Social Anxiety Disorder

Though most people might believe that mental disorders are rare, it is actually common, and nearly 42.5 million of American adults in the United States suffer from it. A common diagnosed mental disorder are anxiety disorders. A specific type of the anxieties is social anxiety. Social anxiety is a type of specific phobia that a person has an excessive fear of social situations. A common form would be public speaking. This type of disorder has the intense nervousness and self-consciousness when being watched, and fears the feeling of being criticized. Though social anxiety is more of an internal illness, physical symptoms are shown. The physical symptoms include sweating, shaking, muscle tension, upset stomach, and excessive heart pounding. Without treatment, this type of feeling builds the fear of that individuals by distorting their thinking of false beliefs about the social situations. The negative and fearful thoughts prevail the individual’s normal daily routine, and this can lead into more fearful social situation.

Social anxiety, also known as social phobia, is a feeling of fear and discomfort of being judged badly by other people. Anyone can experience this at work, school, special events, and even at doing everyday things. Many people have experienced a feeling like this and that is normal. But having a social anxiety disorder can have a huge affect in someone’s life style. The effects of having disorder can lead to bad results in life.

Social anxiety is “a fear of humiliation or of being judged by others, and an avoidance of social situations where attention centers on the individual” (Martis). According to the Social Anxiety Institute, social anxiety has become the third largest psychological disorder, following depression and alcoholism (Richards). Commonly, victims of this social phobia have problems pursuing social environments, interactions, and relationships (“Social Anxiety Disorder”). The failure to fulfill daily requirements in jobs, social settings, and relationships often leaves them feeling “powerless, alone, or even ashamed” (“Social Anxiety Disorder”). Today in America,“15 million [people] suffer[from] the disorder” (“Social Anxiety Disorder”). Of the 15 million American adults affected, women and men are equally prone to develop the phobia (“Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder)”). Currently, the prevalence rate for acquiring social anxiety disorder is “13-14% of all Americans” and continues to rise (Richards). As the number of people affected by social anxiety continues to rise, the understanding of social anxiety’s causes, effects, and treatments is crucial.

Many changes happen in the body when a person becomes anxious. One of the first changes is that the individual experiences an increased breathing rate. Breathing rapidly throws off the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body thereby, triggering additional physical anxiety symptoms such as dizziness, a feeling of suffocation, increased heart rate, and muscle tension. Learning to slow down breathing can help bring physical symptoms of anxiety back under control. In addition to

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,

Social phobia, more commonly known as social anxiety, defines itself as having a fear of scrutinizing judgement or embarrassment from peers or people of authority. One usually acquires this disorder from his or hers environment when growing up. The National Institute

In simple terms, social anxiety is a disorder that dramatically influences people's daily lives and their relationship with society [10]. In addition to this, social phobia leads people to experience excessive stress and deep fears intensively in a social situation [10]. It should be noted that social anxiety disorder manifests itself with various symptoms that can be listed such as blushing, sweating, trembling, tachycardia, nausea, stuttering, cluttering and more [11,12].

Social anxiety disorder is the extreme fear of being scrutinized and judged by others in a social or performance situation. Social anxiety can be devastating to those who suffer from it, this disorder is not just simply extreme shyness this is an actual disorder. (AADA, 2015)

Panic disorder is when people with this condition have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. Other symptoms of a panic attack include sweating, chest pain, palpitations, unusually strong or irregular heartbeats, and a feeling of choking, which may make the person feel like he or she is having a heart

Social anxiety is a phobia of interaction amongst others that triggers self-consciousness, fears of being judged, embarrassment, humiliation, depression, and leads to avoidance of social interaction. This disorder is one of the most common disorders that effects millions of people worldwide (Richards, 2012). According to Richards (2012), epidemiological studies marked this disorder to be the third largest in the United States. Tagging right behind depression and substance abuse. He also discloses that 7% of the population has suffered from this phobia at least once in their life. However, there is a specific social anxiety that effects everyone which is the fear of making speeches. Whereas, social anxiety disorder is when an individual is nervous and uncomfortable in all social interactions. The symptoms of social anxiety are being introduced to others, being judged, bringing attention onto themselves, being watched by others when preforming a task, meeting important people, being around strangers, having to say something in front of people, and interpersonal relationships (Richards, 2012). Indeed, adults suffer from social anxiety in certain situations, however, it can affect child also. In regards to child anxiety, Albano (2014) reveals that children suffering from social anxiety is known as the “silent disorder”. Why she addresses it as the silent disorder is because children with this disorder are experiencing it for years until it is noticed and diagnosed. Reasons why it goes unnoticed is because parents

     Social anxiety disorder or social phobia is a much more common problem then psychologists originally thought. Millions of people al over the world

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

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

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.

Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is a disorder in which a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. Social Anxiety causes intense nervousness and self-consciousness arises from a fear of being closely watched, judged, and criticized by others.