Intense anxiety, fear of being judged, fear of being rejected in social situations. These are all indicators for a phobia called Social Phobia.
What is Social Phobia? and what is the difference between Social Phobia and shyness? Are there other indicators for Social Phobia? What should you do if you are suffering from this phobia?
In this article, we will discuss and answer the previous articles and we will mention the treatment of social phobia, keep on reading to find out more about social phobia.
What is Social Phobia?
Social anxiety disorder or social phobia is a mental health condition, which the person or the patient is suffering from an intense and persistent fear of being judged and watched by others.
This fear or phobia can affect the person on so many levels, it can get in their way to be successful at work, school, or life overall.
Realizing this phobia in the early stages will help the patient to overcome all the symptoms easily and live normally without the phobia.
Social Phobia Symptoms
Feelings of shyness or discomfort are not necessarily signs of social phobia, as those symptoms depend on personality traits and life experiences.
However, there are noticeable symptoms for Social Phobia Symptoms like:
- Fear of the situation in which you can be judged.
- Extreme Worrying about being embarrassed or humiliated.
- Fear of talking to strangers
- Blushing.
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Shaky Voice
- Fast heartbeat
- Heavy Breathing
- Muscle tensionSocial Phobia Vs Shyness
People may think that social phobia is nothing more than feeling shy, however, there is a huge difference between social phobia and shyness.
In fact, people who are shy may view this condition as a positive quality, whereas a person with social anxiety disorder would not describe their condition positively.
People with social anxiety experience an intense condition of fear and embracement, the amount of anxiety is intense enough to cause emotional pain and may even make them avoid social situations to avoid these unpleasant feelings.
Social Phobia Causes
Like many other mental health diseases, social phobia arises from a combination of some environmental factors and biological ones, in the following some of the reasons that may cause social phobia:
- Brain Structure: There is a specific part in the brain that controls the fear response, this part is called (amygdala ) and people who have overactive amygdala have a problem with their fear control which causes social phobia.
- Biological Factors: Mental health disorders tend to run in families, and Social Phobia may be Inherited through genes from parents to children.
- Environment: Social Phobia is one of the mental health issues that can be learned, and the surrounded environment plays an important role in that.
What is the treatment of social anxiety disorder?
Psychotherapy
There is a psychotherapy type called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which is useful for the treatment of social phobia. CBT generally teaches the patient how to think, behave, react differently in so many situations.
Medication
Medications can be a part of the treatment of social phobia besides therapy, there are three types of medications used to help treat social anxiety disorder:
- Anti-anxiety medications
- Antidepressants
- Beta-blockers
Social Phobia or Social anxiety disorder is treatable, be positive, and consult a specialist.
If you are looking for a consult please contact us on:
02 24159997
01112169556 – 01002169556
Or visit our clinic at this address: 93 El Merghany Street Cairo, Egypt
