ASN: Support, Help and Social Networking For the Anxious

An article by ewoodesign    Comments Off

Anxiety Social Net is a new social network that seeks to help the group of people who have trouble socializing with larger social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Anxiety is a widespread problem that prevents people from adequately socializing with the people around them. Excessive fears of being judged prevent people from sharing their own feelings or ideas with most people thus closing them off to the world.

When social networks started insinuating themselves into mainstream culture, perhaps one of the less talked about consequences, was the affect it had on the lives of the socially-anxious. The ambiguous, sometimes anonymous nature of social networks provided a buffer for people with social anxieties allowing them to express themselves without the fear of interpersonal confrontation.

ASN has the potential to impact a large percentage of the population, a part of the population that usually does not get the help they need. The common anxiety sufferer is under a great deal of stress by not wanting to share on his feelings and experiences on such a widespread and public social network site, like Facebook. The fear of being judged by friends and family stops such people from sharing their inner concerns and asking for help. ASN provides such people with a safe environment for socializing online, learning from others, and ultimately seeking help.

AnxietySocialNet hopes to help sufferers of agoraphobia, social anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder or any of the other forms of anxiety affecting many. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that anxiety disorders affect as many as 40 million Americans age 18 or older.

On ASN, users can join anxiety support groups, learn about anxiety through a user powered anxiety Q&A system, and keep an online diary allowing them to share their personal experiences within the online community.