Social Anxiety And Avoidance Behaviors

Over the years, more people are becoming aware of Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD. The growing number of individuals who are affected by ASD have been increasing over the years. This could be do to the new DSM development of what is considered ASD or simply more children are being born with ASD. Either way, ASD is more predominate in our society today. ASD is defined in the DSM 5 as having abnormal social aspects, lack of social skills, non-verbal communications skills, deficits in development, lack of understanding of relationships, and self-stimulation through repetitive behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Although these are not all of the symptoms caused by ASD

Social anxiety is the third largest mental problem in the world. Social anxiety is fear of interaction with other people, being judged, embarrassment, humiliation or depression. In the United sates about 40 million Americans have this Disorder. Social anxiety can be caused by biological, psychological and environmental factors; these factors can be effectively identified and treated.

An individual diagnosed with ASD who suffers from social anxiety may experience strong internal sensations of tension. In order to alleviate this tension, a person may feel the need to engage in self-soothing and repetitive behaviors, called perseveration. Perseveration is the uncontrolled repetition or continuation of a response (e.g., behavior, word, thought, activity, strategy, or emotion) in the absence of an ongoing occasion or rationale for that behavior or emotion. Perseverative behavior generally interferes with learning and adaptive behavior (e.g., effective interaction, on-task behavior, flexible shifting among topics and activities), and is believed to result from neurologic impairment.

One theory states that an individual with ASD has fewer neurons in the part of the brain called the amygdala http://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/amygdala.htm than an individual without an autism spectrum disorder does. The amygdala is the part of the brain that controls certain emotions, such as fear and anxiety. Another study finds that young children with ASD have larger amygdalae than children who do not have the

Perhaps as a result of social isolation or awareness of one’s disadvantage, anxiety-related concerns are the most common presented problems for adolescents with ASD. High rates of diagnosed comorbid anxiety-related pathologies have been found in people diagnosed with ASD: 55% in a 2006 study, and 42% in a 2008 study (de Bruin et al., 2006); (Simonoff et al., 2008). Both physiological concerns, such as hyperarousal, and social deficits may influence the high prevalence of social anxiety in children with ASD (White et al., 2010). Nonetheless, many Axis I anxiety disorders, social phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorders, are often undiagnosed in people with ASD since the symptoms can be explained by ASD itself. Other disorders, such as ADHD, cannot explicitly be diagnosed in children and teens with autism, since it is difficult to differentiate between inattention and/or overactivity as a symptom of ASD or another comorbid pathology (White et al., 2009). In general, however, there is a high

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) refers to a group of developmental brain disorders that affect a child’s cognitive, behavioral, and social abilities (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). There are several forms of ASD that have different impairments and levels of severity. Recent research has been looking at the increased prevalence of ASD and possible causes of this increase.

Social anxiety, the fear of being in social situations, is difficult and frustrating to overcome. For the 15 million Americans who deal with social anxiety, there are apps and online help available. Here are some ways to conquer your fears to improve your social life and relationships.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) comprises of a group of conditions including autistic disorder, Asperger syndrome, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (DSM-5, 2014). ASD are a type of neurodevelopmental conditions diagnosed on the basis of three core behavioural domains: 1) Persistent deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication; 2) Impairments in social interaction; 3) Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of activities, interests, and behaviours (DSM-5, 2014). The variation in the severity of behavioural traits between, and within these three disorders is extensive. It should be emphasised that due to this high phenotypic heterogeneity, and clinical variability, caution in the

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

those deficits include severe impairments in social reciprocity and communication, with proof of restricted and repetitive behaviors or interests as defined in (DSM-IV-TR) (A. A. P.,2000). (O’Donohue and Draper, 2011). The most current update of international diagnostic standards launched in May 2013 in (DSM-V) has merged those three domains into “social/communication deficits” and “fixated interests and repetitive behaviors. (O’Donohue and Draper, (2011) (Tanguay, 2011), (Kuenssberg et al, 2011) The word “spectrum” approach that ASDs affect anybody in a one of a kind manner, and signs and symptoms can variety from mild to severe according to the developmental level and chronological age of each individual(A. A. P.,2000). (Yates & Couteur, 2013) (Rapin & Tuchman, 2008)

Wood et al. (2014) studied a sample size of 33 adolescents aged 11 to 15 years old who met the diagnostic criteria of having ASD. Participants were organized via a randomized-controlled trial through a computer randomization program, and was divided into two categories: Immediate Treatment or Waitlist. 16 sessions of a modified version of the Behavioral Interventions for Anxiety in Children with Autism (BIACA) were implemented in the Intermediate treatment category (Wood et al., 2015, p.1), which is a module that incorporates core elements of CBT skills (Wood et al., 2015, p.6).

Social anxiety disorder or social phobia, is can be progressively debilitating condition which may affect individuals for the duration of their lives and with low rates of recovery among patients (Chartier, Hazen, & Stein, M.B, 1998). Studies have shown that the disorder has an early onset with symptoms manifesting on average at age 16 in most adolescents. Social anxiety disorder features intense feelings of irrational fear of possible embarrassment and scrutiny of others during social situations (Canton, Scott, & Glue, 2012; Ruscio et al., 2007). The effects of this disorder can be especially disabling as individuals have an increased risk of suffering from comorbid disorders including depression and substances dependeancy (Stein,

Knowing about social anxiety is a great way to find out the signs and symptoms of dealing with this disorder. Social anxiety is the most common issue people deal with in their lives and it can affect the way the feel about themselves, and most importantly, the way they communicate towards others. So many people have this feeling inside them that they can barely control, they experience pounding heart, nervousness, muscle tension, blushing, or even being lightheaded. But also, emotional symptoms of social anxiety can differ in many ways because the person usually has this fear built up inside of them because they feel like they are being watched, feeling embarrassed, and also making mistakes that makes them feel humiliated. Well, “a person with

The Social anxiety Association classifies social anxiety as the fear of interacting with other and social situations. Social anxiety causes fear and anxiety in most if not all aspects of ones lives. Social anxiety is the fear of being negatively judge or evaluated by others. It is a chronic disease that it does not go away on its own, only direct cognitive-behavioral therapy can help people overcome their social anxiety. There are a few situations that can trigger social anxiety such as being introduced to

Fear is a common emotion exhibited by people who stutter (PWS). The fear of negative evaluation is commonly displayed by PWS (Fjola, 1246); when this fear is significantly excessive, the PWS may meet the criteria for a clinical diagnosis of social anxiety (Brundage, Winters, & Beilby, p. 499). Social anxiety frequently causes PWS to isolate themselves from social interactions, and, when in situations, to utilize safety behaviors to prevent stuttering and reduce anxiety. Safety behaviors consequently maintain social anxiety in PWS rather than exacerbate the disorder (Lowe et al., 2017, pp. 1246-1247). More is known regarding the development of social anxiety is adults who stutter (AWS) than the information pertaining to children who stutter (CWS) and their fear of negative evaluation which results in social anxiety (Iverach, Menzies, O’Brian, Packman, & Onslow, 2011, p. 228). The difference in available information may be due to the thought that social anxiety is a short-term effect in CWS but a life-long effect in AWS (Iverach, Jones, McLellan, Lyneham, Menzies, Onslow, & Rapee, 2016, p. 15).