Lesson video

Welcome to the seventh lesson in this unit on mental wellbeing where we will be developing our understanding of social anxiety disorder.

I'm Mrs. Harris and in this lesson, we're going to be exploring the causes and symptoms of social anxiety disorder and what support is available.

For this lesson, you will need an exercise book or paper and a pen.

This is what our lesson is going to look like today.

You should have already completed the intro quiz.

I'm now going to recap our previous lesson.

We looked at suicidal thoughts, about how we need to break down the stigma surrounding it and what support is available.

In this lesson, we're going to explore what the causes and symptoms of social anxiety disorder are.

Once we have learned this, we are going to investigate what support is available for social anxiety disorder and how to support others.

At the end of the lesson, there will then be an exit quiz for you to reflect on what we have learned.

Here are our key words for this lesson.

Social anxiety disorder is a longterm and immense fear of social situations.

Social anxiety disorder is much more than just being shy.

It can be intense fear and anxiety over simple everyday activities such as shopping or speaking on the phone.

It can have a big impact on someone's life.

Palpitations describe the sensation of feeling your own heart beating.

They feel like a fluttering, pounding or movement in your chest.

They are a common symptom of social anxiety disorder.

We've talked about anxiety in previous lessons.

Remember that we all have feelings of unease from time to time.

This is totally normal and a healthy reaction.

When our anxiety becomes disproportionate to social situations, that's when we might need self-help strategies or to talk to someone about it.

Why might these social situations make some people anxious? Consider each picture in turn and make some notes about why each situation might make some people anxious.

You may wish to pause the video at this point in order to have the time to reflect on each of these situations.

Do your answers match mine? Fear of the unknown.

For some people, talking on the phone can make them anxious, especially if it is someone they have not spoken to before.

Worry about crowds of people.

For some people, they find large crowds intimidating, so shopping in indoor shopping centres, where there are potentially lots of people, can be challenging.

This can also be an issue for some people in terms of going to a restaurant, as the thought of eating in front of other people may also cause anxiety.

Some people, rightly or wrongly, feel that they are constantly being judged by others and social situations, such as going to school or a party might make these feelings more intense.

Blushing or sweating, which are totally normal reactions to some social situations can sometimes cause a person to avoid them because they worry that these physical responses might be made worse.

Friendships or friendship groups that are maybe brittle or have broken down can sometimes cause people to feel anxious in certain social situations.

We're going to explore these causes and symptoms in more detail in the next section of this lesson.

We are now going to talk about why some people might have social anxiety disorder and what some of the symptoms might be.

What are the causes of social anxiety disorder? I'm going to read out this information.

Then, you are going to pause the video and complete a task.

Bullying can affect a person's confidence, cause anxiety and affect their ability to fully function in social situations.

Family conflict, perhaps relationship problems between parents, mental health issues at home and other conflicts in the home can also make someone anxious and not confident in social situations.

It could be that they are anxious about leaving others at home or what might happen when they are not at home.

Both of the issues I just talked about can affect someone's self-esteem and if someone has low self-esteem, then their coping strategies may not be working effectively enough for them to venture out into some social situations.

Anxiety challenges can also run in families.

Some children who experience over protective environments at home can sometimes find social situations extremely anxious.

If someone is already quite far along the anxiety continuum, do you remember we looked at this in lesson three, that it may be that they are most susceptible to social anxiety disorder.

Your task is to summarise this slide into two bullet points in your exercise book or on your piece of paper.

You may wish to pause the video while you do this.

These are all symptoms of social anxiety disorder.

Most social situations would make people feel very anxious.

Sort of everyday activities, such as talking on the phone, going to work or school or even the shops could make someone highly anxious.

This could lead to blushing, sweating and palpitations.

Do you remember this key word from the beginning of the lesson? Palpitations describe the sensation of feeling your own heart beating.

They feel like a fluttering, pounding or movement in your chest.

They're a common symptom of social anxiety disorder.

Those who have low self-esteem may be more likely to suffer from social anxiety disorder and then as a result of this intense anxiety, it can exacerbate their low self-esteem.

Some young adults may well use drugs or alcohol to mask their social anxiety disorder.

Which do you think would be the most challenging to experience? Make a list of six in your exercise book or on your piece of paper.

You may wish to pause the video while you complete this task.

So, this is your task.

Which of the symptoms of social anxiety disorder would you find the most challenging? You will have a list of six symptoms in front of you.

Make a judgement now on what you think would be the most challenging symptom of social anxiety disorder.

Place this at the top box of the diagram you can see.

Next, decide which two would be the most next challenging symptoms, finishing off with your last three in the bottom row.

So, you're ranking what you've already got in your exercise book.

You should annotate your diagram with your reasoning behind where you have placed the symptoms in terms of challenge, most challenging at the top, least challenging at the bottom row.

Pause the video to complete this task and then resume when you are finished.

WAGOLL, what a good one looks like.

This is an example of how you might have completed the task.

Palpitations are quite a scary physical response to social anxiety disorder that you could suffer from and so, have been placed at the top of this diagram to reflect that this could be the most challenging symptom to deal with.

Panic attacks, as we know from lesson three, result in physical symptoms that build up pretty quickly.

So it could be challenging to deal with along with sweating.

