Social anxiety disorder, also   called social phobia, is the name given to intense feelings of anxiety, fear, self-consciousness and shame that arise due to the fear of being observed or judged by others in the process of daily normal interactions.

Social Phobia

Under normal circumstances, in some social situations, for example, going on a first date with a new acquaintance, making a presentation in a lecture, or participating in a job application may cause tension in the individual, but in social anxiety disorder, fear and anxiety cause the individual to avoid events to a degree that can disrupt his life. Severe stress can affect an individual's daily routine, work, school, or other activities. Social anxiety disorder is a chronic mental health condition, but learning coping skills with the help of both psychotherapy and medication can help an individual build confidence and improve your ability to interact with others.

Reasons

What Causes Social Phobia?

Like many other conditions that affect mental health, social anxiety disorder likely results from a complex interaction of biological and environmental factors. Hereditary features are among the possible causes of social phobia. Anxiety disorders tend to be seen in family members connected by blood. However, how much of social anxiety disorder is due to genetics and how much is due to learned behavior has not yet been determined by medical professionals.

In addition, a structure in the brain called the amygdala is thought to play a role in controlling the fear response. Individuals with an overactive amygdala may have a heightened and intense fear response that causes increased anxiety in social situations. There are research results showing that social anxiety disorder is a learned behavior. Some individuals may develop social phobia after an uncomfortable or embarrassing social situation. In addition, it is thought that there is a relationship between parents who display anxious behaviors in social situations or who control their children more intensely or who are overprotective due to social anxiety disorder.

Various factors are   thought to increase the risk of developing social anxiety disorder. Accordingly, individuals with social phobia in their biological parents or siblings are more likely to develop social anxiety disorder.

It has been observed that children who experience negative experiences such as being mocked, humiliated, rejected, or bullied are more prone to social anxiety disorder.

In addition, other negative events such as family conflict, trauma or abuse can also be associated with social anxiety disorder.

Children with a shy, withdrawn or temperamental temperament are thought to be at greater risk when they encounter new situations or individuals.

Social anxiety disorder symptoms typically begin in adolescence, but in some cases meeting new people, speaking in public, or making an important business presentation may first trigger symptoms later in life.


Having a remarkable appearance or situation, such as facial disfigurement due to Parkinson's disease, stuttering or constant tremors, can increase the individual's feelings of self-consciousness and trigger social phobia.


What are the Complications that May Occur with Social Phobia?

Untreated social anxiety disorder can negatively affect an individual's life. Anxiety related to social phobia may prevent the individual from enjoying life, relationships, work or school. This includes substance abuse, such as drinking too much alcohol, low academic or job failure, hypersensitivity to criticism, trouble expressing oneself, suicide or suicide attempts, isolation and difficulty in social relations, self-doubt, negative self-talk, and weakness. can lead to complications such as social skills.


Moreover, other anxiety disorders and certain other mental health disorders, particularly major depressive disorder and substance use problems, also often occur with social anxiety disorder.


How to Prevent Social Phobia?

 There is no way to predict what will trigger an individual to develop social anxiety disorder, but individuals concerned about it can take various steps to lessen the impact of symptoms.

First of all, individuals with this type of anxiety should seek help early. Like many other mental health conditions, treatment for social anxiety disorder becomes more difficult the longer you wait.

An individual can keep a diary to track their personal life, to help them and their mental health professional identify what causes stress and what helps them feel better.

By prioritizing the problems in his own life, the individual can manage his time and energy carefully, thereby reducing the anxiety he feels. In this process, it is recommended that the individual take time to do the things he likes.

It is important to avoid the use of unhealthy substances such as cigarettes, drugs, excessive alcohol or even caffeine. These substances, especially when used excessively, can both cause anxiety and aggravate existing feelings of anxiety.

Being dependent on these substances can also cause anxiety in the individual. If quitting these substances is a situation that the individual has difficulty in doing on his own, the individual should consult his doctor. The doctor will make it easy to find a treatment program or support group to help the individual.

Symptoms

What Are the Symptoms and Types of Social Phobia?

In some cases, shyness or discomfort, especially in children, is not necessarily a symptom of social anxiety disorder (social phobia). The comfort levels that individuals feel in various social environments vary depending on the individual's personality traits and life experiences. Some individuals are naturally shy and introverted, while others have a more extroverted personality. social anxiety disorder It includes feelings of fear, anxiety, and avoidance that interfere with standard daily routine, work, school, or other normal activities as opposed to normal daily tension. Social anxiety disorder typically first begins in early to mid-adolescence, but in some cases, it has also been observed in younger children or adults.

Social anxiety disorder can have multiple persistent emotional and behavioral signs, symptoms, and signs.

Symptoms of social phobia include fear of judgmental situations, spending time analyzing their performance after a social situation and identifying the flaws in their interactions, avoiding situations that may be the center of attention, anxiety in anticipation of a feared activity or event, anxiety about being disgraced or disgraced, social phobia. anticipating the worst possible consequences from a negative experience during a situation, avoiding doing things or talking to people for fear of embarrassment, intense fear when interacting or talking with strangers, enduring a social situation with persistent intense fear or anxiety, and self-consciousness such as flushing, sweating or trembling fear of physical symptoms that may embarrass him.

Among children, anxiety about interacting with adults or peers can be demonstrated by crying, throwing tantrums, clinging to parents, or refusing to talk in social situations. The symptoms of performance-type social anxiety disorder may present as intense fear and anxiety felt only when speaking or performing in public, and not in other social situations.


Social anxiety disorder may also have several physical signs and symptoms, which may accompany the emotional and behavioral manifestations of social phobia. Physical symptoms of social phobia include dizziness (vertigo), rapid heartbeat, muscle tension, nausea, difficulty breathing, sweating, tremors, feeling empty of mind, and flushing. Another symptom of social phobia and avoidance of various common social situations. Individuals with social anxiety disorder eat, date, make eye contact, enter a room where people are already sitting, go to work or school, initiate conversations, attend parties or social gatherings, interact with unfamiliar people or strangers, use a public restroom, or may tend to avoid everyday experiences, such as returning purchased items to a store. Symptoms of social anxiety disorder may change over time. If an individual is faced with too much stress or daily demands, their condition may be aggravated. Although avoiding situations that cause anxiety may make the individual feel better in the short term, in cases where appropriate and correct treatment is not applied, this anxiety may persist in the long term and reduce the individual's quality of life.

If individuals fear and avoid normal social situations because they cause embarrassment, anxiety, or panic, they should consult a doctor or mental health professional.


Diagnostic Methods

How Is Social Phobia Diagnosed?

In the process of diagnosing social anxiety disorder, the doctor will want to determine whether other conditions are causing the individual’s anxiety or whether the individual has social phobia as well as another physical or mental health disorder.

To this end, the doctor will perform a physical examination to assess whether any medical condition or medication   can trigger anxiety symptoms, and will ask various questions during this process to determine how often and in what situations the individual's symptoms occur.

The patient will ask the individual to complete various self-report questionnaires about symptoms of social anxiety after reviewing together a list of various situations to determine whether they worry the individual.

During the diagnosis process, the individual feels persistent and intense fear or anxiety about certain social situations, feeling disproportionately excessive anxiety, feeling anxiety or distress that interferes with daily life, avoiding or intense fear of social situations that cause anxiety, because he thinks that he may be judged, embarrassed or humiliated during the diagnosis process. or anxiety, or the presence of feelings of fear or anxiety that cannot be explained by a medical condition, drug, or substance abuse.