Social Anxiety Research Paper

Anxiety is one of the most well-known disorders across the globe, but it comes in many different forms effecting numerous types of people. Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is one of the main run-offs of anxiety that exists in the world today. It is absolutely normal to feel a little nervous or anxious before trying something new; however, Social Anxiety impels the individual diagnosed to feel distress and agitation in most, if not all, social situations that they partake in because they are afraid of the possible embarrassment that may come from it (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013).

Social anxiety is a prevalent and common disorder amongst society. Social anxiety disorder is expressed as a fear in public and social situations for an individual (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf 2013). A person with social anxiety fears that a social appearance, outcome, or situation will lead a to negative response to their surrounding audience (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf 2013). However there are numerous treatments for social anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most efficacious treatments that a patient may receive (Hambrick, Weeks, Harb, & Heimberg, 2003. Cognitive behavioral therapy has numerous techniques that can be used on patients. The result of using cognitive

In the article “anxiety: getting excited beats trying to calm down” PSYblog reports that saying “I am excited” over and over again would make a person perform better before a stressful situation. The disorder associated with this article is anxiety and it is defined as an disorder that shows an excess response of what is usually an ordinary response (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2016, p.561). Also, in “anxious and egocentric: how specific emotions influence perspective taking” this article states anxiety is identified by discomfort and large action in physiological stimulation in Russell's circumplex model of affect (Todd, R., Andrew, Forstmann, Matthias, Burgmer, Pascal, Brooks, W., Alison, Galinsky, D., Adam, 2015, pg. 375). Not only, was there evidence in just this example of what anxiety is but there is many more examples stated in the article “anxious and egocentric: how specific emotions influence perspective taking.” In the pop article, it also stated some examples of social anxiety disorder which is talking in front of entirely new crowd of people and then having the concern of being stared at and then being reprimanded (Cacioppo and Freberg, 2016, p.562).

My client Leon has exhibited characteristics that are associated with the diagnostic criteria of social anxiety disorder (SAD). The DSM-5 states, “The essential feature of social anxiety disorder is a marked, or intense, fear or anxiety of social situations in which the individual may be scrutinized by others. In children the fear or anxiety must occur in peer settings and not just…with adults (American Psychiatric Association., 2013).”

Social Phobia, also called social anxiety disorder (SAD), is one of the most common, but misconstrued mental health problems in society. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), over 15 million adults suffer from the disorder. First appearing in the DSM-III as Social Phobia, and later in the DSM-IV as Social Anxiety Disorder, this newly established disorder denotes afflicting stress and anxiety associated with social situations (Zakri 677). According to James W. Jefferson, two forms of Social phobia exist: specific and generalized. Specific social phobia indicates anxiety limited to few performance situations, while generalized indicates anxiety in all social situations (Jefferson). Many people often interchangeably link this disorder to shyness––a personality trait. However, although they have striking similarities, the two are divergent. To begin with, SAD has an extensive etiology ranging from multiple factors. Furthermore, symptoms of various aspects accompany SAD. Moreover, SAD has detrimental impacts affecting quality of life. Lastly, SAD has numerous methods of treatment. Social Phobia is prevalent in both women and men beginning at the onset of puberty (ADAA).

Social Anxiety Disorder or social phobia, is the third largest mental health care problem in the world. (Stein, 2010) National statistical surveys carried out in 2002 in the United Kingdom suggest that the prevalence rates for social phobias among young people in the UK were around 4%. (National Statistics, 2002)

Leon appears to have a Social Anxiety Disorder. According to Valentiner, Fergus, Behar, and Conybeare (2014), social anxiety disorder, sometimes referred to as social phobia, is marked by persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur.

