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Research essay on social phobia
Review of literature related to social anxiety
Assignment about social phobia
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What is Social Phobia?
The term social phobia is described by the presence of anxiety or tendency to experience excessive fear while social interaction is present. Social avoidance is also described as a combination of syndromes performing in a person perceived as embarrassment. The anxiety in the individuals experiencing this type of phobia is cause by the tendency of exaggeration in self-evaluations , having a negative perception of themselves based of their own negative judge. The tendency of being self-critical is lead by fear during social interaction or even during intrapersonal situations. The anticipation of anxiety and fear is often part of a vicious cycle in which persons experience a physical symptom such as blushing, palpitations , sweating, avoiding eye contact and trembling (Heimberg, 1995). However, some persons with social phobia report no physical symptoms of anxiety only self-consciousness and fear.
The perception of the characteristics mentioned above are perceived by individuals as embarrassment, which can produce low self-esteem and excessive irritation common in phobic episodes(Davey, 1997).The consisted felling of fear or embarrassment situations without explanation is typical of panic disorder generally because the person is building negative thoughts over themselves. However, social avoidance produce limitations over the personal relationships or by meeting new people.
Diagnosis of Social Phobia
According to Davey (1997)social phobia can be diagnosed as one of two subtypes, nongeneneralized and generalized criteria called avoidant personality disorders (APD), described as "pervasive pattern of inhibition of feelings, inadequacy and hypersensitivity of negative evaluations that begin in early...
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...selective serotonin (inhibitor of anxiety), antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, or beta blockers (anti-stimulant for adrenaline)( Kearney, 2005). However, psychotherapy is the most common for people with anxiety disorders which help to finish the negative perception of themselves along to control their behavior during social interaction. Also, the cognitive model in social phobia is used during therapy to reduce anxiety situations by having a metal strategy in order to know how to develop several skills to manage stress with relaxation techniques. It is important to mentioned that in order to achieve a successful treatment psychotherapist's expose different situations in which the patience experience the most fear in order to train the patience to develop confidence by overcoming their fears and gaining comfort while relating with others(Davey, 1997).
The symptoms an individual could show and experience if they were diagnosed with having an anti-social personality disorder include, but are not limited to, the inability to function in a regular society, fear of interacting with any normal inhabitant of said society, the distancing of oneself from the society he/she has an inability to inte...
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
All ¬anxiety disorders show distinct expressions of behavioural, subjective, and physiological symptoms of anxiety (Andrews, Creamer, Crino, Hunt, Lampe, & Page, 2004; Franklin & Foa, 2002). Research consistently showed that although basic anxiety symptoms are present in most if not all disorders, they are indeed manifesting differently in each (Caprara, Steca, Cervone, & Artistico, 2003). Therefore, the exact nature of feared stimuli cannot be predicted and is generally distinctive from individual to individual.
Social anxiety is a prevalent and common disorder amongst society. Social anxiety disorder is expressed as a fear in public and social situations for an individual (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf 2013). A person with social anxiety fears that a social appearance, outcome, or situation will lead a to negative response to their surrounding audience (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf 2013). However there are numerous treatments for social anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most efficacious treatments that a patient may receive (Hambrick, Weeks, Harb, & Heimberg, 2003. Cognitive behavioral therapy has numerous techniques that can be used on patients. The result of using cognitive behavioral therapy on patients shows that it has long-term and short-term effectiveness (Hambrick, Weeks, Harb, & Heimberg, 2003. In conclusion a patient with social anxiety disorder should have the opportunity to try cognitive behavioral therapy.
Having anxiety is common and a part of everyday life however; there is a huge difference between a fear and a social phobia or anxiety disorder. The difference and important distinction psychoanalysts make between a fear and a phobia is “a true phobia must be inconsistent with the conscious learning experience of the individual” (Karon 1). Patients with true phobias “do not respond to cognitive therapy but do respond well to psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy” (Karon 2). Social phobia is a serious anxiety disorder that should not be taken lightly or mistaken as a fear you will simply grow out of the older you get. Social phobia has the power to destroy lives and can prevent people from living and enjoying their life to the fullest. Social phobia is a disabling condition that often starts between the ages of early childhood and late adolescence. The origins of social phobia can be linked to “traumatic social experiences and social isolation” (Hudson118-120). Social phobia is treatable however; research and statics show that not many seek help.
According to DSM V, Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), is defined as a persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. The individual fears that he or she will act in a way (or show anxiety symptoms) that will be embarrassing and humiliating (DSM V, 2014).
