Many students here on campus struggle with social anxiety, but it is rarely talked about or recognized. The Social Anxiety Institute describes this type of anxiety as “the fear of interaction with other people that brings on self-consciousness, feelings of being negatively judged and evaluated, and, as a result, leads to avoidance.”

With the expectation to participate in class, be able to talk to your new Greek brothers and sisters with ease and join RSOs without knowing anybody, students with social anxiety struggle to feel calm at college.

Social anxiety can manifest physically with sweating, trembling, fast heartbeat, muscle twitches and more. If these physical symptoms are shown during the Greek recruitment process, for example, it could be incredibly difficult for that student to focus on the conversation and impress the house.

Most people on campus know that we have a Mental Health Clinic at McKinley and the Counseling Center — however, social anxiety is still not accepted as a valid reason to go to these centers nor as a reason why a student may be struggling to make friends or have exceptional grades.

I recently started to develop worse anxiety symptoms than I have had before. 

I always used to get nervous when giving a presentation, but I could usually handle myself. Going into my second year at the University, it is a little different.

I cannot think of any student who actually enjoys first-day-of-class-introductions like listing off our names, majors and fun facts. When it was nearing my turn, I started sweating, shaking and my heart was beating incredibly fast. It was time for me to speak. I just quickly said everything I needed to say, but after, I was shaking even more and could feel my classmates’ eyes on me.

I was extremely embarrassed and hoped that this would never happen again. Now, I get anxiety about my anxiety.

I held these emotions in for about two weeks until I could not hold it in any longer. I finally told my friend, who also suffers from social anxiety, and was reassured that it is nothing to be ashamed of and to go to the Mental Health Clinic or Counseling Center if it gets any worse.

Talking to my friend, who understands what it is like to suffer from social anxiety, was comforting, but when I tell other friends who do not suffer from anxiety, they usually tell me to get over it.  

I realized people need to be more aware of anxiety disorders on campus. Professors need to acknowledge that not everyone feels comfortable talking in class all the time, and it does not mean that the student is not engaged.

Students in Greek life need to realize that their potential new members might be nervous and that one conversation does not determine who that person is.

The campus as a whole needs to be more accepting of this and more engaged in helping those with social anxiety by trying to understand it. In order for all of the students to thrive, there needs to be a change in the way we view social anxiety.

Anxiety is not something one can just ignore — it is a hindering and debilitating disorder. If you have social anxiety, do not be afraid to seek help from the Mental Health Clinic or Counseling Center. Also, do not be afraid to talk about it with your friends and classmates in order to educate and rid the stigma of social anxiety.

Jaime is a sophomore in LAS.

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