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Anxiety Disorders And Social Anxiety Disorder

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Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in the U.S, affecting 18% of the adult population. Among that population, Social Phobia or Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is the second most common disorder, affecting 6.8% adults (ADAA, 2015). The onset of SAD generally happens around ages 13 up to 18, when people are more susceptible to the disorder. According to the American Psychological Association (2012), a Phobia is an anxiety disorder involving a persistent fear of an object, place or situation disproportional to the threat or danger posed by the object of the fear. Social Anxiety Disorder, can be defined as a marked, or intense, fear or anxiety of social situations in which the individual may be scrutinized by others. In the youth, fear and anxiety occurs in a peer setting. “Social anxiety disorder tends to follow a chronic and unremitting course associated with educational and social impairment among adolescents, which can increase the risk of suicide and substance abuse in adulthood” (Ingul, Aune, & Nordahl, 2013) with those risks in mind, it is vital to treat SAD early on before challenges of adulthood create greater issues. Previous studies have indicated that treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Psychoanalysis are effective in the treatment of SAD. However, there is a lack of studies that show the long term effects of short term CBT treatments in, specifically later in adulthood. The purpose of this study is to compare the long term
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