Jobs for people with social anxiety
By Career counseling

Jobs for people with social anxiety

Introduction

‘The Girl climbed up the stairs of her school building keeping her head low and ignoring anyone who would try to wish her a good morning. When her friends giggled at the assembly session, those sounds made her uncomfortable because, may be, she was the topic of their funny discussion. It ignited her even more when the teacher asked her a question and she could hardly utter a word because her classmates were blankly looking at her. Neither did she try to share her tiffin nor did she take part in the games period because she might catch an attention. She had no friends and had a long scary day of loneliness and insecurity. She waited for the school time to somehow get over so that she can reach her home and be with herself. ‘

She was suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder (SOD), the third largest mental health care problem in the world today. So, at first, let us know a few things about the disorder:

What is Social Anxiety Disorder?

It is a persistent disorder that causes fear and anxiety of being negatively judged or evaluated by the people around. As a result, the person who go through get the feelings of inferiority, extreme self -consciousness, incompetency, humiliation and finally falls prey to depression. Any kind of social interaction causes irrational anxiety in them. Below are some of the situations in which social anxiety is experienced:

  1. Meeting new people.
  2. Talking in a group discussion or meeting
  3. Being an attraction.
  4. Maintaining relationships like friendship or attending family functions.
  5. Being under supervision of someone while doing something.

How is it different from Agoraphobia?

Agoraphobia is related to panic attacks, thus it is not about anxiety caused by social interactions. It refers to the fear of facing situations or conditions from which escape may be difficult. An Agoraphobic avoids places like buses, lifts, bridges or even may fear to leave the home alone. Unlike a person with social anxiety disorder, an agoraphobic feels better with a trustworthy companion. An agoraphobic can suffer from social anxiety disorder too.

Finding a job for people with Social Anxiety Disorder

Yes, it can be challenging to find an appropriate job for them. But, the good news is that it is not impossible. There are different career options in which they can excel and as such many people with the disorder still manage to successfully carry on a perfect professional career. All they need to do is to find the job that suits their level of being comfortable while working. The perfect job for them is not the one in which there is zero social communication but the one in which they can be flexible in all levels of interaction their career.

10 best career options available:

  1. Anxiety Counsellor: What can be better if one can share own experiences as a part of his/her job role? A person with anxiety can open up more freely with a person who has undergone similar situations and will not feel judged.  An effective counselling session is the doorway to recovery, overcoming mutual fear and building interpersonal trust. Thus, it can work for both of them.
  2. Creative Writer: A creative mind knows no limitations. One can work as a creative content writer from home or in the office cubicle. They will just need to be intelligent enough to bring out fruitful contents, and that wouldn’t demand much interaction with others. It will need them to be proficient, analytical researchers though. They can also write their own novels and start earning from that as well. A brand name in the market is the added advantage!
  3. Translators: They can learn new words every day.  No dependency on others, no office required and decent money it is. However, client dealing is a part of it.  Perfect foreign language translators are in high demand nowadays.
  4. Medical Technician: The health sector invites a lot of careers for them. Though the medical technician jobs will require a bit of interaction with the patients, yet while doing so, the concentration will be more on tactfully using the equipment while treating the patients. Thus, it can slowly and effectively help them in building their self confidence.
  5. Nutritionist: Without any hustle and bustle, a nutritionist just need to chalk out diet plans for the people who seek help from them. Won’t it feel great to guide someone through a better and healthy lifestyle? While doing so, they can manage their own diseases and thereby reduce some of their own anxieties.  Now that’s really profitable!
  6. Animal trainer and gardener: A loveable dog or a cat can be a better companion than a human being. Don’t you believe in that? With social anxiety disorder, one can choose this profession and be happier. While being close to those innocent creatures, one might just realise that his anxiety is slowly vanishing. Just like pets, flowers and trees can also work wonders on them. It requires least social interaction but can help in lessening social anxiety.
  7. 9. A sportsman: As a sportsman, one has to get so busy in training that he or she can hardly get any time to be a part of social events. Sports can make one active, both physically and mentally and thus although they don’t like much to be in the limelight yet with time they can get used to human interactions after being a part of different interviews or discussions. So, sports can be a great way of healing social anxiety.
  8. Primary school teacher: Kids will never judge, they are just too innocent and can get along quite easily.  Being a teacher to the kids can help in opening up and not feel nervous while speaking. It can improve stammering problems and slowly help in realising that they have all the necessary abilities to deal with the society and its people.
  9. Online merchandise seller: Owning a website and selling things online can be relaxing because it just needs electronic interaction. If the person is a good designer with minimum selling knowledge, he /she can run an excellent home based business and become popular in no time. Dresses, jewelleries, craft materials, gift items can be made with own labels. Doesn’t that sound attractive?
  10. Librarian: Of all the benefits of being a librarian that includes free books and like minded friends, the greatest of all is that the profession can reduce stress and unnecessary anxiety. We can’t say that it doesn’t need communication rather it concentrates more on customer satisfaction. The librarian has to talk to a dozen of people who visit the place, work on the desktop, research, keep accounts and maintain the books. While being busy multitasking, there is hardly any time left to think about the anxiety that once made the person vulnerable. He/she still might not want to join a grand party but the fear reduces by degrees.

In addition to the above job roles, there are other options as well. One can work as an accountant, data entry operator, painter, driver, assistants, delivery person, cook, or even sound engineers. Here, it is important to understand that every job role will need minimum interaction with people and that cannot be avoided. Rather, it is essential that the affected person take measures to gradually overcome the difficulties.

Conclusion

Beating social anxieties is not just an individual effort. The guidance of family members, doctors and close friends should be closely knitted and help the person in becoming self confident, emotionally sound and financially stable. Dearth of professional therapists has been a curse in treating social anxiety disorders. According to Thomas A Richards (Ph D, Psychologist President of Social Anxiety Association) the people who overcome social anxiety disorders have proved themselves to be the best team leaders. So, if you know someone who is fighting with social anxiety or agoraphobia, just take a step forward and  make them believe that they are stronger and more courageous than many other people who are seen leading a normal life.