SOCİAL ANXİETY

• Social phobia or social anxiety disorder is an anxiety disorder that can be defined as
intense anxiety and avoidance of being watched and judged by everyone in social
environments.
• Some people with this phobia may use alcohol or drugs without the doctor's knowledge to
reduce this anxiety. This can lead to alcohol and substance use disorders.
HİSTORY
• Literary descriptions of shyness can be traced back to the time of Hippocrates, around
400 B.C. Hippocrates described "a person who does not want to go out because of
shame, doubt and cowardice, who likes to live life in the dark and cannot stand sitting in
light or bright places." They keep their head down and neither wants to see nor be seen
because they are afraid that they will make mistakes with their speech or behavior and
thinks that everyone is watching them.
• The psychiatric term “social phobia” was first mentioned in the early 1900s. In the 1930s,
psychologists used the term social neurosis to describe extremely shy patients. The idea
that social phobia is a separate entity from other phobias came from British psychiatrist
Isaac Marks in the 1960s.
• Following a call to action by psychiatrist Michael Liebowitz and clinical psychologist
Richard Heimberg, there has been an increase in interest and research into this disorder.
ASPECTS OF BEHAVİOR
• Someone with social phobia may engage in behavior that he or she sees as potentially
humiliating and embarrassing, but that would normally have no shame in it, and may feel
humiliated as a result. They often choose to isolate themselves from society to avoid such
situations.
• I didn’t go out for 3 months in 10th grade when schools went online. and then I couldn’t
go outside I was afraid of the streets, people, etc. My sister helped me to go to the market
she held my hand and said calm down its okay but ı was shaking and ı kept going outside
ı overcame that
PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
• The physiological symptoms of social anxiety disorder are similar to those of other anxiety
disorders; palpitations, facial redness, nausea, tremors in hands, etc.
• Situations such as passing by a group of people and losing their balance may appear
because they wonder how they are walking.
• In a study conducted in 2006, it was observed that a region of the brain showed greater
than normal activity (hyperactivity) in individuals with social phobia when faced with
frightening situations.
• This summer, I went to the beach with my uncle and his family, a man bumped into me
and said sorry, and I didn't know what to say and thanked him.
SOCİAL ASPECTS
• Social phobia can lead to a person completely withdrawing from social situations due to
the irrational fear of these situations. This can lead to low self-esteem, negative thoughts,
major depression, sensitivity to criticism and poor social skills that do not develop.
COMORBIDITY
• comorbidity is the coexistence of two or more diseases over a certain period of time.
• studies show that 66% of people with social phobia have one or more different mental
disorders
• social anxiety disorder often co-occurs with clinical depression due to long isolation related
to lack of personal relationships and social avoidance.
REASONS
• Although scientists have not yet determined the exact cause, studies suggest that genetics,
along with environmental factors, cause social anxiety.
• social anxiety usually begins at a certain point in life and develops over time.
• Teenagers who had an insecure or anxious bond with their mothers during infancy are twice
as likely to develop anxiety disorders, such as social phobia, in later teeanage.
SOCIAL EXPERİENCE
• a previous negative social experience may cause a person to develop social phobia.
• direct experiences, as well as observing or hearing the socially negative experiences of
others or verbal warnings about social problems and dangers, may also make the
development of social anxiety disorder more likely.
DIAGNOSIS
• There are 4 social anxiety diagnostic criteria;
1. Marked and permanent fear in social or performance-demanding situations or in front of
unfamiliar people.
2. Encountering a feared social situation (for example, being embarrassed in front of the
class) almost always causes anxiety. It can take the form of a panic attack, which is
predisposed depending on the situation.
3. Person knows that their fear is unreasonable.
4. Avoidance of feared social events, anxious anticipation, or intense concern that distress will
disrupt the person's normal daily routine, occupational functioning, social activities, or
relationships.
if I hadn’t spoken with ms a in the first week probably I wouldn't present today and ı wouldn't
come to school this week because it's too hard for me to come here and talk in front of 20
people to to

TREATMENT
• 1- psychotherapy: the first-line treatment for social anxiety is cognitive behavioral therapy.
• some research suggests that social skills training may help with social anxiety.
• 2-drug treatment
• 3-breathing exercises
• Early treatment is very important as social anxiety disorder may cause the development of
other psychiatric disorders such as major depression.