Social Anxiety: Creating an Understanding

For our STEAM class Disease this unit, we studied mental disorders and diseases. We learned how the mind and the body are interconnected and how mental disorders can affect brain waves and parts of the brain. For our Action Project this unit, our goal was to cause people to feel as if they were experiencing different mental disorders. We accomplished this by creating our own lesson plan and using them to teach a short 5-10 minute segment of our class. We also created understanding and awareness of the disease by making flyers that include basic information. For my project, I chose the disease social anxiety. I notice a lot of misconceptions about it. My goal was to help people understand that anxiety isn't just shyness or being anti- social, it is a very serious disease that affects millions every year. I am very proud of my flyer. I feel that it helps people not only understand the facts, but it also helps create a feeling of empathy. 

Social Anxiety Flyer (MDS, 2017)

Lesson Plan

Why?	What does it feel like to have social anxiety?	Time 10 min total
How?	How will I guide my classmates to experience these feelings? At the end of this lesson, students will have:  Role-played with a person simulating characteristics of social anxiety.  Reflected on how they felt by writing three things they could do to support those around them with social anxiety
What? Agenda & Content	How will I guide my classmates to experience these feelings? 1. One student will be chosen without volunteering and asked to read the poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost out loud. 2. On the script they are given, there are handwritten notes in bright ink meant to represent inner thoughts of someone with anxiety 3. They have to read aloud the poem, ignoring the notes. 4. After finishing the poem, they will be asked to name 5 feelings or thoughts they had while presenting.	1. 1 min 2. 1 min 3. 1 min 4. 2 min 5 min total
Closure	Students will be given note cards and asked to write down 3 feelings they felt, and 3 things they can do to support those around them who have social anxiety	5 min
Materials	“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost with handwritten notes (below)

MDS Social Anxiety Lesson from MDS on Vimeo.

Works Cited

Cuncic, Arlin. "5 Ways to Be a Friend to Someone with Social Anxiety Disorder." VeryWell. VeryWell. Web. 5 Feb. 2017.

Cuncic, Arlin. "What Are the Criteria for Diagnosing Social Anxiety Disorder?" VeryWell. VeryWell. Web. 5 Feb. 2017. 

Dr. Mercola. "What Anxiety Does to Your Brain and What You Can Do About It." Mercola. Mercola. Web. 4 Feb. 2017.

Richards, Thomas A., Ph.D. "What Is Social Anxiety?" Social Anxiety Institute. Social Anxiety Institute. Web. 6 Feb. 2017.

"Social Anxiety Disorder: Understanding the Facts." ADAA. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Web. 5 Feb. 2017.