Social phobia, also known as social anxiety, is a type of anxiety problem when extreme feelings of shyness and self-consciousness build into powerful fear.

Therefore, instead of enjoying the social activities they are in, these people with social phobia might dread getting involved in the activities such that they avoid them altogether.

This means that someone feels physical sensations of fear, like faster heartbeat and breathing.

Their body immediately freezes up that hinders their ability to interact with the people around them.

Social phobia could be partly due to the genes and temperament a person inherits.

Children may develop social phobias based on behaviours learned from role models, especially their parents.

If the parents or others react by overprotecting a child who is shy, the child will not have the chance to get used to new situations and new people.

This shows that a person’s naturally shy temperament can be influenced by what he or she leans from immediate family members.

Through life events and experiences, people born with a cautious nature may have stressful experiences that can make them even more cautious and shy.

The pressure that they feel to interact in ways they do not feel ready for, being criticised or humiliated, or having other fears and worries can make it more like for these children to develop social anxiety.

The development of social phobia among children is uniquely different from adults in that some children experience inability to speak in some situations, but are able to speak comfortably in other situations.

Place or setting can evoke anxiety feeling among these children.

The silence that stems from this type of social phobia among children is caused by uncomfortable feeling with the people of places they are in and not from being uncooperative, disrespectful, or rude.

This can potentially affect his life, in that he will feel lonely or disappointed over missed opportunities for friendship and fun.

Overcoming social phobia means mustering the courage to gradually go beyond what is comfortable.

Therapists can help people recognise the physical sensations cause by fight-flight and teach them to interpret these sensations more accurately.

Family or friends are especially important in providing the right support for them to gather the courage to go outside their comfort zone and try something new.

It takes commitment to go forward rather than back away when feeling shy.

As shyness begin to melt, confidence and positive feelings are built that help the person think less about what might feel uncomfortable and more about what might be fun.