In high school, there will always be the issue of social anxiety. Much like bullying, it will not cease to exist in any school.

Social anxiety is just a mental fear of social situations or interactions that may bring upon feelings such as self-consciousness. However, it is not as simple as I have made it sound.

There can be an infinite number of causes to having this disorder. As a former sufferer of this hell-on-earth disorder, I know personally what these causes can be. Some of these causes could be the loss of someone near and dear to you, a traumatic childhood, or maybe it is just a hereditary trait for those who are arguably the most unfortunate.

I won’t lie. I do have one of those aforementioned traits.

Only those who have this disorder know what it is like. Therefore, anyone with it can’t really expect ANYONE who doesn’t have it to understand. As said, I used to have this burden.

When you are in the pitch-black void, you’re scared to death. You may even want to kill yourself. Not me though, I’m too full of myself to kill myself, and have never had a thought of killing myself. I never will, either.

Back on the serious matter, social anxiety may lead to other disorders including depression and paranoia. Lack of confidence, inferiority, and even inadequacy can be acquired through this, as well.

Although the disorder may diminish over time, you might still feel the pain while it is leaving. In my case, however, it hurt a lot more than when I had it.

The fear of the pain returning will hover over you like a dark cloud. But just get an umbrella, or in this situation, friends. They’ll ease you away from the vortex, they might even understand, as opposed to what I said earlier. But just remember, don’t be a complete jerk no matter what (like I was and am).

I’m fully aware that you can reach a fork in the road of overcoming social anxiety: either stick to yourself or choose to be friendly.

I stuck to myself, which is an absolutely foolish thing to do. I used to be shy, because I was scared of others; now, however, I’m quiet because I never really feel like talking to anyone. I’m not shy anymore: that would imply that I’m still scared of others. Me being the reserved narcissus that I am, no one would expect that. Enough about me, though.

If I, of all people, could single-handedly overcome my own demons, then surely anyone can do it. They’ll just need help. If they want, I’ll help.