Half the population in America would consider themselves shy if they were asked.
             They would say they get nervous when making a speech in front of an audience,
             or when performing in the premiere of a play. This is normal behavior for most
             people, but for more than five million people, this is more then just the
             character trait of shyness, it is a disorder (Kalb, 2003). It can interfere in
             a person's family life, friendship relationship, and even get them fired from
             their job. This disorder is called social anxiety disorder or social phobia.
             Social anxiety disorder is defined as the fear of actions that could result in
             criticism. To keep social anxiety disorder from destroy someone's life, one
             must look at the disorder in the following ways: the symptoms and behavior
             patterns of the disorder, the types and diagnosis of the disorder, and the
             treatments that are currently available (Beyond, 2003).
             Social anxiety disorder has many symptoms that can help a person identify
             whether or not they have the disorder or not. These symptoms occur in two
             types of ways, either physically or mentally. The many physical symptoms of
             social anxiety disorder are like those of any other type of anxiety disorder.
             These symptoms include increased heart rate, difficulties breathing, extreme
             sweating, tense muscles, stomach problems, and trembling. A very common
             symptom that occurs in most holders of social anxiety disorder though is the
             tendency to blush. These physical symptoms suggest that a person has an
             anxiety disorder, but will not specifically suggest that they have social
             anxiety disorder. The mental symptoms though can distinguish whether or not a
             person has social anxiety disorder. The typical mental symptoms are that the
             person has an excessive fear of being criticized. They also feel embarrassed,
             ashamed, and humiliated when they even think about interactions with other
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