They tend to ruminate over past social incidents, worrying about how they might have come across.At a deeper level, sufferers can experience chronic insecurity about their relationships with others, hypersensitivity to criticism, or fears of being rejected by others.The chatroom operators (ops) are fellow sufferers of social anxiety and regular users of the chatrooms, who help to maintain the chatting environment according to the above principles.They can be approached by anyone who is concerned about any aspect of chat or a particular situation, and they will do their best to help resolve any problems.If you have experienced or do experience feelings such as these, you could well have Social Anxiety or the more severe form - Social Anxiety Disorder.Experiencing these kinds of feelings and thoughts can be very isolating, you can feel like the only person in the world with these kinds of problems, but one of the most reassuring things that many people gain from joining the SAUK community is that they are not alone, that others have experienced and continue to experience the same thoughts and feelings.

'Regular' social anxiety is known to all of us as an uncomfortable feeling of nervousness.Millions of people around the world suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder (also known as Social Phobia) and related conditions.Despite being the most common type of anxiety disorder and the cause of much impairment and suffering, it is under-recognised and under-treated.Many people have particular worries about social situations like public speaking or talking to authority figures, or experience more general feelings of shyness or a lack of confidence.For some, however, these social anxieties and fears can become much more troubling and difficult to cope with.