Does social anxiety lead to depression?

A defined number of people sometimes experience having a hard time in trying to interact with others. Shyness, isolation, and lack of interest prevent people from having good interaction with others. This is felt by certain individuals and gets to a certain point that is constantly just hard to manage. There are people suffering from a specific type of anxiety. Since anxiety is associated with fear and worry, social anxiety may also have the same characteristics or symptoms. People who are dealing with social anxiety feels that everyone around them is watching their every move, staring at them and whatever they might be doing, and even judging them (even if it is not really true). Socially anxious individuals cannot seem to relax and enjoy themselves while they are in public. These people think that other people are trying to evaluate them in some sort of way, being critical in what they do or say. People dealing with social anxiety feels the self consciousness and the idea of critical judgment while they are in other people's presence. It is considered hardly possible to just relax, focus, and go with the flow when one feels the anxiety and fear at the same time. Individuals dealing with this type of anxiety would probably like to be left alone. They seem to be more comfortable with doors closed behind them. Social anxiety is like paranoia, feeling that other people are observing them, criticizing them, judging them always in a negative way. Authority figures are believed to be the worst type of people that socially anxious individuals can encounter. Supervisors and bosses from their work, and also those who seem “better” then them can make them feel a higher sense of anxiety, fear, and worry.

It is a known fact that not all people are aware of this specific type of anxiety disorder. Some people get diagnosed as having schizophrenia, manic depression, panic disorders, personality disorders, or even clinical depression. All these are just misdiagnoses that may be more damaging to the person with social anxiety. Considering this situation, not all people with social anxiety knows that they have such a disorder, since this type of disorder is not generally discussed in the media. Therefore, they just tend to keep it to themselves, thinking that they are the only ones dealing with this kind of anxiety. Due to this, socially anxious people tend to feel the surge of depression. They do not talk to other people regarding their problems, their feelings and emotions. Everything seems to be negative in some ways, and all their thoughts are regarded as irrational. Social anxiety is serious if not treated as soon as possible. Proper therapy and consultation should be provided to those who are suffering from this kind of anxiety. It is better to get help from therapy professionals in order to avoid an increase in this form of anxiety, since this would worsen as time goes by. Family members can be of big help too, seeing that their loved one is suffering from such an ordeal. Proper communication is key, and social anxiety could be treated in due time.