Social phobia and panic attacks - 1 step at a time

In my view there is no short term cure for the problem of phobias and social anxiety. My advice:
- Seek medical help, you are far from alone,
- Confide in a friend or family member and stop the secrecy,
- no matter what you do take one step at a time,
- stop critcising yourself and lowering your self-esteem,
- find others on the Internet who have the same problems and talk about it.
Always bear in mind that Social anxiety is one of the main psychological problems currently in the US affecting about 15 million US citizens in any given year.
Yet the illness is not commonly understood among the population, leading to people withdrawing from social contacts in case....., even stopping work in case ......, avoiding friends, in case ........., stop eating in company, in case...... Interesting piece from a psychologist on social anxiety disorder.