Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)
People with social anxiety disorder (or social phobia) have an excessive fear of situation in which embarrassment may occur. Many people at one time or another are shy, experience performance anxiety or get nervous in front of others, however, this apprehension is not a social phobia. It may become a social anxiety disorder (or social phobia) when it causes the person intense anxiety, leads to an avoidance of the situation, and this avoidance or fear interferes with work, school or other daily activities. What is social phobia (social anxiety disorder)Social phobia affects about 15 million American adults. However, social phobia is treatable and that with the right treatment or self-help strategies you can overcome your social anxiety. Expert on social anxiety disorder, Dr Murray Stein Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder involves a persistent and overwhelming fear of being watched or judged in social or performance situation and that their anxiety response may cause embarrassment. For example, an individual with social anxiety disorder may fear public speaking because others may notice their hands shaking or voice wavering, or may fear talking to others because they fear being inarticulate to others. While adults with social phobia know that their anxiety is excessive; they avoid, fear or have anxious anticipation about situation which interferes with their daily functioning. The range of feared situationsSome people with social anxiety have a fear and avoid particular situations such as performance anxiety or public speaking anxiety. Other people with social phobia have a generalized fear about many social situations. A person with social phobia can fear and avoid a range of situation which may include:
Symptoms of social anxiety disorderSome of the common symptoms of social phobia are similar to those of anxiety. Examples of physical symptoms of social phobia include:
In more extreme cases, the symptoms may meet the criteria of a panic attack. Examples of some of the emotional symptoms of social phobia include:
Treatment optionsIf left untreated social phobia can affect the quality of your life and lead to a number of complications.For example, an individual may abuse alcohol to cope with their anxiety, misuse prescription or non-prescription drugs, have difficulty in making or maintaining relationships and increase chance of developing depression to name a few. Not to mention the lost opportunities! The treatment prognosis is good for people with social phobia. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) In CBT, a trained therapist will typically target the cognitions and behavior. The cognitive part of the therapy helps people to change their thinking patterns that support their fears. For example, a person with social phobia may enter a situation with certain rules “I must always appear witty and intelligent” or assumptions “If the person gets to know me they will think I am boring” or unconditional assumptions “I am weird and boring”. Cognitive restructuring would involve challenging these rules, assumptions and expectations of humiliation and embarrassment – thus lessening anxiety and reducing avoidance. The behavioral component helps people to change the way they behave towards stimuli that is anxiety-provoking. For example using exposure to have the person with social phobia stay in contact with the feared social social situation until the anxiety diminishes – with the aim that connection between the situation and anxiety will be reduced. Anxiety management techniques Relaxation strategies and breathing techniques may help to reduce the symptoms of anxiety. These include progressive muscle relaxation, meditation and visualization. Breathing techniques have also been used. One symptom of anxiety is hyperventilation (rapid and shallow breathing). By taking slow diagrammatic breathing from the abdomen can alleviate can reduce anxious feelings. Social skills training People with social phobia may have got into many habits of behavior that make it challenging in their recovery – for example a lack of eye gaze and closed body language with hesitant speech may not be conducive to positive social interactions. As such, social skills training has also been used to teach people with social phobia the skills that they may lack. By modeling, role playing and putting into practice in real situations. This can decrease the expectations of humiliation or embarrassment and increase the chances of positive interactions and feedback. Medication Some medications, such as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can help if the person is also suffering from depression. There are a number of other medications that can be prescribed by your local medical practitioner. This site is for information purposes only and is no substitute for treatment. Please see your local medical expert or mental health professional for advice.
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