Dr Dewan Abdur RahimProfessor and HeadDepartment of PsychiatryEnam Medical College, Saver

Dear doctor,
I am currently a college student and unhappy for my behaviour.

During my whole high school life and my current college life, I have found it difficult to make friends and I feel an inner tightness or anxiety when I talk to most of my peers. I never feel comfortable around them.

When I go to a party I always have a feeling of being out of place. It seems to always be a constant struggle to maintain a good conversation.

I constantly feel alone, isolated and rejected. Do I need to consult a specialist? Any help or advice from you would be a great help.
Regards
Aminul Azim
Dhanmondi, Dhaka

Answer:
According to your statement, it can be said that you are suffering from anxiety problem. We term it social phobia.

Persons with social phobia experience many symptoms of anxiety (including but not limited to embarrassment, sweating, trembling etc.) when they are in social situations. Often, these persons also experience a fear of negative evaluation - their attention becomes so highly focused on what others around them might be thinking about them that they find it hard to pay attention to the conversation they are having.

There are several excellent forms of psychotherapy that are well studied and known to work very well in treating the disorder. I recommend that you need a medical checkup under the guidance of a psychiatrist to rule out any possible medical reason for why you might be so anxious.

A psychiatrist can prescribe medications to lower your anxiety if this is absolutely necessary.