How do we decrease the stigma associated with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)?

Today, I had a one-to-one conversation with an amazing individual who has been experiencing social anxiety for the past two months. Initially, he told me that he felt slightly anxious when talking to new people, and he hadn't had the best experience at a recent party he attended. So, I asked him what makes him feel confident because I believed that there are two sides to every person. If you feel anxious towards something, you will be confident towards something else. Just like matter and antimatter, yin and yang, you know? And he told me that writing poems makes him feel confident. So, then I told him to write one since poetry is the best form of self-expression. I fell in love with what he wrote, so I just had to share it with you all.

Oh dear,

Why do I have this strange fear?

Running away from the high society,

Hopelessly stuck with social anxiety.

Feels like the end of the world is near,

why is everything not clear?

Aware of the all consequential variety,

yet I have lost all sobriety.

- Dan

Dan aspires to be a writer in future. I wish him all the very best with his future endeavours because he truly is extraordinary!

As for the main subject of this thread, Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is when people experience excessive or unreasonable levels of fear under social situations. SAD is the second most common type of anxiety disorder and third most common mental disorder in the US. There are biological, environmental and psychological causes of this disorder. Unfortunately, SAD tends to have a significant impact on nearly every aspect of a person's life. Due to social stigma, there are certain barriers of care for individuals who suffer from this disorder.

1) Sense of personal failing

2) Lack of awareness of the disorder among individuals who experience SAD

3) Lack of awarness of the disorder among medical providers and general public

Read more: http://careforyourmind.org/understanding-the-unique-barriers-for-people-with-social-anxiety-disorder/

Here are some of the thought-provoking questions provided by the website above:

1) What might be done to alleviate the internal barriers to seeking treatment?

2) What role might education—of medical professionals and of the general public—take in addressing these barriers?

3) What should societys policy be about providing help to people like those with social phobia who are not seeking treatment, especially if they are not harming anyone?

Please do reply to this thread. It is an extremely significant issue and it is high time we take the first step.