In this world, there are many psychological problems and issues that people are dealing with. One of the main issues that they deal with is their fears. In this case, severe fears which are called phobias. There are over five hundred (500) types of phobias with a specific name, classification and description of that phobia. Phobias can become very extreme and hard to deal with if not treated after a certain amount of time. From understanding what a phobia is, the history, statistical facts, signs/symptoms and different types of treatment one can learn and understand that phobias are a serious matter and can be treated for. As long as a person understands what phobia they have, commit to finding a treatment and have a strong enough mind, they can see that they can do anything and be rid of their fears because you are only as strong as your weakest fear.
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in America, affecting approximately 19 million adults (3). Although everyone experiences mild symptoms of anxiety at some point in their lives, those who suffer from an anxiety disorder have chronic and intense bouts of panic. They may fear or dread common social situations such as being out in public with a group of friends (4), or experience full-blown panic attacks (5) that make it impossible to go grocery shopping or to get to work in the morning. If untreated, anxiety disorders can severely impact the quality of one's life, and symptoms may grow even worse over time. There are several types of anxiety disorders, including Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disor...
Panic Disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that consists of feelings of sudden fear, overwhelming fright, and fear of death. Panic disorder can be inherited, but it can also be the result of a stressful event that happened shortly before the feelings of panic occurred. Symptoms of panic disorder are some of the following: chest pains, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath, dizziness, and feelings of unreality, a sense of smothering, choking, and nausea. Many of these symptoms could occur to a person without having panic disorder at all. The attacks of panic disorder are often called “panic attacks.” Panic attack victims all stated that the panic attack lasted for what felt like several hours, but in actuality the attacks only last for a couple minutes. People that deal with panic disorders often have the phobia of never wanting to leave home also known as agoraphobia.
Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder categorized by repetitive severe attacks. It may also contain significant behavioral changes enduring at least a month and of ongoing worry about the implications or anxiety about having other attacks. The latter are known as anticipatory attacks, or DSM-IVR. Panic disorder is not the equivalent of agoraphobia, the fear of public places, even though many afflicted with panic disorder as well suffer from agoraphobia. Panic attacks cannot be foreseen; therefore an individual may come to be stressed, anxious, or worried wondering when the following panic attack will transpire. Panic disorder may be differentiated as a medical condition, or chemical imbalance. The DSM-IVR describes panic disorder and anxiety differently. Whereas anxiety is preceded by chronic stressors which build to reactions of moderate intensity that can last for days, weeks, or months, panic attacks are acute events triggered by a sudden, out of the blue cause. The duration is short and symptoms are more intense. Panic attacks can occur in children, as well as adults. Panic in young people may be particularly distressing because children tend to have less insight about what is happening, and parents are also likely to experience distress when attacks occur.
People with social anxiety may usually experience extreme distress in some of these situations: when they are being introduced to other people, being teased or criticized, being the center of attention, meeting important people or authoritative people, being watched while doing something, having to announce something in a public situation, embarrassing easily, or making eye contact. Social anxiety may be selective, though. A person may have an extreme fear of one occasion, such as public speaking, but be perfectly comfortable in any other situation.
Social anxiety is a common personality disorder, it is caused by excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. This type of anxiety is triggered by the fear of being judged by others, based off of who they are or how they behave. People who suffer from social anxiety tend to experience distorted thinking, leading to fake accusations about the outcome
Anxiety disorders are psychiatric in nature and can cause distress in the individual experiencing them. High amount of anxiety often appear in individuals who are vulnerable to stressful situations and can cause fear, sadness, anger, and dependent on the extent of the disorder, social isolation. Extreme anxiety can be a genetic trait or a learned process from a traumatic experience, such as childhood induced posttraumatic syndrome. The individual may have barriers that prevent them from dealing with normal situations, which can produce debilitating amounts of anxiety. In these cases, the individual may obsess about the worst possible scenario when dealing with high stress situations. This normally produces a fight or flight response to the high stress situation that is being experienced.
Individuals of all ages can benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy; the go-to therapy most professionals use for anxiety disorders. In a typical session of cognitive behavioral therapy, therapists help patients with anxiety challenge their distorted thoughts and replace it with a more rational one. By exposing themselves to stressors that cause anxiety, they can learn coping tools to deal with their symptoms. For persistent symptoms of social anxiety disorder, a doctor may prescribe medications such as Paxil, Zoloft, antidepressants and anti-anxiety
What is Social anxiety? Social anxiety disorder, or social phobia, is an anxiety disorder that makes a person afraid of social interactions and large groups of people. A person with social anxiety will be afraid of public speaking and being in large or even small groups. Social anxiety has many physical symptoms. Some symptoms of social anxiety are stomach aches, nausea, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, dry mouth, and headache. These symptoms are very similar to other anxiety disorders, and make the sufferer feel even worse and worsen their anxiety. These physical symptoms can be treated with over the counter medication and rest, but they will not stop the anxiety and negative thoughts. Negative thoughts arise from thinking that other people are judging them in a negative way, not being able to communicate, being lonely, and usually get worse the more time the disorder is untreated.