When you have a big ego like I do, finally admitting you have a problem with social anxiety disorder is difficult to say the least. I was like that guy in the joke who won’t admit he is paranoid but prefers to insist that everybody really is out to get him. I can’t speak for everybody, but in my case, denial was the biggest obstacle I had to overcome to finally seek some help with my social anxiety disorder.

If I am speaking to another guy who has a healthy sized ego like I have, I am with you brother. I know what it is to be so stubborn that you are not going to let others see that you have some serious issues with certain kinds of social situations. The problem is that if you finally do admit that your fear of social contact has reached the level of a social phobia, to you that is like admitting that you are crazy. As much as you read articles and understand that having social anxiety disorder does not make you mentally unstable, your pride stands in the way every time.

This is where self assessment can make all the difference. It was when I went ahead and took a self assessment test for social anxiety disorder online that I was able to finally admit to myself that my fears were more than just my ego refusing to allow itself to be embarrassed and that I should seek professional assessment for social anxiety disorder. There are plenty of ways to find self assessment websites or publications that can be used to surface a problem with social anxiety. The good of taking one of these tests yourself is that you can do so in privacy and not have to admit to anyone that you suspect you may have social anxiety disorder or a social phobia.

For a person with an exaggerated ego like mine, that privacy was just the thing. I now know that the reason even professional psychologists advocate that you take a social anxiety disorder self test is that you will be honest on a self test. After all, why lie when it is only you that will know the outcome? You want the truth because if you genuinely have a problem, that is important information that can shape how you seek help. Moreover, taking a self test accomplishes the first goal of any program that addresses psychological disorders. It got me to admit I had a problem. It was all downhill after I crossed that line.

The kinds of questions that you will see on a self assessment for social anxiety disorder will not sound like Sigmund Freud thought them up. There are down to earth questions that took me right to the core of how I react to some social settings. Some of the questions included things like¦

 Do you have a real concern about blushing, excessive sweating or butterflies in your stomach over meeting new people?
 When you are at a party or at a public gathering, do you sometimes feel like everybody is looking at you and judging you?
 Do authority figures cause you to want to leave the room and meetings with them are the worst part of your week?
 How do you feel about being criticized? If you often feel yourself get flushed, feel attacked and isolated and sense an anxiety attack coming on because of criticism, that may be a sign that something is wrong?
 Are there some social situations that you skip entirely or avoid if you can simply because the idea of going to that party or attending that meeting makes you feel frightened or at very least uneasy?

These are just a sampling of the kinds of questions a well written social anxiety disorder self test will present to you. For me, as I answered each question on the test and I saw that more and more the answers were positive that I was going through real anxiety, it was an eye opener. A good self assessment test is written by trained psychologists so when you get your score, its a well informed assessment of where you are in your social phobia.

I was concerned when the test pointed out areas of how I handle social situations that were red flags that social anxiety disorder was part of who I am. But because the test then directed me on how to get help, I was able to begin the path to recovery. I won’t lie to you that the recovery process is still taking place and its a long path to be sure. But at least by getting on the right path by admitting I had the problem, I finally stopped letting my ego keep me trapped in a serious psychological problem. I still have the big fat ego. But now it knows its place.