Generalized Anxiety Disorder Case Study

Numerous researches have done on psychological disorders, Social Anxiety Disorder, as one of the most common disorders has been studied and analyzed for plenty of decades. Social Anxiety Disorder is defined as “excessive anxiety on exposure to potential scrutiny or evaluation by others” (Joy Albuquerque MD, FRCP; and Dorian Deshauer MD, FRCP,2002, p.87). It is considered part of the Axis of Anxiety Disorder and is also known as “Social Phobia”. Furthermore, it has been found in studies that Social Anxiety Disorder is the third most common psychiatric illness right after Alcohol Dependence and Depression

“Anxiety is the signal of danger which mobilizes the human organism’s resources at all levels of functioning in the interests of conservation, defense, and self- preservation.” (Anxiety 1) If a person suffers from anxiety there is a major loss of control and then an attempt to regain that control because of a fear that they have. Anxiety disorders are one of the most frequently occurring mental disorders in the United States. However, anxiety disorders are not only found in the United States. They are found throughout the world. They just happen to be most predominating in the United States. In this paper, I will be discussing the generalized anxiety disorder and how if effects society today.

The study of Social anxiety shows no clear causes for its variety of symptoms, but psychologists have been able to determined triggers and possible factors for its development. As psychologists continue to study social phobia, they have determined many possible causes. Since the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, psychologists have

Disorder: Social Anxiety Disorder Because: Some behaviors that are allowed in Western culture might be inappropriate in Eastern culture. Therefore, clinical psychologists should be aware of different sociocultural factors when diagnosing the abnormality of one’s behavior because, for instance, inability to expressing thoughts and feelings might not be solely because of anxiety, and certain behaviors might be common in other culture.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also know as social phobia, affects between 1.6% and 4.0% of children. Like other anxiety disorders, girls are more likely to be diagnosed with SAD than boys (Chavira & Stein, 2002). The defining features of SAD are excessive self-consciousness that is more than just common shyness. Individuals with SAD fear social or performance situations where they may face scrutiny or humiliation. The two subtypes of SAD are generalized and non-generalized. Approximately 75% of individuals with SAD experience the generalized type, which is characterized by experiencing distress in almost all social situations. Non-generalized SAD is characterized by experiencing anxiety in only one or two types of interpersonal situations, like public speaking. Generalized social anxiety disorder has high comorbidity with major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobias, and ADHD. Non-generalized SAD however has low comorbidity with other disorders. Children with selective mutism have a significantly high comorbidity rate with SAD, about 97% to 100% (Chavira & Stein, 2005).

Social Phobia can also be addressed as Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD); the scientific name for this disorder is ‘Anthropophobia’, which according to Right Diagnosis (2014) means an irrational fear of people or groups of people. The National Health Service (2014) describes Anthropophobia or Social Phobia as a tenacious fear of social situations and people; furthermore, the NHS credits Social Phobia to be the most common anxiety disorder. According to the International Classification of Diseases 2010 (ICD-10), symptoms of this disorder have been known to manifest themselves as blushing, hand tremors, nausea and the frequent urgency of micturition. These symptoms appear when the sufferer is faced with situations where social interactions may arise. Other symptoms may include palpations, dizziness, panic attacks, diarrhoea, muscle tension, excessive sweating, shaking, poor social skills, low self-esteem and high sensitivity to criticism. Due to the nature of the symptoms that accompany Social Phobia,

Furthermore, this patient meets the criteria for Social Anxiety Disorder (F40.10) as evidenced by poor relationship with people, inability to make or keep friends, fear of panicking or doing something wrong as well as inability to communicate or associate with people who are not members of his family. His symptoms have persisted for over a period of 6 months and causes impairment in his social and school live (DSM-5,

Symptoms that are coupled with social phobia include but are not limited to: uneasy around others, feeling uncomfortable talking with others, constant feeling of humiliation or low self-worth, fear of offending others, avoiding public spaces, hard time making friends, blushing, sweating, nausea, trembling, insecurity, feeling of terror, and when taken away from a comfortable situation outbursts of crying and screaming. This disorder effects the individuals ability to function in society and the quality of life said person may lead. 15 million people thus far are diagnosed with social phobia; however, numbers are growing. The area of the brain where this disorder is associated with is the temporal brain structure and specifically its circuits. These circuits are sent distorted messages regarding self and others, normally circuits are wired to send positive messages and “vibes” about self and others. However, these distorted messages send negative “vibes” feeding low self-esteem and self-worth. The effect on learning with this disorder is similar to GAD and PD but, more severe in some cases. Like GAD and PD a student with social phobia has a tendency to miss more school or even leave classes often to recuperate in isolation. Being isolated habitually tends to lead to suicidal thoughts or attempts, depression, and low self-esteem. Seating arrangements in schools

