Social phobia is a fear of social situations that involve interactions with other people. If you have social phobia you tend to worry about being judged badly by other people - being criticised, "put down" or embarrassed. It is equally common in men and women and is found across different cultures.
Approximately 3 percent of the population
suffer from social phobia.
A much larger percentage of the population describe themselves as shy. Most of these people would not
be identified as having social phobia, however, unless the fear and
avoidance significantly interfered with their life.
What is Avoidant Personality Disorder?
If you have had generalised social phobia for most of your life you may
think that others see you as too quiet or boring. You may avoid meeting
other people and not want to risk telling others much about yourself in
case they reject you. If you have these sorts of fears, you may have a more
severe social phobia, called avoidant personality disorder.
About one-third of people seen at specialist anxiety clinics for
treatment of social phobia have avoidant personality disorder. If you have
this more severe social phobia, it is very likely that you will have
experienced episodes of depression
Coping with severe social anxiety for most of your life may have
badly affected your self esteem. You may also have become quite socially
isolated. If you have spent many years avoiding social situations or
speaking to certain people because of fears about what others think, you
need to be aware that it will probably take longer to improve with
treatment
What causes social phobia?
Regarding possible causes of social phobia, research suggests that
both genetic and environmental factors are relevant. In order to treat your
social phobia, rather than focusing on why you have the problem, it is more
useful to look at what is maintaining the problem. Some typical social
situations feared by people with social phobia include:
Speaking
in a group
Giving
a presentation or speech
Meeting
new people
Being
introduced
Talking
to someone in authority
Being
observed doing an activity
Eating
or drinking in public
Using
the telephone
Going
to a party
Expressing
your opinion
Returning
faulty goods
Using
public toilets
Being
the centre of attention
Speaking
to someone you're attracted to
These fears tend to be triggered when just anticipating the social
situation. You may also have noticed that, after the event, you often feel
bad or worse when thinking about how you "performed". How you
actually felt in the situation can play a big role in this
"post-mortem". As a result of your fears, you may do a number of
things to try to prevent something bad from happening. These may include:
Avoiding
the situation altogether
Avoiding
similar sorts of situations
Leaving
prematurely
Focusing
on yourself
Trying
not to draw attention to yourself
Keeping
quiet
Not
looking at other people
A large number of people with social phobia also suffer depression,
a disorder characterised by persistent low mood, loss of pleasure,
hopelessness about the future, feelings of worthlessness and a number of
physical symptoms, including sleep and appetite disturbance. Sometimes
people also experience thoughts of suicide. If you have been having
suicidal thoughts or if you have been experiencing a number of these other
symptoms you may be clinically depressed and you must see a doctor.
Extracted from: Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety &
Depression .. www.crufad.org
* All information is intended as
a guide only and should be used in association with your health
professional
Anxiety
& Depression resources: www.nevdgp.org.au/depression.htm