The Phobia of Social Anxiety

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

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.

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

People with this disorder have trouble talking to people, meeting new people, and attending social activities. They fear being judged by others. They may understand that their fears are irrational or unreasonable, but feel powerless to overcome them. This is symptom has nothing to do with shyness. Shyness is usually a short-term thing and people deal with it better. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) approximately 15 million American adults have social anxiety

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,

No one wants to feel invisible or have a constant fear they will embarrass themselves just simply by speaking. In the United States today, even with our say-anything society, many people struggle with these exact worries on a day-today basis. Social anxiety is a disorder that many, even doctors, write off as having shy or introverted qualities. Despite the lack of knowledge and awareness for the disorder, social anxiety is a growing problem in our country and around the world.

For individuals who suffer from social anxiety, everyday situations can develop into horrifying and dreadful events. According to the Social Anxiety Institute there is a difference between shyness and

The diagnosis of social phobia has seen substantial changes in the last 25 years, from its first appearance in the DSM-III published in 1980 to the DSM-IV. In DSM-III, phobic disorders and anxiety states were regarded as two types of anxiety disorders, and social phobia was considered a phobic disorder. What do you think of when you hear the words Social Anxiety? Is it a mental illness or is it just a phobia? While there are many feelings tied with social anxiety, social anxiety is a mental illness that people go through in their lives. From personally struggling with this I have always wanted to know what are the causes and how can I deal with this issue. I decided this would be a great topic to do my future research paper on. While researching information I came across a source I believe will help me write my paper. I found this source by using the Tacoma Community College library search. I then typed ‘Social Anxiety Disorders’and found the article “Social Anxiety Disorder: Questions for the DSM-V. The article ‘Social Anxiety Disorder: Questions for the DSM-V by Susan M. Bögels is a credible source based on the author’s educational background, other pieces of work from the author, and a distinguished publishing company.

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)

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).

     Social anxiety is the fear of social situations and the interaction with other people that can automatically bring on feelings of self-consciousness, judgement, evaluation, and inferiority. Put differently social anxiety is the fear and anxiety of being judged and evaluated negatively by other people, leading to feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment, humiliation, and depression. If a person usually becomes anxious in social situations, but seems fine when they are by them selves, then social anxiety may be the problem.

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.

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).

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.