Imagine this, you are walking towards the mall’s exit, then, you are greeted by a crowd of people just by the door, and you suddenly felt overwhelmed with the bare sight and the thought of the need to pass through the crowd just to go outside. Well, it may not be a problem to many, but for some, it may be their worst nightmare.

Yes, there are actual people who live with this kind of condition also known as Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) or Social Phobia which is a mental health condition that is described as the irrational fear of being watched and/or judged by others.  Individuals who suffer from SAD often experience rapid pounding of the heart, trembling of the knees, excessive sweating and stuttering whenever faced with a stimulus or situations that trigger their condition which is usually prompted by a large crowd. SAD can affect individuals in many ways possible, it even makes it hard for them to socialize, and make/keep friends, it can also affect their work, school or even their day-to-day activities. For them, a single phone call may be a terrifying experience, walking amongst crowd is simply overwhelming, being called for oral recitation even though they know the answer is traumatic,  standing in front of an audience is a knee-trembling nightmare, and making new friends is both burdensome and terrifying. For someone with this condition, tasks that seem simple for other people may even become impossible to carry out as they are hindered by their condition.

Individuals suffering from SAD often find comfort when they are alone as they are not fond of having many people surrounding and observing them,  another reason to why they don’t seem to enjoy social gatherings, and parties.  They usually have no liking for long conversation with others as it is mentally exhausting for them which is why they are often quiet. Others may find this behavior unnatural for a person, but that is the way they are most comfortable with.

Furthermore, individuals with SAD often does the following:

Avoids places with too much crowd
Often prefers to be alone
Doesn’t like to be distinguished or pointed out with the company of others
Enjoys subtle and light activities
Does not enjoy sports that much specially team sports
They rather stay home and read books than to go to a concert


Based on my experience there is not much talks and conversations regarding social anxiety and those who live with the condition. I personally think that it’s because many are still unaware that there are individuals who actually experience this kind of disorder. Some would even think that those individuals are just shy by nature, and they are just overacting to the situation, but trust me, they don’t even really understand what they feel themselves. Living with SAD is undoubtedly hard but what most people don’t understand is that this condition is more than just shyness or the lack of confidence and it is definitely not a sign of  personal incapacity.