The diagnosis of social phobia has seen substantial changes in the last 25 years, from its first appearance in the DSM-III published in 1980 to the DSM-IV. In DSM-III, phobic disorders and anxiety states were regarded as two types of anxiety disorders, and social phobia was considered a phobic disorder. What do you think of when you hear the words Social Anxiety? Is it a mental illness or is it just a phobia? While there are many feelings tied with social anxiety, social anxiety is a mental illness that people go through in their lives. From personally struggling with this I have always wanted to know what are the causes and how can I deal with this issue. I decided this would be a great topic to do my future research paper on. While researching information I came across a source I believe will help me write my paper. I found this source by using the Tacoma Community College library search. I then typed ‘Social Anxiety Disorders’and found the article “Social Anxiety Disorder: Questions for the DSM-V. The article ‘Social Anxiety Disorder: Questions for the DSM-V by Susan M. Bögels is a credible source based on the author’s educational background, other pieces of work from the author, and a distinguished publishing company.

Social anxiety disorder symptoms include: feeling very on edge about being around other people and having a difficult time communicating with them, feeling self-conscious and worried about feeling humiliated, embarrassed, or even rejected by others, worrying for days and weeks before an event, staying away from places where there is common social interaction, having a hard time making friends or keeping those friendships, blushing easily, or shaking around other people, feeling sick to your stomach when other people are around. Evaluation for one of the anxiety disorders mentioned starts with a visit to the patient’s primary

Social phobia, for example, is a form of anxiety caused by contact with unfamiliar people. Thus, IPT serves as a natural treatment method (Weissman et al, 2000). Lipsitz, Markowitz, Cherry, and Fyer (1999) conducted an open trial of interpersonal psychotherapy for the treatment of social phobia. Here, Lipsitz et al attempted the first clinical trial of IPT for treating anxiety. The study enlisted nine participants with an age range of 25-49 (Mean = 38, SD = 8) from a list of patients seeking treatment for social phobia in New York State Psychiatric Institute Anxiety Disorders Clinic. Participants only included those who were not already under a different treatment plan or co-morbid with other disorder. Fourteen weeks of sessions in IPT for social phobia were conducted by an experienced interpersonal psychotherapy for depression while an experienced psychotherapy

Mary, appears to be a young college student, who lives alone. Her parents visit her occasionally at her apartment. Mary is not dating or in any serious relationships, because she has a fear of boys. Mary, was told by her doctor, that she has borderline hypertension However, her condition can be corrected through diet been told of having borderline high blood pressure, but can be corrected with proper diet and exercise. Nonetheless, she is in constant worry about not being good enough. Mary does not participate in any alcohol consumption, and in general has a healthy family medical history, besides her recent diagnosis, and is not currently on any medication. Mary is in good health otherwise.

Six patients were extracted from successive referrals for anxiety disorder from PsyQ, a mental health center located in Netherlands. Patients categorize from 21 to 47 years, both male and female, having 1 to 18 years of duration of social phobia, as well as having good standing levels of education. Each patient is struggling with

Social Phobia, also called social anxiety disorder (SAD), is one of the most common, but misconstrued mental health problems in society. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), over 15 million adults suffer from the disorder. First appearing in the DSM-III as Social Phobia, and later in the DSM-IV as Social Anxiety Disorder, this newly established disorder denotes afflicting stress and anxiety associated with social situations (Zakri 677). According to James W. Jefferson, two forms of Social phobia exist: specific and generalized. Specific social phobia indicates anxiety limited to few performance situations, while generalized indicates anxiety in all social situations (Jefferson). Many people often interchangeably link this disorder to shyness––a personality trait. However, although they have striking similarities, the two are divergent. To begin with, SAD has an extensive etiology ranging from multiple factors. Furthermore, symptoms of various aspects accompany SAD. Moreover, SAD has detrimental impacts affecting quality of life. Lastly, SAD has numerous methods of treatment. Social Phobia is prevalent in both women and men beginning at the onset of puberty (ADAA).

Among all anxiety problems, social anxiety disorder is most common anxiety issue and third most common problem in all mental complications (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Hofmann & Bogels, 2006). SAD is a mental disorder which has a tendency to become chronic and badly disturbs normal functions of life if not diagnosed and treated in time (Beesdo-Baum, et al., 2012; Garcia-Lopez, Piqueras, Diaz-Castela, & Ingles, 2008). It is also among the most prevailing mental disorders and is described in Criterion A of DSM-V as “Marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others. Examples include social interactions (e.g., having a conversation, meeting unfamiliar people), being observed (e.g., eating or drinking), and performing in front of others (e.g., giving a speech)” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). A specific amount of anxiety is always anticipated socially and helps an individual managing future threats (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). But having social anxiety means that anxiety is too much for normal functioning during social situations and often interferes with