Anxiety and Social media anxiety disorder

Author: Paul Elwell

Unusual anxiety is a normal part of our life. In which you might feel anxious when you faced with a problem like at work, before taking a test or before making an important decision. But it involves more than temporary worry or fear. For the person who is suffering from anxiety disorder the anxiety does not go away and can get worse over time. Moreover, their symptoms can interfere with daily activities like in job performance, schoolwork and in relationships.

There are several types of anxiety disorders which include GAD(generalized anxiety disorder), panic disorder and various phobia-related disorders. However, it also includes social anxiety disorder, a real disorder from which the people do not aware.

Social anxiety disorder: Well, Do you get anxious or nervous when you can not check your Facebook or Twitter account? You believe it or not but the truth is that it's a real disorder.

Social media anxiety disorder is a very common disorder in this scenario. It is a mental health condition which is similar to social anxiety disorder. In fact, anxiety disorders are examined as the most common mental health disorders. However, it seems that the more technology we require the more stress out we become.

According to the specialist, almost 20% of the people with social media accounts cannot go more than 3 hours without checking them. Now the question arises here is, what is social media anxiety disorder?

While most people who have social media accounts do not get nervous or stressed out when they are not able to check their notifications every five minutes. But for those who have a social media anxiety disorder and are just being away from their social accounts for a few minutes can cause severe anxiety. Here are some symptoms of social media anxiety disorder that are most common in people are :

Lying to others

Withdrawal from family and friends

Loss of interest in other activities

Neglecting work or school to comment on social accounts

Interrupting conversations to check social media accounts

When you are not able to excess social media, experiencing some withdrawal symptoms.

Negative impacts on your personal or professional life

Using more social media than your planned time.

Server nervousness or anxiety when you are not able to check your notifications.

Overall, about 30% of the people who use social media spend more than 15 hours per week online which can greatly reduce your ability to enjoy real life. Also, it can cost your relationships, jobs and an education if you spend too much time online. In addition, if you are spending several hours a day on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram than you are not going to have enough time to work, study or spend time with loved ones. Thus you may have a social media anxiety disorder and have effects on your health, both physically and mentally.

Physical risk of social media anxiety disorder:

It has been proven to spend a lot of time online can cause illnesses such as eye strain, neck pain, and lower back pain. In addition, to sit around in a sedentary way and talk to people on Facebook can cause physical illnesses such as heart disease, nutrition problems, obesity, sometimes certain kind of cancers and risk of stroke.

Mental issue occurs by social media anxiety disorder:

Researchers have found that using too much internet can cause depression, impulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, problems with mental functioning, paranoia, and loneliness. Even in the case in which some person see that someone on Facebook feels happy to have a great job and beautiful home while others can feel jealous, depressed or may even feel suicidal about their own life if it is not as perfect as those they have or see on Facebook.

What you can do?

To treat or overcome with this major problem you just have to realize first that many people who post all that great stuff on Facebook and Twitter have a normal life just like you and me. Secondly, you have to get out yourself from social media and enjoy your life in real. If you are having any kind of trouble to doing this, just need to talk with someone because there are many people who can help you with this problem. To do this you do not have to take an appointment or even have to leave your home, just talk on an online therapist or counselor for feel better by tomorrow.