Learn How Shyness Can Lead to Stress and Anxiety

 Shyness is a problem experienced by many different people today.

Shyness can plague anyone from young children, to full grown adults and can cause many debilitating effects, such as feelings of fear or apprehension, increased stress and anxiety.

It can even lead to harmful physical symptoms.It is characterized by a feeling of insecurity or distress when faced with unfamiliar people or situations.

Shy people tend to feel a sense of inadequacy when interacting with others. Individuals who are afflicted with this trait tend to avoid such circumstances, thus causing them to have undeveloped social skills.

People with shyness have difficulty conversing with other people. They often have trouble thinking of things to say and even if they do, they find it hard to speak up.

Shyness can be very detrimental to a person's lifestyle. Shy people tend to have difficulty making friends. They lose out on some valuable experiences that add to their well-being. Shy adults will have a difficult time find a job or excelling in the workplace where assertiveness is well valued.

Shyness and failure to overcome it can lead to an increase in stress levels as well as anxiety. If this behavior is allowed to escalate it can lead to problematic health issues.

Shyness can either be the cause or effect of anxiety so they are directly related and are often found together. This can be greatly debilitating to one's health.

Anxiety is generally defined as a state of feeling uneasy. It often includes other negative feelings such apprehension and fear. The severity of anxiety varies from person to person; more severe cases can cause physical sensations such as, nausea, bodily discomfort, difficult breathing and palpitations. More severe, long lasting or recurring cases of anxiety can be diagnosed as anxiety disorders and can result in panic attacks.

There are many different types of anxiety disorders. Generalized anxiety disorder is the most common form. It is commonly manifested as a general feeling of fear and apprehension or constant anxiety. The physical symptoms include short-breath and palpitations of the heart. People from this may suffer dizziness and headaches.

There is also a feeling of physical and mental tension as well as heightened stress. Those with generalized anxiety disorder find themselves constantly worried or fretful over various, nonspecific situations that they find troublesome. People with this disorder find themselves even more unwilling to commit themselves to social situations.

A phobia is a strong irrational fear of a specific source. The person suffering from a phobia might even realize that their fear is irrational but are unable to control their fear and anxiety. Those with phobias will strive to avoid their source of fear at all cost. Phobias can range from any object or thing such as a fear of insects to phobias related to certain situations, such as fear of being in confined spaces, or fear of flying.

A type of phobia is social anxiety disorder which graver than common shyness. Those who feel extreme fear and anxiety when faced with social situations suffer from this. People with this disorder greatly fear having to speak or perform in public. They constantly worry about being humiliated or negatively judged.

When faced with difficult social situations, they will experience extreme anxiety and exhibit physical symptoms such as shaking, heightened perspiration, increased heart rate and difficult breathing. These people will avoid these types of situations, so much so, that it hampers the person's lifestyles. They might not be able to go school or any public places thus severely restricting their opportunities and way of life.

Those with extreme anxiety can suffer from panic attacks. Panic attacks are short but intense attacks of extreme fear and apprehension. These generally last for 10 minutes or less and can cause physical symptoms such as chest pains, nausea and shaking fits. Panic attacks are also known to be mistaken for heart attacks.

Shyness is also a big contributor to a person's stress levels. Too much stress can harmful to the body. Stress is known to be one of the biggest contributors to ill health. It can cause and aggravate illnesses like heart failure and can also disrupt the digestive system.

Stress triggers the release of adrenaline and can cause the depletion of the adrenal glands. Excess adrenaline can cause irritability, hyperactive, as well as insomnia.

Shyness when left unchecked can be detrimental not only mental, but physical health as well. Anxiety and stress, which can be caused by shyness can be the basis for poor health and illness.

It's important to take this into account and to take positive steps to alleviate a person's shyness. This will help to maintain excellent psychological and bodily health.

Controlling shyness will reduce stress.  Another way to reduce stress is by adjusting diet.  In the following chapter we will look at how the foods we eat can contribute to stress.