Oct 11
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Social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia) is really all about intense fear in social situations. This can cause considerable distress and difficulty functioning in daily life.
Social anxiety disorder may mean only certain situations are feared or it can be a generalized disorder: this anxiety disorder usually means a person has intense fear of being judged by other people or of being embarrassed buy his or her own actions. These fears often occur when there is some perceived or real scrutiny from others.
The most common aspect of social anxiety disorder is fear of social interaction, characterized by excessive blushing, sweating (hyperhidrosis), palpitations, stammering or rapid speech, and panic attacks with associated intense fear. Unsurprisingly, depression is a common additional problem. It is common for men and women with social anxiety disorder to use alcohol or drugs to reduce the symptoms. Eating disorders or other kinds of substance abuse are also fairly common in cases of social anxiety disorder.
Someone with social anxiety disorder may find psychotherapy, medication, or cognitive behavior therapy, whether individually or in a group, to be helpful in dealing with social phobia. The cognitive and behavioral components of any therapy change thought patterns and alter an individual’s physical reactions to anxiety-producing situations.
Needless to say, social anxiety disorder has become a major source of revenue for drugs companies: prescribed medications include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Zoloft and Prozac; other drugs used for treatment include SNRIs and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), as well as beta blockers, and newer antidepressants such as mirtazapine.
Of course, shyness is not new. Descriptions of shyness can be found as far back as 400 B.C., but the first mention of the term social anxiety disorder or social phobia as a psychiatric condition was made in the early 1900s.
The concept that social anxiety disorder was different to other phobias originated with Dr Isaac Marks in the 1960s, and the definition was revised in 1989 to recognize the common co-occurence of avoidant personality disorder. It was a “call to action” by doctor Michael Liebowitz and psychologist Richard Heimberg that produced research into the disorder of ”social phobia” or “social anxiety disorder”. In the 1990s, paroxetine was the first prescription drug approved for social anxiety disorder treatment in the USA, though others have since followed.
Social anxiety disorder can be an extremely challenging, not least because people who struggle with it often do so alone.