Social Adety: Social Anxiety Disorder

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Social anxiety is mental illness characterized by feelings of concern, apprehension, and fear prevalent enough to interfere with a person’s daily activities. It is a disabling anxiety disorder that causes overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social or performance situations (“What Are Anxiety Disorders?”) It can be also extreme fear of being judged in social situations, and/or the anticipation of a future concern. This disorder can have a serious effect on job performance, school work and even personal relationships. If the anxiety is strong enough, the individual will lose the ability to properly communicate and carry out daily functions (“Understand the Facts: Social Anxiety Disorder.”). Common symptoms …show more content…

But, professionals believe it is caused by a mixture of factors including genetic, and environmental (“What Are Anxiety Disorders?”). Anxiety disorders have been found to run in families, and if your parents and/or siblings have the condition you are more likely to also develop it (“Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)”). Some of that may be due to genes, as well as learned behavior from the people around you. In addition to that, this disorder may also start to develop in a person after an uncomfortable or humiliating social situation (Smith, Melinda, et al.). Environmental stresses like bullying and humiliation can produce disorders like social phobia. Other examples include family trauma and abuse, as well as new social demands. Speaking to a large group of people, giving a presentation, and meeting new people all prompt symptoms of social anxiety. An individual’s brain structure plays a role in the development of an anxiety disorder as well. A structure in the brain named the amygdala controls a person’s fear response. If the amygdala is hyperactive, it heightens a person’s fear response leading to increased anxiety during social situations and daily …show more content…

Medications are usually taken at the same time that a person is actively going to therapy, and that is when they are most effective. These two things together are the best way to deal with social anxiety disorder (Markway, Barbara G., et al.). There are three certain common types of medications provided, the first are called beta blockers. They help relieve anxiety by control the physical aspects of the disorder, for example they can help stop a rapid heartbeat, trembling, shaking, etc. The second are antidepressants, which can be used when social anxiety gets to the point where it is destabilizing and wreaking havoc on a person’s life. The third are benzodiazepines, which are very quick anti-anxiety medications. They sedate the person who takes them, and can be addictive so they are not usually prescribed as often as the other two (Smith, Melinda, et

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