Someone whose response to anxiety is to sweat could then feel more anxious about this happening, which perpetuates the symptoms and contribute to social anxiety disorder.

The three symptoms on the bottom row may not be considered as challenging as the three we've just talked about, but still would be a challenge for those dealing with them.

How did yours compare? It doesn't matter if you agree or disagree with mine, as long as you've explained why you placed your symptoms in that particular order.

Let's recap for a moment.

Social anxiety disorder is being experienced less than it used to be.

Is this true or false? Did you get it right? Well done if you agreed with me, it's false.

Social anxiety disorder is actually on the increase and we will be looking at why that is now.

Why might social anxiety disorder be on the increase? These pictures are chosen to provide clues for some of the main reasons why there has been an increase in social anxiety disorder in recent years.

See if you can work out what the contributing factors might be.

Make a note of your thoughts in your exercise book or on your piece of paper.

You may wish to pause the video while you're doing this.

Why might social anxiety disorder be on the increase? Do your answers match mine? More and more people feel isolated in today's society.

This is partly due to improvements in technology, which means that we do not have to meet people in person anymore.

This can develop less of a drive to socialise with others, thereby increasing the anxiety when social situations do arise.

Social media often portrays people's perfect lives appearing to be more successful, happier, more content than others.

This can put undue pressure on those susceptible to anxiety, making people feel more like they are being judged and so, avoid social situations.

Photoshopping is where pictures are altered and edited to remove flaws and enhance the images.

Therefore, not a true picture of a person.

This often puts pressure on people who are suffering with low self-esteem, reducing their confidence to experience social situations.

Pictures are often open to different interpretation, so I'm sure you came up with some other ideas.

Well done, if you did.

We are now going to talk about what support is available for people with social anxiety disorder.

This is going to be your task.

What support is available for social anxiety disorder? You are going to find out this information on the next slide.

You will need this to complete a task later in the lesson.

How are you going to record it in your exercise book or on your piece of paper? Pause the video to organise yourself and then resume when you are ready.

So, what support is available for those living with social anxiety disorder? I'm going to read out this information.

You may wish to pause the video to complete the task that I'd ran through with you on the previous slide.

I introduced the charity Your Mind to you in our last lesson and some of these coping strategies have been suggested through their website, by someone actually living with social anxiety disorder.

Speak to someone.

This is a coping strategy that we talked about many times during this unit.

It could be a friend, parent or a trusted adult but sharing a worry is one of the first steps in acknowledging it and working out how to deal with it and get support.

Write it down.

If you don't feel ready to talk to someone, then write down your anxieties about social situations.

Be honest and share your feelings.

You could also continue with a gratitude journal to try and focus on the positive rather than the negative elements of your day, week, month.

Try some relaxation techniques.

We've learned about box breathing earlier on in this unit.

You could also try yoga or mindfulness.

This might also help to relieve some of the physical symptoms of social anxiety disorders, such as palpitations and panic attacks.

Break down problems into manageable chunks.

Instead of focusing on the whole, break it down into different components and tackle one at a time.

Smile.

When you smile, your brain releases tiny molecules called neuropeptides to help fight off stress.

If you smile at other people, then that also might help to reduce anxiety around social situations, as you'll find they tend to smile back and make you feel more at ease and less judged.

Focus.

Find a new hobby, something you are really interested in.

It could be baking, drawing, running, reading, yoga, anything that you enjoy and helps you feel more positive about things.

So, you need to have information about these support strategies for our next task.

So make sure you have enough information before you move the video on.

This is your task.

What support would you advise for the following people? You are going to read some fictional texts from some of our RSHE characters.

Using your notes, write a reply for each of them advising what they might do to deal with their social anxiety disorder.

Pause the video to organise yourself and then resume when you are ready.

Here's Nikki.

Hi, I'm experiencing palpitations when I'm in crowds at the shopping centre.

How can I calm myself down? Pause the video to write down your response.

Here's Muhammad.

Hi, I'm struggling when I'm in the corridor at school.

I feel overwhelmed and unable to make eye contact.

Any suggestions? Pause the video to write down your response.

Here's Chelsea.

Hi, I'm finding it more and more difficult to hang out with my friends in group situations.

How can I move past this? Pause the video to write down your response.

Here's Asher.

Hi, I'm probably the first to admit I spend too much time on social media.

I think it's beginning to affect my self-esteem.

What can I do? Pause the video to write down your response.

I hope you're able to offer them some helpful advice.

Social anxiety disorder is really common, especially in adolescents and I'm sure you used empathy in your responses to them.

Remember, for someone to have the courage to share their worries is a big thing.

Let's recap for a moment.

Speaking to a GP about social anxiety disorder would be a good thing to do.

Is this true or false? Did you get it right? Well done, if you agreed with me, it's true.

Social anxiety disorder is actually very common and your GP can offer solutions if it is having a big impact on your life.

That brings us to the end of our lesson on social anxiety disorder.

Before you go and complete your exit quiz, I'd like to thank you for engaging with the tasks and ask you to reflect on today.

What 10 key words summarise what we've learned in this lesson? I hope you've acquired some useful information to carry forward with you and allow you to develop your empathy in dealing with anyone you may come across in your life experiencing social anxiety disorder.

I look forward to carrying on our learning in the last lesson in this unit.