Social Anxiety Disorder: What It Is, Symptoms, Causes And Treatment

When we mention social anxiety disorder, we are referring to a clinical condition characterized by the presence of a exacerbated and intense fear of being observed and judged in social situations. This disorder is one of the anxiety disorders listed in the DSM-V.¹⁾. Their distinction is crucial to be able to establish a correct differential diagnosis that allows solutions to be adopted that alleviate the symptoms of people who suffer from it.

Characteristics of social anxiety disorder

Determining the specific characteristics of social anxiety disorder allows us to detect the problem and think about effective treatments. According to the DSM-V, the qualities of social anxiety disorder are the following:

• Fear or anxiety in one or more social situations in which one is exposed to the opinions of other people.
• Fear of showing anxiety and that it is valued negatively.
• Generally, social situations provoke fear.
• Avoidance of social contexts.
• Duration of six months or more.
• Fear and anxiety disproportionate to real danger that represent social situations.
• Fear and anxiety are not related to medical illnesses or substance use.
• Fear and anxiety are not linked to other mental disorders.

Once the characteristics of this clinical condition have been identified, it is important to know the symptoms that are possible indicators of the disorder in question. Next, we will locate the main symptoms of social anxiety disorder that They manifest themselves when interacting with other people :

• Fear of being judged.
• Social isolation.
• Shame.
• Redness of the face.
• Negative thoughts related to behavior during a social gathering.
• Excessive sweating.
• Incrise of cardiac frecuency.
• Tremors.
• Dizziness
• Nausea.
• Stomach pains.
• Muscle tension and/or weakness.
• Difficulty breathing.

Despite these symptoms, it should be noted that the diagnosis must be made by a professional of health, since he will be in charge of evaluating the patient’s characteristics such as age, sex, pre-existing diseases and family history, among others.

First of all, being able to understand the causes that lead to a condition of social anxiety disorder makes it possible for us to have more tools to treat it. In the following items, we will describe the main causes of social anxiety disorder.

Genetic factors

The gene transmission It is associated with the emotional responses that a person can have in certain areas. In this sense, there are genes that contain information related to the emotions that can be displayed in situations of social interaction. Here genetic inheritance plays a fundamental role.

Environmental factors

Another cause of social anxiety disorder is unpleasant past experiences. For example, it may happen that the person has experienced a situation of verbal and/or physical abuse between people, which is stored as a memory, and then this behavior is displayed in front of other people.

Likewise, the imitation of behaviors of people in the family environment affects social anxiety disorder. In other words, if within the family there is someone who suffers from this same disorder, there is a good chance that other people will also be diagnosed with the same clinical picture.

Despite the symptoms and causes that shape social anxiety disorder, there are treatments that improve the living conditions of those who suffer from it. In this section, we will show you how to cure social anxiety disorder.

Psychological therapy

On the one hand, there are long-term therapies that try to locate the origin of the symptoms so that the person can adopt another position in situations of social anxiety.

On the other hand, there are short-term therapies that address the emotions, thoughts and behaviors of the person suffering from social anxiety in a limited period of sessions. In turn, this approach provides tools that can be useful to face social interaction situations in another way. As an example, there are sessions in which situations of social exposure are worked on through various interventions.

Psychiatric medication

In more serious cases, the use of psychotropic drugs can be used. In this article you will find information about the types of psychotropic drugs that exist. The administration of medications must be guided by a health professional working in conjunction with a psychologist.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Social anxiety disorder: what it is, symptoms, causes and treatment we recommend that you enter our Clinical Psychology category.