Phobia-related disorders
A phobia is an intense fear of—or aversion to—specific objects or situations. Although it can be realistic to be anxious in some circumstances, the fear people with phobias feel is out of proportion to the actual danger caused by the situation or object.
People with a phobia may have an irrational or excessive worry about encountering the feared object or situation, take active steps to avoid the feared object or situation, experience immediate intense anxiety upon encountering the feared object or situation, or endure unavoidable objects and situations with intense anxiety. There are several types of phobias and phobia-related disorders which we specialize in and treat, with social anxiety disorder being one of the primary ones.
People with Social anxiety disorder, previously known as “social phobia,” often have a general intense fear of social situations or anxiety towards social or performance situations. A person may worry that their actions and behaviors associated with their anxiety will be negatively evaluated/judged by others, leading them to feel embarrassed, shameful, and wanting to isolate. This excessive worry often causes people with social anxiety to avoid social situations, which only causes their social fears to grow in size with time.
Social Anxiety Disorder
People with social anxiety disorder struggle with persistent fears that they will be scrutinized or ridiculed in social situations. This may not be so different than the average person in certain situations. Many times people will confuse shyness with social anxiety disorder, but they are distinctly different. Shyness is a common personality characteristic that many people experience. With shyness, people tend to eventually warm up in socially situations, whereas people with social anxiety may continue to fear scrutiny. Even more so, people who struggle with an anxiety disorder tend to consistently avoid social situations to the degree that it gets in the way of the life they want.
It is also possible that some people only experience significant social anxiety during very specific contexts—especially performance situations (e.g., public speaking, athletic performances). Other people experience social anxiety in large groups, or a variety of other social contexts, such as when meeting new people, or just traveling on the bus to school/work. When someone is shy, introverted, they will not experience the intense anxiety that someone with social anxiety will experience; they may know that their fears are not “based in reality” and that it is unlikely anyone is judging them, but still face the difficult feelings/fear.
Social anxiety disorder can manifest in a range of situations, such as within the workplace or the school environment. If you or a loved one suspect you might have social anxiety and it is impacted your life significantly, please feel free to contact us for a free phone consultation to see if we can help you. Anxiety disorders, specifically social anxiety, does not respond to traditional talk therapy or traditional exposure therapy alone. At Denver Emotional Health, we know how to treat social phobias regardless of the environment it is occurring in. Learn more about how we treat anxiety disorders or contact us at Denver Emotional Health to schedule your free phone consultation and to learn more about how we can help you eliminate your social anxiety
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