Social Anxiety Disorder Analysis

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.

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

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).

Due to the limitations of the essay, only the behavioural symptoms will be discussed as it believed that they are a core reason for the maintenance of SAD. Safety behaviours, which are behavioural symptoms, are described as behaviours that are performed in order to prevent or avoid the negative perceived outcome and they can include avoiding eye contact in order to avoid interactions, standing on the perimeter of the crowd, or minimizing participation in a conversation by attending to one’s phone (Heimberg, Brozovich, & Rapee, 2014). In a study conducted by Mcmanus, Sacadura, & Clark, (2008), individuals were tested for their use of safety behaviours and seeing if they were helpful improving social performance in two experiments. In the first experiment, the participants were required to fill out questionnaires that were related to their uses of safety behaviours and upon completion, were required to complete an semi-structured interview with standardized questions. The second experiment required them to have 5-minute conversations with a stranger but each time, they were to alter their use of safety behaviours. The results of the first experiment concluded that both high and low socially anxious individuals believed that their safety behaviours reduced their anxiety,

The study is about how two groups of individuals the first group is individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder and the second group is the healthy controls. These two groups were asked to take a variety tests, these tests measured levels of shame and guilt, social anxiety levels, depressive symptoms, and diagnostic assessment as to whether or not the individuals met the criteria for SAD (Hedman et al., 2013, p. 1). After these two groups were given these tests, all individuals with SAD were given cognitive behavior treatment. One group was given group therapy and another group was given individual therapy. After therapy was given these individuals had a one year follow up where they take the same tests they took before treatment. The results were statistically analyzed. The conclusion from this studied that CBT did improve the effect internal shame in individuals with SAD, even though CBT does not directly target internal shame.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a very real psychiatric disorder. People are often misinformed about SAD; they dismiss it as being shy. Even though social anxiety disorder and shyness have similar symptoms such as blushing and red face, sweating, and heart rate changes. Shyness can be overcome whereas social anxiety disorder is considers chronic because it has to be treated for it to go away. There are several different treatment options for SAD cognitive-behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, group therapy, and lastly medication. Medication will work, however it is not a permanent treatment. If left

Social Phobia is an Anxiety disorder where the sufferer fears being negatively judged or evaluated by others and therefore they are afraid of doing something to embarrass or humiliate themselves in public.

Social Anxiety Disorder known as Social Phobia according to the DSM-V is, A persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. The individual fears that he or she will act in a way (or show anxiety symptoms) that will be embarrassing and humiliating (Social Anxiety Institute, 2015). Social phobia, which is the third most common mental health disorder; beginning in childhood and adolescents. The causes of SAD is not fully known but is said to came from family history. However, according to the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) continue to investigate a small structure in the brain called the amygdala. Amygdala is a central site in the

I would like to write my research paper on the causes and effects of social anxiety disorder (SAD) and panic disorder. The reason that I would like to write about this topic in particular is to share some of my personal experiences with these disorders because they have made a huge impact upon my life and the life of my siblings, and I would like to research the topic and maybe gain some insight myself as to what causes them to occur and what effects they have on the brain and the body and why they basically always go hand in hand.

With modern technology biological theorists explain abnormal behaviors as sources by biological abnormalities or viral infections. Interest in viral explanations of psychological disorders has been growing for over nearly a decade, more and more studies have been done on anxiety and mood disorders. Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a pattern of constant worry and anxiety over social settings and other different activities and events. There

The exact psychopathology of SAD has proven difficult to come by. The definitive cause is not known and the prevailing theory, or theories, is that it may have many elements that contribute to its development (Mayo Clinic, 2014). Some causes include possible genetic links, the patient’s brain chemistry, developmental delays and perhaps exposure to toxins, or viral illness in-utero (Mayo Clinic, 2014). Specific risk factors that may lead to a

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).

According to Medical News Today, no direct link between any genetic makeup and SAD has been discovered, but there are other factors that cause SAD inside a person’s genes. Heredity is the major factor in this instance. According to the Mayo Clinic, if a person has a first degree relative who has SAD, they are 2 to 3 times more likely to develop SAD in their lifetime. According to the University of Maryland Health, the genetic component of the disorder has been proven to be the cause of 35-40% of cases of SAD. While no particular gene sequence has been found to cause SAD, there are chromosomes that cause other social disorders. These chromosomes could also be responsible for SAD as well. Chemicals in the brain known as neurotransmitters are responsible for sending signals from your brain to different parts of the body. For example, neurotransmitters tell your heart to beat, lungs to breathe, and your eyes to blink. These neurotransmitters relay signals from the brain to nerve centers throughout the body. According to the Mayo Clinic, the major neurotransmitters associated with mood are dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid. An imbalance of these chemicals in the brain directly cause mood swings and depression. It is very possible that these chemicals cause SAD. According

These factors include gender and age(“Parents” n. pg.). During adolescence when teenagers are transitioning from child to adults social systems it is a time of great social pressures (“Parenting” n. pg). From personal experiences these pressures come from parents, teachers and mostly social peers. This can cause social anxiety to develop, and causes adolescents to be the most common time for anxiety to start developing(Phobia n. pg.). Gender also can play a role in social anxiety, according to “Parenting Styles and Social Anxiety among Adolescents”, an article by the organization New Horizons, girls are twice as likely to develop social anxiety ("Parenting” n. pg). This can be due to gender socialization including gender specific stressors and restricted gender roles (“Parenting” n. pg). These gender roles are not only reinforced by adults, but also by social peers. With girls facing heavily enforced gender roles and expectations, particularly in adolescents, not or feeling as if one doesn’t conform to these societal standards can lead to stress and the feeling of being removed from society(“Parenting” n.pg). These factors can lead to social anxiety and cause social awkwardness and being unaware of who to interact well with adults in a new social environment. Along with social and environmental factors leading to SAD some evidence points to biological factors, including family history and life experiences, but there is not enough evidence to yet support this theory (Woodworth

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