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Social anxiety
Causes and effects of social anxiety essay
Review of literature related to social anxiety
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Social anxiety (or social phobia) is a disorder that alienates people and causes them to avoid social situations at all costs. It is described by the National Institute of Mental Health as “a strong fear of being judged by others and of being embarrassed (NIMH).” This means that people with this disorder have a fear of people’s thoughts and as a result will try to isolate themselves from others. Social anxiety has a very large limit as to the things that can trigger it. It can go from the simplest of things, such as simply buying an item to the extent of having to do a presentation in front of a large crowd. This disorder is also more common than one might think, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America says that “about 15 million American adults have social anxiety disorder (ADAA, 2010-14).” This means that 15 million American adults are suffering from extreme anxiety (both mentally and physically) from daily activities. Social anxiety however is something that many people no do not know about and pass as shyness. This can be especially hard for people brought up in a western culture society; aggression, socialization and communication are very important in the job field and are promoted as key characteristics to moving up in society. But in a very well-known American survey “The 14 worst human fears: of 3,000 people surveyed” public speaking was ranked as number one with 41% rating. This outranked death, heights, and financial problems (TMvision). So how easy is it for most people to “buck up” from their shyness and show their key characteristics as society pressures people to? According to this survey, not very easy at all; for some people with social anxiety (without treatment) it can be something that is never achie... ... middle of paper ... ...ression if they do not seek treatment. Social anxiety often impedes on job interviews, all relationships and school. ADAA says that ‘36 percent of people with social anxiety disorder report symptoms for 10 or more years before seeking help (ADAA).” There are two main types of treatment: psychotherapy and medication. Psychotherapy is a cognitive behavior therapy; this is very useful for phobias. It helps the person with ways of thinking, acting, and reacting to feel less anxious. With medication, the most common ones for social anxiety are anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants. If you need a quick way to determine if you possibly have social anxiety there is an online test at the Social Anxiety Research Clinic webpage where they ask you to rate stations by how much fear and avoidance you feel when doing it, for example answering your phone in public.
One of the most common anxiety disorder is social phobia, which can sometimes be interchangeable with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Marc de Rosnay, and others, states that Social Anxiety Disorder is characterized by a clearly noticeable fear and avoidance of most social situations where the individual may be put under scrutiny by others, and by fear in such situations, the individual will behave in an embarrassing manner (de Rosnay). One of the most notable feature of social phobia is that it has an early onset, as early as 7-9 months in most cases. The characteristics of having social phobia, or social anxiety disorder, is that the individuals are shy when meeting new people, quiet in a large group, blush easily, and often avoids making eye contact. There are a lot of concerns/problems with having social anxiety disorder. As a group, individuals with anxiety disorders had the largest burden of role disability compared to other common mental health conditions, exceeding the burden for mood disorders and in some cases, substance abuse (Grigorenko).
And later the website adds that “common, everyday experiences that may be difficult to endure when you have social anxiety disorder”. These include the following:
In general, Social Anxiety Disorder, or Social Phobia, is defined as an anxiety disorder characterized by an overwhelming amount of anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations (“Social Phobia,” 2014). These individuals have trouble with basic communication and interaction, often to the point where they can physically feel the effects of their anxiety. Profuse sweating, stomach ache, and nausea are not uncommon occurrences when a person with Social Anxiety Disorder is placed in an uncomfortable situation. There are several hypothesized causes of Social Anxiety Disorder; however, one of the most
Social anxiety is a predominant disorder amongst numerous individuals (Moscovitch, Gavric, Senn, Satnesso, Miskovic, Schmidt, McCabe, Antony 2011). Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is defined as a fear of rejection and being negatively judged by others in social situations (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf, 2013).
The term social anxiety is, by most, not associated with being a serious, mental sickness. The common person usually thinks someone with social anxiety is simply not a “people person” However, social anxiety has been defined as either a disorder or phobia. Social Anxiety Disorder is an actual, underdiagnosed psychiatric disorder which should be recognized not as mere shyness, but a psychological illness with symptoms and treatments. It is a disorder which is becoming more and more prevalent as time progresses. Due to the technological advances and appliances that exist in the modern age, there has been an overall change in the average amount of social interactions that the everyday person may have. This leads to an exceeding amount of people who get nervous, frightened even, of being in any type of social situation. Just about half of Americans labels themselves as shy; mostly everyone has had stage fright at some point in his/her life. For a shocking amount of people, that sort of situation is dreadful (“Beyond Shyness and Stage Fright” 1). The stage fright “becomes a disorder when the resulting symptoms make individuals miserable or seriously interfere with their work, friendships, and family life. This crippling dread of certain personal encounters and social situations is called social anxiety disorder or social phobia, and it is increasingly understood to be a treatable condition” (“Beyond Shyness and Stage Fright” 1).
