I have learned that unless a person actually experiences phobias or other types of mental health issues they don't have a good understanding of what it feels like so they don't know what to say. This type of situation reminds me of people at a funeral, they want to say something to help ease the pain but they usually stumble and end up saying the wrong thing.

The suggestion of taking a class is a good one, you are in a social situation without all the pressure to socialize, like you said you can concentrate on the class.