Social Anxiety Disorder
Social phobia (also referred to as social anxiety) is an excessive fear of embarrassing yourself in front of other people and is characterized by intense self-consciousness.
If you suffer from social phobia, you tend to think that other people are very competent in public and that you are not. Small mistakes you make loom huge in your mind. You may feel all eyes are focused on you. You may fear that others will see that you're anxious or think you're weird. If your anxiety symptoms are intense you may worry that you could faint, lose control of bladder or bowel function, or have your mind go blank.
Often this phobia involves a fear of general social situations, such as parties. It may even be difficult to be with people other than those closest to you. Or, your fear may be more specific, such as feeling highly anxious about giving a speech, talking to a boss, or dating. More rarely you may fear using public bathrooms, eating out, talking on the phone, or writing in the presence of other people, as for example, when you are asked to sign a credit card receipt.
The dread of a social event can begin weeks in advance and symptoms can be quite debilitating. Consequently, people with social phobia often wind up avoiding social situations and circumstances. Even if they manage to confront what they fear, they usually feel very anxious beforehand and are intensely uncomfortable throughout. Afterward, the unpleasant feelings may linger, as they worry about how they may have been judged or what others may have thought about them.
The anxiety often disrupts normal life. For example, a worker might turn down a job promotion because he can’t give public presentations. A new college student may be unable to make new friends and decide to drop out of school. Social phobia often leads to feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem.
The disorder can run in families and usually begins in childhood or early adolescence. About 15 million American adults, equally divided between men and women, have the disorder. Fortunately the vast majority of sufferers can be helped. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “cognitive behavior therapy is especially useful for treating social phobia.”
If you suffer from social phobia, you tend to think that other people are very competent in public and that you are not. Small mistakes you make loom huge in your mind. You may feel all eyes are focused on you. You may fear that others will see that you're anxious or think you're weird. If your anxiety symptoms are intense you may worry that you could faint, lose control of bladder or bowel function, or have your mind go blank.
Often this phobia involves a fear of general social situations, such as parties. It may even be difficult to be with people other than those closest to you. Or, your fear may be more specific, such as feeling highly anxious about giving a speech, talking to a boss, or dating. More rarely you may fear using public bathrooms, eating out, talking on the phone, or writing in the presence of other people, as for example, when you are asked to sign a credit card receipt.
The dread of a social event can begin weeks in advance and symptoms can be quite debilitating. Consequently, people with social phobia often wind up avoiding social situations and circumstances. Even if they manage to confront what they fear, they usually feel very anxious beforehand and are intensely uncomfortable throughout. Afterward, the unpleasant feelings may linger, as they worry about how they may have been judged or what others may have thought about them.
The anxiety often disrupts normal life. For example, a worker might turn down a job promotion because he can’t give public presentations. A new college student may be unable to make new friends and decide to drop out of school. Social phobia often leads to feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem.
The disorder can run in families and usually begins in childhood or early adolescence. About 15 million American adults, equally divided between men and women, have the disorder. Fortunately the vast majority of sufferers can be helped. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “cognitive behavior therapy is especially useful for treating social phobia.”
