Public Speaking: Perspective.

In my previous blog post, it introduces both social anxiety and public speaking, differentiating them from one another. It also elaborates on how many people are affected by social anxiety disorder in the world. Conducting more research provided me with more information that renewed my own knowledge about how social anxiety can be difficult to understand. So far, I’ve interviewed at least two people who have suffered from these conditions and are receiving physical therapy.

It took me a while to actually find people that were willing to get interviewed by me. I’ve sent out emails to people that were dedicated in helping people who suffer from social anxiety and other types of mental disorder that relates to it. No one had responded back, and I thought that I was just left to my last resort: sending out a survey. Sending out a survey to those who don’t suffer from these mental disorders wouldn’t mean anything, so I just can’t send a survey to a whole group of people and sort out those who do have them. Therefore, I just stuck to conducting interviews with those who are comfortable with having them. A friend (TK Saccoh) and I went to Philadelphia Mental Health Center to interview a professional. There was no one available at the time, so we were denied an interview.

Figures 1 & 2: These are emails I’ve sent out to psychologists and therapists, requesting for an interview.

Conducting interviews with actual people that have stories about their experiences made me realize that social anxiety starts at an early age. The people who I interviewed are around my age range, which is about 14-16. I chose to interview those people because I could relate to them more, and so could younger audiences. I’ve decided to not reveal their names and/or other personal information because of the fact that they did share some very personal and compelling stories with me.

Figures 3, 4, & 5: Conversation through email with a person suffering from social anxiety disorder.

I came to a conclusion that people, anyone, of all ages can suffer from similar things in a different way. Social anxiety just doesn’t “start at an early age.” It’s not like it’s something that just manifests itself inside someone. It’s a mental disorder than someone either has or doesn’t.

This information can help me in my Agent of Change by making me realize that I can’t just work with people who are suffering from social anxiety. It comes from a perspective, there’s also those who are relatives of those who suffer, and they are affected by social anxiety as well. They’re not directly affected (and unless they are), they’re just affected by the actions that their relative takes. They not only want their family members to get better, but to also receive the proper treatment. Sometimes there are therapists that don’t take in consideration the feelings of their patients. Therefore, the condition of the patient can decline from their previous state. Since, if they can’t talk to a professional or anything about their feelings or experiences, it’ll just stay bottled up.

Click here to view my sources.