic and kind if only they will give them the chance. But their fear always seems to get in the way.