Uncapping Social Phobia: Keeping Students Engage to Social Situations in School and in the Community

It is but human nature to fear the unknown.  It is a reality that man faces in his day-to-day living and sometimes embedded in his life forever. Such fears may lead to anxiety and later on to phobia. Consequently, these anxieties and phobias affect one’s behavior, the outlook on life, and the process of socialization.

A type of phobia that is affecting students’ socialization scheme is called social anxiety disorder or social phobia. Social phobia is a condition wherein an individual experiences extreme fear of social situations or performance situations.

Teachers had been exposed to various challenging approaches on catering the behavioral problems of the students, especially those who are highly vulnerable or at-risk and sometimes it’s been troubling on how to cater the veracity of students’ personalities and concerns of misbehaving inside the classroom. There are students who have manifestations of extreme shyness, uneasiness, and irritations in some social situations which are quite intriguing and alarming for these are not normal at all. As a teacher and guidance counselor in the classroom, a preliminary investigation on why some students behave that way should always be conducted. Technically speaking, the afore-cited alarming students’ behaviors are might be leading to a certain illness that is called social anxiety disorder or social phobia. As a second parent to the students, a teacher always has the heart to help those needy students. It is a duty for every teacher to help students understand themselves by conquering their fears and avoidances to certain social situations. Socialization is one of the basic skills being taught in the classroom. This could only be achieved by students who are able to conquer their fear and mingle with the rest of the group.

Students with social phobia experience extreme fear of embarrassment, shyness, and self-consciousness, leading them to avoid social situations. Due to this, they will surely avoid participating in school activities and community affairs for fear of being criticized and scrutinized. These students are typically the shy ones, loners, snobby, inclusive, non-participative, and uninterested. Thus, teachers sometimes overlook students with a social phobia as problem students, making their situations not easy to deal with.

Students should be helped to realize that social phobia or anxiety and its symptoms could somehow be deceiving and harmful in the long run. Social phobia is a condition that somehow could explain the incapacities of some students in socialization that is why deepening its understanding and how its processes applied in the educative scene is a very interesting endeavor for teachers in helping students engage in social situations in the school and in the community.

With all the realities about the socio-phobic experiences of students in the school and in the community, with its implications at hand, the students through the guidance of the teacher, the guidance counselor, the medical practitioner would reap the value of self-worth, self-confidence, and will learn to counteract such socio-phobic tendencies.

In doing so, teachers and students should be knowledgeable enough on the types of social phobia, its symptoms, the prospective socio-phobic experiences in school and in the community, and the solutions to it. Especially, every school should adopt a model of identifying students who are socio-phobic like the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents (LSAS-CA) and the Social Phobia Inventory Test (SPIN).

Types of Social Phobia

1.      Generalized Social Phobia. This social phobia is the extreme fear of general or any social situation like performing in front of an audience or strangers.

2.      Specific Social Phobia. This social phobia is the extreme fear of specific social situations like calling, talking or speaking, and dealing with someone.

Socio-phobic Experiences for the Students

            The following are some social situations in the school and in the community that generate so much fear to socio-phobic students:

In the School

1.  Participating in a small group activity

2.  Acting, performing or speaking in front of an audience

3.  Going to school parties and acquaintances or attending school activities

4.  Working while being observed

5.  Writing while being observed

6.  Urinating in the school’s bathroom

7.  Entering a room when others are already seated

8.  Being the center of attention in the classroom’s activity or school’s program

9.  Speaking up at a classroom reporting or meeting

10. Taking a test of one’s ability, skill, or knowledge

11. Giving a prepared oral talk in the class

12. Trying to make the classmate's acquaintance for the purpose of a good relationship

13. Making presentations and school work

14. Eating and drinking in front of classmates

15. Interacting with authority figures such as the principal and teachers

16. Being judged as inadequate or incompetent by teachers and classmates

17. Making a mistake in front of teachers and other classmates

18. Blending into the background and stand out from the crowd in a group setting

19. Talking to classmate/s and teacher/s who do not know well

20. Establishing eye contact with classmates and teachers who do not know well

21. Entering the classroom even if most of the classmates are already seated in the room.

22. Interacts with classmates and teachers.

23. Facing and talking to a classmate or teacher for the first time

24. Making presentation or report in the class

25. Trembling of voice when speaking in front of the class

In the Community

1. Using a telephone / cellular phone in public

2. Eating in public

3. Dating in public

4. Talking to someone in authority such as government officials and professionals

5. Calling someone who do not know very well

6. Talking face to face with someone who do not know very well

7. Meeting strangers

8. Using public bathroom or comfort room

9. Being the center of attention in public

10. Speaking up at a social gathering or civic meeting

11. Expressing disagreement or disapproval to someone who do not know very well

12. Walking together with other people

13. Attending festivities and social gatherings

14. Looking fool in front of other people

15. Doing things in front of others

16. Availing social services

17. Speaking out in front of a crowd or group of people

18. Looking someone who do not know very well straight in the eyes

19. Giving a prepared oral talk to a group of people

20. Trying to make someone's acquaintance for the purpose of a good relationship

21. Giving and attending a party

22. Interacting with others

23. Mingling  with family members, friends, or strangers

24. Doing something to humiliate or embarrass oneself in a social situation

25. Being watched and judged by other people

Symptoms of Social Phobia

            The following are the signs or symptoms of social phobia that students might experience due to extreme fear to social situations:

Physical Signs

1. Experiencing headache and dizziness

2. Blushing to the extent the face becomes red

3. Trembling or shaking of hands, legs, or the whole body

4. Sweating to the extent the body becomes irritated

5. Experiencing heart palpitations or excessive heart beating 

6. Experiencing gastrointestinal problems such as stomach distress, vomiting, or diarrhea

7. Experiencing muscle spasm and weakening of the body

8. Experiencing euphoria or adrenaline rush

9. Drying of mouth or experiencing butterflies

10. Stuttering and inability to speak out

Behavioral Signs

1. Showing hyperawareness of oneself, consciousness, or self-judgment

2. Avoiding social situations

3. Fearing intensely and looking strangely

4. Showing restlessness or irritability

5. Experiencing mood swings

6. Experiencing extreme panic attack

7. Experiencing anxiety, stress, distress, or depression

8. Judging others irrationally and thinking negatively

9. Experiencing speechlessness

10. Experiencing low self-esteem or self-pitying

Solutions to Social Phobia

            The following are the solutions to social phobia that might be adapted by the students:

Self-driven Solutions

1. Thinking positively and enthusiastically focusing on worry-free thoughts

2. Controlling one’s behavior and briefing

3. Living healthfully and meaningfully

4. Boosting self-confidence and self-worth

5. Inclosing oneself with rest of the community and schoolmates

Professional or Medical Solutions

1. Seeking the help of medical doctor or mental health professional or psychiatrist

2. Taking medications like taking tranquilizer  

3. Taking a therapy focusing on lessening the level of fear and avoidance   

4. Seeking the help of psychologist and sociologist

5. Seeking the help of teachers, adviser, and the guidance officer

Reference:

            Pecson, Ryan R. Socio-phobic Experiences of High School Students: Basis for Intervention Program. Master’s Thesis, Bataan Peninsula State University, March 2014.