A question regarding anxiety disorders.?

I have a friend who seems to have this condition, he seems a normal person but I have noticed that he is terrible in large(ish) groups of 6 people or so or more. He just freezes up it looks like, but in smaller groups he is quite confident. I have seen him give a speech and he is not at all good at it. He seems to be negative a lot of the time, but not depressive as such (or maybe I just dont know). He is constantly worried about bad things that might happen and what people think of him. You can see it in his face. He has also said one time that he feels intimidated by ordinary people and generally scared of life, though he has not mentioned these things again.

Without suggesting seeing a professional at this stage, is there anything that I as a close friend can do to help him, cos if he does not know that such conditions exist, then I feel that he may feel bad or insulted that I suggested professional help.

Thanks.

He seems to have social anxiety. It is best treated by a professional, but if you don't want that, the best thing you can do is to encourage him to have conversations within small groups within larger groups. I used to be that way, and I just forced myself to get involved in larger groups and the more I did, the more comfortable I got. Positive reinforcement is the best thing to use, saying things like, "You sure seemed relaxed and comfortable being in that conversation tonight."