Social Axiety Essay: What Is Social Anciety?

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What is Social Anciety?
Social anxiety is the fear of interaction with other people that brings on self-consciousness, feelings of being negatively judged and evaluated, and, as a result, leads to avoidance.

Emotional Signs and symptoms of social anxiety disorder can include: Fear of situations in which you may be judged
Worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself
Concern that you'll offend someone
Intense fear of interacting or talking with strangers
Fear that others will notice that you look anxious
Fear of physical symptoms that may cause you embarrassment, such as blushing, sweating, trembling or having a shaky voice
Avoiding doing things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment
Avoiding situations where you might …show more content…

An individual with social anxiety disorder may also:
Be over-sensitive to criticism
Have low self-esteem
Have poor social skills
Not be assertive
Talk negatively about himself/herself - thoughts are self-defeating and inaccurate.

Diagnosis
Social anxiety usually starts during youth. A doctor can tell that a person has social anxiety if the person has had symptoms for at least 6 months. Without treatment, social anxiety can last for many years or a lifetime.
Social phobia can be limited to one situation (such as talking to people, eating or drinking, or writing on a blackboard in front of others) or may be so broad(such as in generalized social anxiety) that the person experiences anxiety around almost anyone other than the family.
First, talk to your doctor about your symptoms. Your doctor should do an exam to make sure that another physical problem isn't causing the symptoms. The doctor may refer you to a mental health specialist.
Social phobia is generally treated with psychotherapy,medication, or both.

Psychotherapy.
A type of psychotherapy …show more content…

Doctors also may prescribe medication to help treat social anxiety. The most commonly prescribed medications for social anxiety are anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants.Anti-anxiety medications are powerful and there are different types.Many types begin working right away, but they generally should not be taken for long periods.
Antidepressants are used to treat depression, but they are also helpful for social phobia. They are probably more commonly prescribed for social phobia than anti-anxiety medications. Antidepressants may take several weeks to start working. Some may cause side effects such as headache, nausea, or difficulty sleeping. These side effects are usually not a problem for most people,especially if the dose starts off low and is increased slowly over time. Talk to your doctor about any side effects you may have.
A type of antidepressant called monoamineoxidaseinhibitors (MAOIs) are especially effective in treating social phobia. However, they are rarely used as a first line of treatment because when MAOIs are combined with certain foods or other medicines, dangerous side effects can

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