I've suffered from social anxiety disorder since I was a little kid and holy crap I'm so tired of people not recognizing it as a debilitating mental illness to have. I've had virtually no social life until one new friend I've made recently, which can be blamed on my social anxiety disorder. It's not just being shy, it's so much more than that. I feel physically sick everytime I have to text somebody that isn't a family member, I get nervous with eye contact (I can still do it, I'll just feel weird the whole time), I can't approach people and start a conversation, I'm terrified to speak up to the point where I was almost mute for all of middle school. This is a mental disorder, it's more than just being shy.