Anxiety Relief Tips & Strategies

Recent stats show that mental disorders account for slightly more sick days than back and neck pain. Social Phobia, or Social Anxiety Disorder, is at the top of the list.

This is interesting because it would seem to show that people with general anxiety disorder and panic disorders are better able to get on with their day than people with social anxiety disorder.

It makes sense when you consider that a person with social phobia is, as the term implies, afraid of social places. The workplace is just one more social environment.

While panic and anxiety can be debilitating, the condition usually does subside at some point whether the person’s location changes or not. In social anxiety disorder, the condition is ongoing as long as the person is in a social setting. It persists even when they are not in a social situation. Just the thought of having to go out in public to shop, visit the doctor, take the kids to school, or go to work is enough to paralyze them.

This explains why it’s so difficult for a person with social anxiety disorder to hold a job.

It takes more than the usual exposure therapy to resolve this condition because there is little respite from the fear. A person who is afraid to drive because of their panic disorder can simply not get behind the wheel. It’s not that simple for a social anxiety disorder sufferer.

In order to face those frightening social events, the person will require some sort of medication to calm them so they can gradually be introduced to the social setting. However, medication alone isn’t enough.

While there are programs available that they can use on their own, there comes a point where it’s just not enough and professional treatment should be sought.

Here are the comparisons between mental illnesses:

Americans with depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders lost about 1.3 billion days per year of work, school or other activity. People suffering with back and/or net pain miss 1.2 billion days.

Depression accounted for 387 million sick days per year, social phobia 214 million days, post traumatic stress disorder 113 million, generalized anxiety disorder 110 million, panic disorders 101 million, and agoraphobia (which might be related to social anxiety disorder) accounts for 37 million lost days.

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