Are you extremely embarrassed to talk to people you don’t know? Do you feel very insecure when you are around people most of the time? Does public speaking make you very uncomfortable? Do these fears make it very difficult for you to carry out your daily tasks or talk to other people at work or at school?

If this happens to you often, you may have an anxiety disorder called social phobia .

Social phobia: what is it?

This disorder is often confused with shyness , but not all shy people suffer from social phobia.

In a study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and published in Journal Pediatrics in 2011, 50 percent of teens are shy, but of these, only 12 percent meet the criteria for Social Phobia .

Social phobia is a strong irrational fear of social interaction situations . For example, the person suffering from social phobia feels extreme anxiety about being judged by others, about being the centre of attention, about the idea of being criticized by other individuals and even about talking on the phone with other people.

Social phobics are aware that they shouldn’t feel so bad in the face of triggering situations, but they are unable to control their fear and anxiety. In addition, they often avoid the situations that cause the symptoms of this disorder, as they are unable to endure the discomfort.

Among these individuals there are different degrees of the disorder , and some people may feel the symptoms in some social situations ( Specific social phobia ), while others may feel them in all social situations ( Generalised social phobia ).

Causes

Social phobia usually begins during adolescence , and it is common for people who suffer from it not to seek help until after ten years of symptoms. Like most phobias, the environment plays a role in their learning.

Although some research indicates that Social Phobia may be due to a neurotransmitter mismatch (especially of serotonin), past traumatic experiences, having grown up overprotected by family or limited opportunities for social interaction are the most common factors causing this phobia.

Symptoms

The symptoms of social phobia are no different from those of other phobias, since individuals suffering from social phobia present anxious symptoms and extreme fear in everyday social situations. They think they are watched and judged by everyone , and when they do things wrong they feel a lot of shame. The fear and anxiety they feel is so intense that it interferes with their work, school and other day-to-day activities.

In addition, other symptoms of social phobia include

  • Blushing ( Erythrophobia )
  • Difficulty speaking
  • Nausea
  • Profuse sweating
  • Tremors

As mentioned above, people with this type of phobia often avoid the situations that can cause the discomfort and symptoms exposed . These situations include:

  • Attend parties and other social gatherings
  • Eating, drinking and writing in public
  • Meeting new people
  • Public speaking
  • Using public toilets

Treatment

The psychological treatment that is usually used to treat social phobia is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), since it helps and facilitates understanding the origin of the problem and the development of new ways to solve the feared situations or phobias. CBT focuses on training the patient to detect irrational thoughts and replace them with those that will improve their quality of life. In addition, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy also includes strategies for exposure to the feared stimuli, so that the patient experiences the irrationality of the phobia for him or herself.

Therefore, the most frequent treatment includes strategies of cognitive restructuring , social skills training, relaxation and exposure. It is important to understand that exposure is sufficient for specific social phobia, but for generalized social phobia there are different intervention programs that include different strategies. Below we present three of the most commonly used programs (they usually take advantage of the group format):

  • Cognitive behavioural group therapy by Heimberg et al. (1998): Cognitive restructuring, group behavioural tasks and exposure to real-life situations.
  • Comprehensive cognitive behavioural therapy by Davidson et al. (2004): Cognitive restructuring, group behavioural tasks and exposure to real-life situations and social skills training.
  • Cognitive behavioural therapy by Clark et al. (1995): proposes an Individual Treatment Protocol more focused on cognitive aspects (interpretation of social situations, social performance and risk, expectations, attention, etc.).

Bibliographic references:

  • Bravo, M. A. and Padrós, F., (2013) Explanatory models of social phobia: A cognitive-behavioral approach. Uaricha, 11(24), 134-147.
  • Hermans, D. Vantseenwegen, D. and Craske, M. G. (2008). Fears and phobias: Debates, future research and clinical implications. In M. G. Craske, D. Hermans and Vansteenwegen (Eds.), Fears and phobias: from basic processes to clinical implications (pp. 257-264). Mexico: Manual Moderno.
  • Torgrud, L. J., Walker, J. R., Murray, L., Cox, B. J., Chartier, M. and Kjernisted, K. D. (2004). Deficits in perceived social support associated with generalized social phobia. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 33(2), 87-96.