It seems clear to me that social anxiety disorder (SAD) has a huge negative impact on the lives of the individuals diagnosed with it – to the point where they are struggling to just get through the day. Those diagnosed with SAD feel an intense amount of fear and distress during everyday interactions with other people (or even just the thought of having to interact with others may provoke anxiety), and those emotions are so extreme to the point where normal, daily activities pose as a huge challenge for them. For instance, according to the video, James could not go grocery shopping without feeling anxious and overly self-conscious. Home was his ultimate comfort zone, and just being outside of home for more than an hour was unbearable for him at times. Pam was also another individual who absolutely dreaded being in environments outside her home. Her condition had a strong, negative impact on work, where every moment at work would be torturous for her.

     Social anxiety is the fear of social situations and the interaction with other people that can automatically bring on feelings of self-consciousness, judgement, evaluation, and inferiority. Put differently social anxiety is the fear and anxiety of being judged and evaluated negatively by other people, leading to feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment, humiliation, and depression. If a person usually becomes anxious in social situations, but seems fine when they are by them selves, then social anxiety may be the problem.

The difference between social anxiety disorder and other disorders is that a person is capable of enjoying themselves. This is because they are not impacted as severely physically since their fear is only stimulated in the event that they will have to be

Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) can be described as an extreme, persistent fear of being scrutinized or judged by others in social situations. This fear may lead to feelings of embarrassment, humiliation and self-consciousness. People who suffer from this condition may “feel powerless against their anxiety” (ADAA). These emotions often interfere with daily activities, such as school, work and personal relationships. The person might begin to withdraw socially or avoid situations in which he or she is afraid. Millions of Americans endure this devastating condition every day of their lives. There are several causes, symptoms and treatments.

Fear is a common emotion exhibited by people who stutter (PWS). The fear of negative evaluation is commonly displayed by PWS (Fjola, 1246); when this fear is significantly excessive, the PWS may meet the criteria for a clinical diagnosis of social anxiety (Brundage, Winters, & Beilby, p. 499). Social anxiety frequently causes PWS to isolate themselves from social interactions, and, when in situations, to utilize safety behaviors to prevent stuttering and reduce anxiety. Safety behaviors consequently maintain social anxiety in PWS rather than exacerbate the disorder (Lowe et al., 2017, pp. 1246-1247). More is known regarding the development of social anxiety is adults who stutter (AWS) than the information pertaining to children who stutter (CWS) and their fear of negative evaluation which results in social anxiety (Iverach, Menzies, O’Brian, Packman, & Onslow, 2011, p. 228). The difference in available information may be due to the thought that social anxiety is a short-term effect in CWS but a life-long effect in AWS (Iverach, Jones, McLellan, Lyneham, Menzies, Onslow, & Rapee, 2016, p. 15).

Social anxiety is “a feeling of discomfort, fear, or worry that is centered on our interactions with other people and involves a concern with being judged negatively, evaluated, or looked down upon by others” (Social Anxiety Support, 2014). Social anxiety can affect anyone. Individuals with social anxiety tend to prefer to keep to themselves because they are afraid others will judge them negatively and have a hard time interacting socially.

The Social anxiety Association classifies social anxiety as the fear of interacting with other and social situations. Social anxiety causes fear and anxiety in most if not all aspects of ones lives. Social anxiety is the fear of being negatively judge or evaluated by others. It is a chronic disease that it does not go away on its own, only direct cognitive-behavioral therapy can help people overcome their social anxiety. There are a few situations that can trigger social anxiety such as being introduced to

Feeling anxious before giving a speech or presenting a project is normal, but when that anxiety carries over into being nervous before going to a casual party or meeting up with friends, that is when it might be more than just nerves. Social anxiety is one of the most common forms of anxiety. About fifteen million adults in America suffer from social anxiety, with the typical onset age being thirteen (Social Anxiety Disorder). Overcoming social anxiety takes tremendous efforts and can take many years. There are many different methods people have tried using to overcome their fears. Two common ones people use are learning to control their breath and cognitive-behavioral therapy. With persistence and determination, people can learn to deal with their social anxiety the healthy way, or better yet, overcome it completely.