Social Anxiety Disorder, or SAD, is a common mental disorder that affects around 2-5% of adults during their lifetime. Individuals with SAD usually face uncomfortable situations while interacting in a social environment.
Moreover, the rate of occurrence of SAD in pre-adolescence (around the age of 10) is approximately 3.5%, whereas this figure jumps to 14% by adolescence. Also, around 70–80% of those with SAD have anxiety, mood, and drug use disorders as a co-occurrence. Read along to learn all about this disorder, its types, causes, treatment methods and more.
The term "social anxiety disorder" (sometimes referred to as "social phobia") describes a severe fear or worry about social situations. Individuals who have it try to limit their social interactions. Additionally, they also experience anxiety when they make an effort to interact with others.
However, the primary concerns include being negatively judged, observed, or having to interact with others. In some cases, if the anxiety is extremely severe, it can result in a panic attack. Moreover, this can be embarrassing and frightening for them as well.
A social anxiety disorder sufferer may experience mild, moderate, or severe symptoms. Regardless, various degrees of social anxiety often consist of:
Physical symptoms such as –
Apart from those, psychological symptoms include –
In a few instances, they are likely to avoid social interactions, such as –
The causes of social anxiety disorder are still unknown to researchers and medical practitioners. Additionally, they are unsure of why some family members get social anxiety disorder, and others do not.
Nevertheless, as fear and anxiety involve many different brain functions, social anxiety disorder is challenging to investigate. Hence, researchers are also examining the possible links between stress and the environment with social anxiety.
Although it can affect people of all ages, social anxiety disorder often develops during a person's adolescence or teenage years. Compared to men, women are more likely to have the condition.
Regardless, a few risk factors include –
To rule out any physical reasons for social anxiety disorder, a doctor may inquire about the patient's medical history and perform a physical examination. After that, they might suggest they consult a mental health expert.
A mental health professional will then ask the patient about their symptoms, including when, how frequently, and when they first began.
A few diagnostic criteria for social anxiety disorder include the following –
Social anxiety disorder can benefit from various treatments, and the effectiveness of therapy will differ from person to person. Some patients only require one kind of treatment, while others can require a combination.
Your primary care physician may recommend therapy or refer you to a psychologist or mental health professional. Nevertheless, a few of the treatments for social anxiety disorder include –
Talking is a part of counselling, whether it's one-on-one or in a group. Also, there are in-person and online counselling options.
People with social anxiety disorder can control their symptoms with various medications. In this regard, the three primary categories are beta-blockers, antidepressants, and antianxiety medicines.
Although an individual must follow a doctor's instructions, a few home remedies can also support the recovery journey. A few home remedies that a patient can follow include –
If you exhibit any social anxiety disorder symptoms or indicators, speak with your healthcare practitioner. Also, getting therapy for social anxiety is essential to feel better and performing to your greatest ability.
Furthermore, if you have already received a diagnosis of social anxiety disorder, make sure to visit your doctor routinely. Besides this, you can also contact your healthcare provider if your symptoms are worsening, worrying you, or you believe your treatment isn't working. Also, avoid consuming drugs on your own without consulting a healthcare professional.
There isn't much you can do to prevent social anxiety. However, you can receive treatment to help control, lessen, or relieve symptoms. Without therapy, it is very challenging to get over social anxiety. It is important to understand that SAD is a medical condition, and similar to other conditions, this also requires medical treatment.
Also, you can develop your social skills in settings where you must interact with others, like the workplace. You can also learn to adjust, for example, by staying at a party for a shorter period of time.
Finally, it should be noted that social anxiety disorder can lead to other forms of anxiety and depression. Additionally, it could also result in drug use. Hence, getting support from a mental health professional is essential if you have SAD symptoms.
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Disclaimer #2: This information is added only for informative purposes and collected from different sources across the Internet. Digit Insurance is not promoting or recommending anything here. Please verify the information before making any decisions.
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