High School Students : Basis For Intervention Programs

If someone has a social anxiety disorder, that person gets nervous and over thinks about doing something because of the concern of doing something embarrassing. Having social anxiety makes the person who is suffering the disorder thinks that he/she is not acting right, he/she will be made fun of, and that others will notice his/her discomfort. Social anxiety makes it difficult for someone to meet new people and for showing his/her real personality. According to the Social Anxiety Support community, some

“The one permanent emotion of the inferior man is fear - fear of the unknown, the complex, and the inexplicable. What he wants above everything else is safety.” Henry Louis Mencken.

Everybody has a different perspective on fear and everybody is affected differently. The Mental Health Foundation stated that, “Fear can last for a short time and then pass but it can also last much longer and stay with us. In some cases it can take over our lives, affecting appetite, sleep, and concentration for long periods of time. Fear stops us from travelling, going to work or school, or even leaving the house.” This quote shows that fear does not affect people as much as it does to others. Although, fear can affect people for a long time which can cause them to stay isolated from others. There are many types of fears and some examples of fears include: the fear of the number 13, the fear of spiders, the fear of heights, and many others. There are hundreds of fears and many people have these fears and everybody is affected differently.

Known as a mental disorder a phobia is a persistent fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to compelling desire to avoid it. Phobias tend to affect the way people live their lives, for example, their working and social environments, considering that they last for a very long time and are capable to cause intense psychological physical stress. It is considered today the most common mental and anxiety disorder in the United States (Matig Mavissakalian & David H. Barlow 1981 pp 2). There are many phobias such as: the fear of aging, fear of changing, fear of clowns, fear of getting fat, fear of being in closed spaces, etc.

The definition of fear is an unpleasant emotion resulting in being afraid of someone or something that is a dangerous threat. However, fear can come in many forms and affect people in several different ways. Fear is evident in all areas of life. Everyone experiences fear whether the outcome is positive or negative. Fear is no doubt inevitable. For example,whenever you have to present a speech, you may fear ridicule or judgement. Or when you are walking to your car late at night by yourself, you fear many dangerous situations that can happen. According to Mary C. Lamia in “The Complexity of Fear” in Psychology Today, fear in terms of psychology is described as the fear of the unknown, fear of death, and catastrophic fear. Mary C. Lamia has found

Realized or not, it is in the innate nature of humans to fear something that they are unfamiliar with. A surgeon fears his first time in the operating room. An expecting mother is apprehensive of her first delivery. A new student is trepid about his first day at a new school. The fear of the unknown has for long defined and constrained the boundaries of societies and the actions of man, and has been, is, and will continue to shape and affect our decisions. Fear of the unknown creates, promotes, and maintains paranoia and disunity in a community in times of crisis.

Redundant Fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion or feeling caused when someone or something is suspected to be harmful or dangerous. Fears come in all shapes and sizes, some keep one up all night, and some fears will prohibit one from doing simple tasks. In “Culture of Fear” by Barry Glassner the main topic discusses about fear and its impact on society.

A phobia can be acquired by a person by making the person associate one thing with something not pleasant or painful to them. The effect of this can be permanent if the extinction process on the person

It is as the result of our mind, that we are able to form mechanisms that can help us abandon the predestined fears ingrained within us, however, with these abilities comes

The main role of fear of the unknown is to explain fear. People have been scared of two things since the beginning of time: fear of things, and fear of the unknown. Someone might be scared of spiders, heights, clowns, or any other thing. When people are asked; “What are you afraid of?”

Psychological Explanations of One Anxiety Disorder Phobias are an example of an anxiety disorder and the psychological explanations of these are cognitive, psychodynamic, behavioral and social factors. The Behavioral, Psychodynamic and social factors of the psychological explanation will be discussed in greater detail. Behavioral explanations say that all behaviour is learnt whether it is normal or abnormal and this approach has been applied to humans and animals.

This type of Anxiety Disorder has a direct correlation relating to social situations. A person experiencing this disorder has a chronic fear of other people’s perceptions of them. They are especially likely to avoid any situation where they are being observed by others such as giving presentations or activities that must be performed in front of an audience, large or small. In extreme circumstances where social anxiety disorder exists, a person will avoid social situations all together and will become a “hermit” in their own individual abode. This disorder is impairing to one’s normal life functioning because it often affects a person’s ability to perform the essential duties in a work environment. It also deters them from engaging in typical conversations because the fear of being embarrassed or judged is so extreme (Fleming, 2012).

When one has a fear of something, one normally does not spend much time thinking about it, and it only affects one when one is forced to confront it.

Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) can be described as an extreme, persistent fear of being scrutinized or judged by others in social situations. This fear may lead to feelings of embarrassment, humiliation and self-consciousness. People who suffer from this condition may “feel powerless against their anxiety” (ADAA). These emotions often interfere with daily activities, such as school, work and personal relationships. The person might begin to withdraw socially or avoid situations in which he or she is afraid. Millions of Americans endure this devastating condition every day of their lives. There are several causes, symptoms and treatments.

The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the difficulties a social phobic student has regarding academic progress.