After alcohol addiction and depression, social phobia is one of the most common mental illnesses.
How to recognize and treat them successfully.
Up to 16 percent of all people are said to develop a social phobia at least once in their life.
As the specialist portal Thieme further informs, the anxiety disorder often begins in childhood or adolescence.
If it is not recognized and treated at an early stage, it can have serious consequences: The disorder becomes chronic and restricts the everyday life of those affected enormously.
This can go as far as completely avoiding interpersonal contact, not entering into a partnership *
or not stepping outside the door for fear of negative reactions from other people.
Depending on the severity of the social phobia, it can express itself in different ways.
The Schön Klinik lists the following
warning signs that indicate a social phobia
:
Fear of scrutiny from other people
Fear of criticism
Fear of eating and / or speaking in public
Afraid of dating the opposite sex
social isolation
low self-esteem
Tremors, palpitations, diarrhea and nausea - in the fear-inducing situation itself or just at the thought of it
Panic attacks
blackout
Social phobia: just shy or fearful patient?
Typical social phobia patients avoid interpersonal contacts for fear of embarrassing themselves or being rejected. But there are also other forms of the disease. According to the Schoen Clinic, the phobia can also express itself to the extent that those affected do not eat or write in public - for fear of shaking and thus attracting judgmental glances.
According to the Schön Klinik, those affected often avoid phone calls to authorities, exchanging goods or obtaining information from strangers
. Test anxiety or the fear of blushing would also be among the social fears, it goes on to say.
Shy or a scared patient? The transitions are often fluid, which is why the diagnosis “social phobia” can only be made by an expert.
According to the Apotheken Umschau, it only becomes pathological when the person concerned is severely impaired in their lifestyle.
“Shyness is more likely to show itself as a slight bias towards others. The consequence can be restraint and easier avoidance tendencies ”, quoted the AOK Bundesverband Dr. Astrid Maross, specialist in neurology and psychiatry: “People with social anxiety suffer much more from physical anxiety symptoms such as tremors, sweating or nausea. They are also much more afraid of being rejected or criticized by others, even though they know that the fears are unrealistically high. "
Understand and treat social anxiety disorder
In the book “Social Anxiety Disorder - Advances in Psychotherapy” * (commercial link), the authors Ulrich Stangier, David M. Clark, Denise M. Ginzburg and Anke Ehlers provide current findings on the diagnosis and therapy of social anxiety disorder.
Therapy of social phobia
The early treatment of a social phobia prevents the pathological behavior patterns from solidifying. If you suspect you have the disease, the first point of contact is your family doctor. They will give you contact points such as psychotherapists who specialize in treating anxiety patients.
Even at an advanced stage, the chances of relieving the social phobia are good
. With the help of behavior therapy, the disorder can usually be brought under control so that everyday life works well again, according to the AOK Federal Association.
In some cases, medication can also be prescribed, it said.
In self-help groups, those affected also benefit from the experiences of other patients
and learn more about coping patterns that promise success.
A nationwide overview can be found on the website of the Self-Help Association for Social Phobia (VSSP eV).
(jg) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
More sources: https://m.thieme.de/viamedici/klinik-faecher-psychiatrie-1544/
Read more
: Generalized and social anxiety disorder - this is how those affected overcome common anxiety disorders
This is what life with schizophrenia looks like
This is life with schizophrenia
* Affiliate link