Social Phobia

Anxiety Disorders: Social Phobia.

By: Arianna Hall

A paper written for Abnormal Psychology class. April 15, 2012

Address: City, State, Zip Phone: E-mail: Instructor:

Shepard Falls, Carson, Wa. Carson, Wa. 98610 (509)637-0510 Prettyflowers@live.com Katie Mcdaniel

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Abstract Social Phobia is in the Anxiety disorder family and is reported to have affected 13% of people at some point in there lives. Social phobia is defined as a persistent and
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irrational fear of situations that may involve scrutiny or judgment by others, such as parties and other social events. People with Social Phobia are often afraid of preforming certain actions in public such as eating, writing and public speaking. The fear may be so severe that the people suffering from it may even be afraid to eat at a resteraunt or use a public restroom. People who suffer from this disorder are usually afraid of being watched or judged by others and have no problems doing any of these things when they are alone. These people are normally afraid of meeting new people and starting conversations with them, they fear being rejected by others and experience severe anxiety when it comes to speaking to people or participating in social events with others. Social Phobia is the third most common mental disorder and usually begins during adolecence although they can show symtoms much earlier. Social Phobia can be a disabling anxiety disorder

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for some.

Disorder Etiology and Progression Social Phobia is said that it can be cause overprotective parents or limited social opportunitys as a child. With limited social opportunities the person may not know how to communitcate or deal with normal social situations because they are not used to being in that situation. Social Phobia usually begins to show signs very early on and even young children may show signs or shyness and social anxiety. Social Phobia is far from the same as being shy or timid though because a shy person can still communicate with others normally besides a little bit of nervousness while someone with Social Phobia may acually feel anxiety about these things to the point of wanting to avoid certain social situations or actions in

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public. Although Social Phobia can appear at any age it usually shows at around age 13. Social Phobia is only diagnosed in teens and children after it has been there for 6 or months because as a teen some social awkwardness may be normal. As the disorder progresses the ones who suffer may have a lot of issues in their daily lives including getting jobs and having good relationships with other people because they are so afraid of being rejected, judged or watched by others. Without help Social Phobia can be life-limiting and lead to depression or substance abuse, aswell as other anxiety disorders. It's best to treat Social Phobia early so that it dosen't get worse and more difficult to treat.

Symptoms of Disorder The symptoms of Social Phobia can be hard to detect because it usually noticed as an adolecent and at that age it shyness or fears of being rejected by others can be common. People with this disorder often are overly anxious and extremely self conscious, rather then feeling a little nervous or uncomfortable these

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people feel anxiety and can show symptoms such as profuse sweating, blushing or shaking in normal situations such as, being at a resteraunt, public restroom or large groups of people. These people fear embarrasment or doing certain things in public such as eating, writing or speaking. People with Social Phobia usually recognize their problem but report that they can't control feeling anxious about these things. Blushing, Nausea, sweating, difficulty speaking and trembling are common symtoms of Social Phobia. Shyness affects about 50% of people at one point In there lives and is not the same as Social Phobia because shy people may be quiet or even nervous but they still participate in daily activities with others such as eating out with friends or family, going to a gathering or other social event and speaking with other people. Some of the most common fears that people with Social Phobia experience is, meeting new people, using public restrooms and attending social gatherings. Elevated heart rate and high blood pressure are also symptoms of Social Phobia. When diagnosing this disorder the health care provider

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will want to know your actions and behaviors from you and your friends and family in order to decide if you may be suffering from Social Phobia. Treatment and Prognosis To treat Social Phobia anti drepression and anti anxiety medicines are usually used to help with some of the symptoms. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is reported to be very helpful for those with this disorder as well as group therapy so that they can learn to speak and communicate effectivly with other people. Social skill training can also be helpful such as modeling and role palying with others in order to learn the skills needed to communicate with others in everyday situationss. Avoiding caffine, some medications and making healthy life style changes such as, getting enough sleep, regular exercise and schedueled meals may also help. The prognosis for Social Phobia is very positive and can be well maintained with medications, and therapy. Social Phobia does need to be treated and dealt with so that the person with it dosen't develop more of worse anxiety disorders. It can be hard to lead a normal life for some with Social Phobia and they

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would benefit a lot from therapy and even some medications to help them lead normal lives.

Impacts on Individual, Family and Society The impacts that people have on others and themselves with Social Phobia aren't bad because the disorder can be maintained so that they can live a fairly normal life. The person with this disorder may have low self esteem, anxiety, and be at risk for substance abuse. The affects of this disorder on the family are minor because people with Social Disorder are usually more comfortable around their family and by themselves, When they are with such other people that they do not know then there may be more problems as, nervousness, anxiety or avioding situations where they may feel embarrased or that they are being watched or judged by others around them. People with Social Phobia benefit from learning more and better social skills so that it can take out some of the anxiety when being faced with

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social situations they may be uncomfortable with.

Conclusion Social Phobia is the 3rd most common mental disorder and is in the Anxiety dissorder famile, a whole 13% of people report suffering from it at one point in there lives. 37% of people diagnosed with Social Phobia report having symptoms for 10 or more years without receiving help or even a diagnosis sometimes. Social Phobia is a disorder where the person affected feels anxiety when faced with social situations that they may be embarrassed or show watched, these people fear being judged or rejected by others and may signs such as sweating, blushing, or trembling and difficulty speaking. Therapy and some anti depressents and anxiety medicines can be very

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helpful in helping these people to lead normal lives. Social Phobia is a disorder that a lot of people deal with and can be easily controlled.

References http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/290854-overview http://phobias.about.com/od/progression/qt/socphobprog.htm http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001953/ This is the website link you gave me, I got most information from this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObOZDWZbs1k&feature=channel This is the Youtube link you gave me on Social Phobia. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8077161 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/etiology I didn't know for sure what etiology meant. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/10/14/peds.2 011-1434.abstract

site.

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