Anxiety: Many young people contacting children's charity feel socially anxious
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Nearly two thirds of the young people have trouble making friends say Place2Be
Children's mental health charity Place2Be has told Newsround that 78% of young people they have supported over the last year have been feeling anxious in social situations.
In total more than six thousand children aged 4-18 were assessed and included as part of the findings.
From that number a further 65% were described as having difficulties making and keeping friends.
But the charity said that that with one-to-one support, 76% of children who started with severe mental health problems showed improvement when it came to feeling anxious socially after counselling.
Place2Be are a children's mental health charity who work with pupils, families and staff in UK schools, providing one-to-one counselling and group work.
Some of the most common reasons why children reach out to them for help is because they are experiencing anxiety, are struggling to focus, have low self-esteem, mood swings and trouble with their family.
Social Anxiety Disorder, is the overwhelming fear of social situations.
It typically develops during teenage years but can have long-term affects if it is not treated.
Sometimes it can be triggered by everyday activities such as meeting strangers, speaking on the phone or even going to work.
Those with it may experience symptoms like feeling sick, sweating, trembling or even panic attacks.
Many people with social anxiety often have other mental health issues such as depression, generalised anxiety disorder or panic disorder.
Source: NHS
How were the problems assessed?
The numbers for those who had reported experiencing mental health problems, come from data collected by the experts who were assessing the children.
They met with them after they were referred by the school, parent, or themselves for in-school counselling with Place2Be.
The children, as well as some parents and teachers, were asked to answer a series of questions about their strengths and difficulties.
The questions measure mental health difficulties across five categories such as problems with behaviour, hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, relationships with others and how much they worked to help others.
They were then categorised into those with no identified difficulties, moderate difficulties, and severe difficulties.
What can help if you feel socially anxious?
The NHS gives this guidance on some things you can try if you are struggling with social situations, including some you can do yourself.
You could -
try to understand more about your anxiety - by thinking about or writing down what goes through your mind and how you behave in certain social situations, it can help to keep a diary
try some relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises for stress
break down challenging situations into smaller parts and work on feeling more relaxed with each part
try to focus on what people are saying rather than just assuming the worst
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