Social anxiety is one of the most recently discovered anxiety disorders and one of the least understood (Richards).
Images from functional neuroimaging displays that individuals with social phobia have a hyperactive amygdala and insula (Etkin, 2007).
A study at Stanford found that the technique "cognitive reappraisal or restructuring" used in Cognitive Behavior Therapy decreases social anxiety as it allows a person to mentally revisit an experience and alter their reaction and/or beliefs about it ( Donald, 2013).
Social anxiety can be crippling and very limiting in terms of growth. However, coping with it is a skill that can be improved like anything else. Unmanaged, social anxiety can lead to all sorts of other conditions like depression. It's important to understand what you are dealing with and to address it head on. Start with counseling or biofeedback for all things Anxiety.
[AlessiaCaraVEVO]. (2015, May 7). Alessia Cara- Here (Lyric Video). [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/GrGX4KZ44WI.
Donald, B. (2013, September 04). Stanford research helps people with social phobia face their fears. Retrieved March 01, 2017, from http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/september/anxiety-disorder-therapy-090413.html
Etkin, A., & Wager, T. D. (2007). Functional Neuroimaging of Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis of Emotional Processing in PTSD, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Specific Phobia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164(10), 1476-1488. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2007.07030504
Hokusai. The Great Wave off Kanagawa. 1829–32. The Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York City, New York .
Richards, T. A., PhD. (n.d.). Social Anxiety: The Least Understood Anxiety Disorder. Retrieved March 01, 2017, from https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/social-anxiety-least-understood