Social phobias are fears of being in situations where your activities can be watched and judged by others. People with social phobias try to avoid social functions at all costs and find excuses not to go to parties or out on dates. This avoidance is the difference between having a social phobia and simply just being shy.
Social anxiety disorder is where regular daily anxieties become more prominent and difficult for the sufferer to cope with. As the anxieties develop, common tasks that people do every day become increasingly difficult, such as answering a phone, going to the shops and even just leaving the house. This condition is much more than shyness; it is an overwhelming fear of an ordinary activity. These fears eventually can lead to the prevention of the sufferer taking part in these everyday activities. (NHS, 2013. SAUK, 2014).
Anxiety is a feeling of nervousness and uneasiness about something that has an uncertain outcome. For instance, the thought of not knowing the outcome on an examination can cause anxiety. Anxiety can be caused by many things, and everyone has different triggers. Something minuscule that will not affect a person might have a major effect on another person. “Approximately 20%” of adolescents suffer from Social anxiety disorder (SAD)” (Mehtalia, Vankar, 2004.). Social anxiety is the nervousness of being in a social setting or that involves one to socialize with others. Social anxiety has many contributing factors. Factors like the fear of being laughed at or being unaccepted by peers, along with their perception of themselves. A feeling of inadequacy
Looking at a normal person walking down the street you wouldn’t know what kind of fear they might be facing. People face different fears in their lives that they can’t control. It is common for people to be scared of a situation that has a rationality behind it. For example, being scared while inside a haunted house. If the fear is irrational and many aren 't frightened by it, it would be categorized as a phobia. Living a life with constant fear that interferes with a person’s everyday life would be categorized as an anxiety disorder. Joseph Wolpe developed a way which systematic desensitization, a form of psychotherapy, can help a person gradually decrease their anxiety or fear for a certain situation. He used neuroses, a group of psychological
Social anxiety disorder is also known as social phobia. It is defined as the fear of social situations that involve interaction with other people. It is the fear and anxiety of being judged and evaluated negatively by other people or behaving in a way that might cause embarrassment or ridicule. This leads to feelings of inadequacy, self-consciousness, and depression. The person with social anxiety disorder may believe that all eyes are on him at all times. Social anxiety disorder is the third largest mental health case issue in the world, and it can effect 7% of the population (15 million Americans) at any given time.
Main Point 1: There are three main categories of phobias. The first category is Specific Phobias which are known as simple phobias. Specific phobias or simple phobias are usually fears about specific situations, living creatures, places, activities, or things. Examples of simple phobias is dentophobia (dentists), aerophobia (flying), claustrophobia (small spaces), and acrophobia (heights). The other two categories are Social Phobia and Agoraphobia. These two are known as complex phobias. The article “What is a Phobia?”, describes them as complex phobias because “they are linked to deep-rooted fear or anxiety about certain situations, incidents or circumstances, which make them more disabling than simple phobias.” Social phobia is also referred to as social anxiety disorder. Social phobia may be defined in which a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. (Webmd.com) A person with social phobia finds being in social situations very difficult to handle with because of the lack of social skills or experiences that person may have. Going out to social events such as parties or functions may cause anxiety to a person with social phobia. There is that fear a person has of being embarrassed in public. People with this phobia may be afraid of a specific situation such as public speaking. Medicinenet.com defines “agoraphobia” as “a fear of being outside or otherwise being in a situation from which one either cannot escape or from which escaping would be difficult or humiliating.” The results of agoraphobia are anxiety and panic attacks. People with agoraphobia sometimes confine themselves inside their own home when symptoms are
However, there is often a misconception of social anxiety. Some people categorize social anxiety as a form of shyness which is completely untrue. (Burstein M). People who have stage fright that is also a form of social anxiety can overcome their fear by a lot of ways. For example, one can exercise more, drink less caffeine and know that it is acceptable to make mistakes because people aren’t
I have anxiety. These three words are what every 1/13 people struggle to say every single day of their life and only 1/3 seek help. That is two children from every class in your average school. It's shocking how many people suffer because of this yet the issue is thrown under the rug and put off as people being dramatic. I'm here to show you how anxiety is a serious problem, it affects everyone and how the media wrongly portrays it.
Stein MB, Fuetsch M, Müller N, Höfler M, Lieb R, Wittchen H. Social Anxiety Disorder and the
Sangu Delle: There's No Shame in Taking Care of Your Mental Health | TED Talk, Feb. 2017, www.ted.com/talks/sangu_delle_there_s_no_shame_in_taking_care_of_your_mental_health.