Social Anxiety Disorder

Social Anxiety Disorder

When one hears the term “Social Anxiety Disorder”, they may automatically think about a person who is shy and awkward in social situations. However, social anxiety disorder is much more complex than shyness. The disorder can cause major challenges in an affected person’s life. Considering the physical and emotional turmoil caused by the symptoms, a person impacted with this disorder without treatment may have a very difficult social and family life. According to statistics, social anxiety is the second most common type of anxiety disorder. It is also the third common mental disorder in the United States. Therefore, many people are impacted by this condition. Considering the commonness of social anxiety disorder and the need for people to be productive in society, structured treatment is necessary to assist impacted people in overcoming this disorder. Social Anxiety Disorder is also known as Social Phobia. In order to better understand the criteria for social anxiety, it is helpful to know the definition.

According to the DSM-5 (p.1), “Social Anxiety is characterized 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.” Exposure to the feared situation almost invariably provokes anxiety, which may take the form of a situational(y) bound or situational(y) pre-disposed Panic Attack. The person recognizes that this fear is unreasonable or excessive. The feared situations are avoided or else are endured with intense anxiety and distress. The avoidance, anxious anticipation, or distress in the feared social or performance situation(s) interferes significantly with the person's normal routine, occupational (academic) functioning, or social activities or relationships, or there is marked distress about having...