Social Anxiety Disorder

Social Anxiety Disorder, otherwise known as “Social Phobia”, is one of the more common but complex phobias.

It is the third most common psychiatric disorder – after depression and alcoholism. By its very nature, people with this disorder are reluctant to talk about it and so the general public has little understanding of the condition.

What is Social Anxiety Disorder?

In a nutshell, when someone is fearful of others or overly worried about what others think of them, it can be said that they suffer from this disorder.

They might avoid

· being around other people

· engaging in conversation

· meeting new people

· shopping

· using the telephone

· going to work

· going to parties

· writing cheques in public

· public speaking

These things, taken for granted by most people, can seem like an ordeal too awful to contemplate.

Sufferers are often very nervous and self-conscious and dread other people, fearful of their criticism, negative judgement, mockery or rejection by them.

They commonly run through events relentlessly, judging their own ‘performance’, agonising over what they could have done better.

Which only exacerbate the feelings of self-consciousness.

There is a severe form of this disorder, known as

Avoidant Personality Disorder For more about this, click on the link.

There are two types of this disorder

1. Performance Social Anxiety - where debilitating feelings occur only in specific situations such as:

· eating in public

· public speaking/presentations etc.

· interacting with authority figures

and

2. Generalized anxiety disorder - For more information click here