Many people worry about making a good impression.
For example, before an interview or speaking in front of a large audience. And this is normal until the anxiety increases so much that the person begins to avoid contact with others. In other words, he does not face social phobia. We talk about what it is in the 65th edition of the guide to the psyche.
What is social phobia
Social phobia, or social anxiety disorder, is the fear of everyday situations in which you need to interact with other people.
A person suffering from this disorder constantly feels that he is not good enough to maintain social contact with. For example, that he is too unbalanced, stupid or ugly.
Sometimes social phobia can be so severe that it interferes with school, work, and life in general. She comes in in the group of anxiety disorders. According to various estimates, 5-7% of the population suffers from it. Women face the problem more often than men.
Situations that can cause irrational fear in people suffering from social phobia are varied. It may be difficult for them:
undergoing interviews, attending parties, or speaking in public; meeting strangers or calling people they don’t know well; talking to their boss, teacher, and anyone above them in the social hierarchy; starting a conversation first, expressing their opinion, asking for something, or asking questions in public places, for example in a cafe, store; be the center of attention, even at your own birthday; establish eye contact with your interlocutor; eat in public places, undress where there are strangers, for example on the beach.
Signs of social phobia
Social phobia usually manifests itself on several levels.
Emotional signs of social phobia include: anxiety during contact with other people, fear of being noticed, judged or embarrassed.
At the physical level, social phobia may be indicated by: rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling in the voice and throughout the body, problems with the gastrointestinal tract.
Because the physical symptoms of anxiety can be noticed from the outside, they often become anxiety triggers in themselves. A vicious circle is formed: the more a person worries about being anxious, the more nervous he becomes and the more pronounced his bodily symptoms are.
Behavioral signs include: avoidance of frightening situations and the desire not to attract attention to oneself once again.
Social phobia can be confused with shyness. But these states have fundamental differences. Shyness is a character trait that does not require treatment and does not significantly affect the quality of life. Social phobia is a mental disorder that can ruin your life.
Differences between shyness and social phobia
Differences between shyness and social phobia
Types of social phobia
Social phobia can be mild, moderate or severe.
In mild cases, the person experiences physical and emotional symptoms but is able to tolerate them. A person agrees to participate in a scary social activity, albeit reluctantly. But unlike shyness, his anxiety remains constant, if tolerable, and does not subside over time.
With moderate social phobia, the intensity of the symptoms is higher and they are more difficult to tolerate. The person may still engage in some challenging activities, but will refrain from those that are most frightening. When in social contact, he tries to behave unnoticed. He often takes someone close to him to meetings who can provide support in a frightening situation.
In severe social phobia, the symptoms are so pronounced that the person panics at the mere thought of social contact. At this stage, avoidance becomes the main symptom. Social activity is strictly limited. The more severe social phobia, the more situations that cause fear in a person.
Causes of social phobia
The exact causes of social anxiety disorder have not been established. It is known that social phobia can run in families. But it is not yet clear whether nepotism is due to genetic characteristics or upbringing, when a child is practically taught to fear what frightens his parents.
People with social phobia often have overall high levels of anxiety and suffer from anxiety-related disorders such as panic.
Risk factors for the development of social phobia include childhood experiences of ridicule and bullying, family conflicts, and parental abuse.
According to some studies, these factors include the peculiarities of a particular person’s way of thinking—metacognition. Simply put, how he himself evaluates his thoughts and emotions, whether he considers them normal.
Scientists suggest that making a shy person feel like there is something wrong with their anxiety will increase their anxiety and stress levels. As a result, this can lead to the development of social phobia. Conversely, if a person perceives their anxiety as a natural reaction, they will be less likely to develop this disorder.
When to seek treatment
In cases where social anxiety becomes so severe that it begins to interfere with daily life. For example, when a person begins to avoid any communication.
The main treatment for social anxiety disorder is cognitive behavioral therapy. With social phobia, it helps you learn to adequately analyze situations that frighten a person and change your attitude towards them.
Recently, for the treatment of social anxiety, they have often begun to use acceptance and responsibility therapy. This approach teaches you to calmly endure your emotions, even if they are excessive.
In addition to psychotherapy, drug treatment with antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs and beta blockers is used, which reduce the severity of the bodily manifestations of anxiety.
How to get rid of social phobia yourself
Here are the basic techniques.
Dealing with negative thoughts. With social anxiety, a person almost always has automatic thoughts that reinforce their fears. The first stage of working with them is their identification. To do this, you need to try to answer the question “what exactly am I afraid of?” There may be several answers.
Next, you need to try to logically refute each of them. It’s complicated. That is why it is better to work on social phobia with the participation of a specialist. Answers can help you challenge automatic negative thoughts. to the following questions:
What facts support the idea? Which ones contradict it? What could be the worst outcome if what I fear actually happens? Am I using generalizations and being overly categorical: “always”, “never”, “everything”? Is it possible to look at the situation more positively? will what worries me now matter in a week, month, year? Have I already experienced similar situations in the past and how did I deal with them? Did they have truly negative consequences? Do my thoughts help me cope with the situation or not?
Shifting focus from yourself to other people. Usually a person in a frightening situation is focused only on himself: on how he looks, how his voice sounds and how they look at him. And this increases anxiety. To weaken it, you need to behave exactly the opposite: shift attention from your “I” to other people, focusing on their words and behavior.
Facing fears. This method is used in the treatment of all phobias: you need to consciously put yourself in a situation that causes increased anxiety. But this should be done gradually. So, if you want to feel less nervous before public speaking, start with rehearsals. Read your report first to those closest to you, then to a few friends, and then to your colleagues. This way, you will gradually gain confidence that you are capable of speaking in front of a large audience.
Increased social activity. If you have high shyness or a mild form of social phobia, it is useful to increase the number of social contacts. For example, enroll in courses to develop communication skills or acting skills. Another option is volunteering. It perfectly helps to shift attention from yourself to other people.
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2023-09-28 12:32:04
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