| Everyone experiences anxiety; sometimes it | | | | Social phobics have a difficult time working |
| comes from stress for justifiable causes the | | | | with normal social lives. They are overly |
| fear of the unknown. In other cases, it's | | | | self-conscious, and they place too much |
| more chronic, and persistent, and manifests | | | | attention (and criticism) upon themselves, |
| as a mental illness: Social Anxiety | | | | when it comes to attempting any activity. |
| Disorder. This condition manifests as fear, | | | | They abound in negativity. |
| or worry, or apprehension at a heightened | | | | |
| level. It can be directly confirmed if the | | | | Their fear can be crippling, as it is |
| subject is easily embarrassed, or terrified | | | | persistent and all pervasive, and often |
| of practically any social situation. | | | | completely out of line with the thing they're |
| | | | responding to. It can cause them to be |
| Some cases of social anxiety disorder are | | | | shut-ins; they're so afraid of being |
| tied to public speaking. Now, it's normal | | | | scrutinized by others, that they don't date, |
| even for trained speakers to have a bit of | | | | or go out with friends, eat out at |
| stage fright before going on to give a | | | | restaurants, or even attend parties where |
| presentation. However, for someone with | | | | they might have to talk to a stranger. In |
| social anxiety disorder, the experience is | | | | children, social anxiety disorder shows up as |
| heightened, and not in a good way. The date | | | | shyness, clinging to parents, and crying. In |
| of the presentation or speaking engagement | | | | adults, it's sweating, and flushing and |
| becomes filled with foreboding, often times | | | | stammering. All of these make a |
| for days or weeks in advance. A lot of | | | | self-reinforcing cycle when the subject is |
| social anxiety disorder can be described as a | | | | exposed to social activities. |
| fear response completely disproportional to | | | | |
| the anticipated stimulus. | | | | What are the treatments for Social Anxiety |
| | | | Disorder? |
| Another name for social anxiety disorder is | | | | |
| social phobia; the phobia is a category for | | | | Social anxiety disorder can be treated, and |
| long lasting stress, fear and anxiety, to the | | | | treated effectively. The usual treatment is |
| degree that it makes it difficult for the | | | | a mixture of medication and psychotherapy. |
| patient to function in normal daily | | | | Cognitive behavior therapy, done individually |
| activities. It is often triggered by extreme | | | | or in group sessions, can be an effective |
| stress, or repeated high stress actions, and | | | | remedy. The behavioral and cognitive |
| results in a recursive loop where the subject | | | | components search for thought patterns that |
| dwells upon and scrutinizes their activities | | | | can be adjusted, in effect, identifying the |
| and anxieties, at the expense of going out | | | | triggers so that the subject can learn to |
| and doing anything. Somewhere around 13% of | | | | avoid the triggers without avoiding their |
| Americans have suffered from social anxiety | | | | life. |
| disorder during their lives. | | | | |
| | | | The most common prescription medication for |
| A person suffering a panic attack shows a | | | | social anxiety disorder is the |
| number of common signs. These include, but | | | | anti-depressent Paxil and the related |
| are not limited to, blushing, sweating, | | | | compound Welbutrin. As the frequency of |
| nausea, trembling and stammering. It's | | | | diagnosis has increased since it was added to |
| better to get a diagnosis early, as this can | | | | the lexicon in the late 1990s, the marketing |
| help stave off transitions of the syndrome to | | | | of drugs to treat it has increased |
| greater problems, like depression, or | | | | tremendously. Both Paxil and Welbutrin are |
| dysthemia. Some sufferers of social anxiety | | | | anti-depressants of the selective seratonin |
| disorder self medicate, trying to numb | | | | reuptake-inhibitors, or SSRIs, which have the |
| themselves to their fear with alcohol, or | | | | benefit of not causing physical dependency, |
| using stimulants like cocaine or amphetamines | | | | though it takes a habituation cycle for them |
| to "jolt them over the top" and boost | | | | to become effective. SSRIs have side effects |
| confidence. Even large doses of caffeine can | | | | such as insomnia, headaches and nausea. Many |
| be seen as an attempt at self-medication. | | | | SSRIs will put a significant damper on sexual |
| | | | interest. |