I'm starting to wonder if maybe your church is the cause of your anxieties. I don't know what's going on in your life, but it seems like you often come here with questions about your struggles in relating with God. I know the church I grew up in could make the Pope himself feel like a monster.
Perhaps you should find a new church, Dothackzero?
His church is not causing his anxiety. He has social anxiety disorder. That's a medical condition. This is why people should not seek medical advice on internet forums, espcially those that aren't even specific to such a condition. The church could trigger his condition such as if they make him stand up and talk in front of everyone and if this is what's happening then he should definitly find a church that doesn't pressure him to preform like. But if he's not having sucess with his treatment then he'll likely struggle with social anxiety disorder at any church that has people which (by definition of course) is every church. What bothers me is that you don't seem to know anything about social anxiety disorder and you don't seem to know acknowledge that. It's not that you know what it is but you nonetheless think there is a spiritual reason for it or something, it's that really don't seem to know what it is. If I said I had swine flu you wouldn't say "I don't think that the H1N1 virus caused your teeth to turn blue, I think it's a spiritual problem." I'd reply that blue teeth aren't a symptom of swine flu or any other condition to my knowledge, the symptoms are fever, body aches, dry cough etc. If you didn't know what swine flu was to begin with how would I take your theories on cause seriously?
Let me tell you what social anxiety disorder is
According to the DSM-IV-TR
[8], to be diagnosed with Social Phobia all these criteria (A-H) must be met:
A. A marked and persistent fear of one or more social performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. The individual fears that he or she will act in a way (or show anxiety symptoms) that will be humiliating or embarrassing.
Note: In children, there must be evidence of the capacity for age-appropriate social relationships with familiar people and the anxiety must occur in peer settings, not just in interactions with adults.
B. Exposure to the social or performance situation almost invariably provokes an immediate anxiety response. This response may take the form of a situationally bound or situationally people predisposed Panic Attack.
Note: In children, the anxiety may be expressed by crying, tantrums, freezing, or shrinking from social situations with unfamiliar people.
C. The person recognizes that their fear is excessive or unreasonable.
Note: In children, this feature may be absent.
D. The social or performance situation is avoided, although it is sometimes endured with dread (intense anxiety or distress).
E. The avoidance, anxious anticipation of, or distress in, the feared social or performance situation interferes significantly with the person's normal routine, occupational (academic) functioning, social life, or if the person is markedly distressed about having the phobia.
F. In individuals under age 18 years, the duration is at least 6 months.
G. The fear or avoidance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance or a general medical condition and is not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g., Panic Disorder, Separation Anxiety Disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, or Schizoid Personality Disorder).
H. If a general medical condition or another mental disorder is present, the fear in Criterion A or the avoidance in Criterion D, is unrelated to it (e.g., the fear is not of Stuttering, trembling in Parkinson's disease, or exhibiting abnormal eating behavior in Anorexia Nervosa).
Specify if:
Generalized: if the fears include most social situations (also consider the additional diagnosis of
Avoidant Personality Disorder).
In other words if this was caused by his church then there was a misdiagnosis.
