Social Anxiety Research Paper

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.

Shyness is a characteristic due to which a person feels anxious in social situations (APA, 2012). Students may have fear of being negatively reviewed and rejected by others, which may cut their active role off in social activities. Students with this type of anxiety feel uncomfortable and avoid social interaction. They get overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy and are extremely sensitive to negative evaluation. Many students are extremely shy and they withdraw social interaction and get easily embarrassed. They have dread of criticism, disapproval or rejection. They are timid and are afraid of saying something foolish in public. They have special symptoms of blushing and nervousness and act very carefully as they are afraid of being ashamed and ridicule. They believe themselves to be unappealing and inferior to others. They

Social anxiety is fear of communication with other individuals and it may bring feelings of self-consciousness (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams,

The DSM-5 (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) defines social anxiety as, “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

The concept of fear dated back as far as 400 BC. During this time, Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician described the overly shy person as “someone who loves darkness as life and thinks every man observes him”. When fear is persistent and exaggerated, it results to tension and stress and consequently, anxiety.

For example if you have a fast heartbeat, trouble catching your breath, confusion or feeling out of body, Muscle tension, Upset stomach, and dizziness or lightheadedness are all signs that you may have social anxiety. Social anxiety disorder can also be caused from emotional and psychological symptoms. For example, Fear of situations where you can be judged, fear of blushing, sweating, trembling or having a shaky voice, expecting the worse out of situations and avoiding being the center of attention are emotional symptom. Worrying about social situations or worrying about a social event for weeks are Psychological symptoms. People who try to avoid any social situations also can be a sign of social anxiety. For example, if a person avoids attending parties, Social gathering, talking to strangers, making eye contact or entering a room where people are already seated at or avoid any public places, are symptoms of social anxiety disorder. In the article, “Social Anxiety Disorder” (Mayoclinic.com) said,” Signs and symptoms of social anxiety disorder can include persistent: Fear of situations in which you may be judged, Worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself, Concern that you'll offend someone, intense fear of interacting or talking with strangers, fear that others will notice that you look anxious, fear of physical symptoms

Social anxiety disorder, which is also called social phobia involves overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about everyday social situations. The worry often centers on a fear of being judged by others, or behaving in a way that might cause embarrassment or lead to ridicule. The fear may be made worse by a lack of social skills or experience in social situations. The anxiety can build into a panic attack. As a result of the fear, the person endures certain social situations in extreme distress or may avoid them altogether. In addition, people with social anxiety disorder often suffer anticipatory anxiety, the fear of a situation before it even happens, for days or weeks before the event. In many cases, the person is aware that the fear is unreasonable, yet is unable to overcome it. (Goldberg)

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).

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).

     People who suffer from a social phobia will worry a lot about making a fool of themselves in front of other people, and will feel very anxious before going into any of the social situations that worry them. They may go through, in great detail, all the embarrassing things that could happen. When they are actually with people, they will feel even more anxious, and may be unable to say, or do, what is intended. In a way, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You worry so much about looking worried that you actually do look worried. People experiencing both of these types of social phobia have many of the same physical symptoms. You may get a very dry mouth, sweat a lot, and feel your heart racing. Other people may be able to see some of the signs of this anxiety, such as blushing, stammering, shaking and trembling. Sometimes you may breathe too fast, which can give you feelings of numbness or pins and needles in the fingers and toes. This can make the anxiety even worse.     These feelings of fear and bodily symptoms can end in a panic attack. This is a short period, usually lasting only a few minutes, during which people feel overwhelmingly anxious, terrified of losing control, and may feel

others, being criticized, or being observed by others. Symptoms of social anxiety are high levels of stress, negative thought process, racing heart, sweating palms, etc. (Richards, 2015).

For instance, most people have felt shy or insecure on occasion, however, it does not interfere with their daily routines. On the other hand, people suffering from social anxiety disorder experience severe emotional, physical and behavioral symptoms. These symptoms hinder the person from functioning normally on a daily basis (Smith/Jaffe-Gill, 2014). Emotionally, the person fears being criticized and judged by others in everyday social situations. He or she is scared that they might embarrass or humiliate themselves. Frequently, when speaking in public, a person with social anxiety disorder might think, “Was that a yawn? She thinks I’m boring!” (Stein, 2007). These negative thoughts lead to serious physical symptoms, such as shortness of breath,

Social anxiety is a disorder in which individuals assume that they will be negatively evaluated. This results in an extreme fear of social situations or performance-based situations (Iverach, Rapee, Wong, & Lowe, 2017, p. 542) for a period of time lasting longer than six months (Brundage et al., p. 498). Those with social anxiety fear negative judgement during

Social anxiety is “a feeling of discomfort, fear, or worry that is centered on our interactions with other people and involves a concern with being judged negatively, evaluated, or looked down upon by others” (Social Anxiety Support, 2014). Social anxiety can affect anyone. Individuals with social anxiety tend to prefer to keep to themselves because they are afraid others will judge them negatively and have a hard time interacting socially.

People with social anxiety disorder become anxious that they will make mistakes, feel awful, and humiliated in front of others. The fear become immense due to a lack of social skills or experience in social situations. As a result of that people undergo extreme distress in certain social situation and try to avoid them.