What is social phobia?
social phobia; It is a disease included in anxiety disorders, which is defined as a marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which a person is confronted with strangers or scrutiny by other individuals.
social phobia; It is a disease included in anxiety disorders, which is defined as a marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which a person is confronted with strangers or scrutiny by other individuals.What is the prevalence of social phobia?
The prevalence of social phobia, which is one of the most common mental disorders, is between 7-12%. It is known that social phobia is observed more frequently in pre-adolescence and late adolescence (10-17 years). Studies have shown that it is 1.5 times more
common in women than men.
What are the symptoms of social phobia?
• Flushing,
• Palpitations,
• Sweating,
• Gastrointestinal problems,
• Muscle tension,
• Shortness of breath,
• Shows physical symptoms such as trembling.
Psychological symptoms of social phobia include:
•Low self esteem,
• Feeling of inadequacy,
• Shyness,
• Inability to make eye contact,
• The desire to constantly escape and leave the current environment,
• fear of making mistakes,
• Inability to maintain and initiate a relationship,
• Thinking that you are watched by all people,
• Not finding yourself worthy of being loved,
• They are various situations that the person perceives differently from reality, such as disliking yourself and wanting to be perfect.
What problems does social phobia cause?
The person seeing himself is excessively wrong, ugly, bad, incomplete, negative; seeing others as right, beautiful, positive and good;
• He loses his self-respect,
• It causes fear of not being understood by others, being excluded and being rejected.
Researches;
• They believe that individuals with social phobia are in danger of behaving in an incompetent and unacceptable way,
• They assume that such a behavior will lead to consequences such as loss of status and value, and interpersonal exclusion,
• Shows that they are anxious in social situations because they have high standards or expectations for social performance.
In which personality traits is social phobia usually seen?
In individuals with social phobia;
• The tendency to evaluate everything negatively,
• While associating negative social situations with internal values such as incompetence and incompetence, the tendency to attribute positive social situations to external factors such as luck and coincidence,
• Perception that others' evaluations of them will be negative,
• Increased physical tension in social activities,
• Perfectionism has been observed.
What are the causes of social phobia?
Parental attitudes play an important role in the onset and continuation of social phobia.
• Overprotective
• Critical
• Comparator
• Controlling parental behaviors cause the individual to feel inadequate, worthless and insecure.
Individuals with social phobia experience extreme arousal as if there is a perception of threat in the autonomic nervous system, just like in anxiety disorder. In various studies, the existence of this problem has been observed when the family history of the diagnosed people is questioned, and it has been observed that genetic predisposition may also have an effect.
•Social
•Psychological
• Physiological
• Many environmental factors play an active role in the formation of social phobia.
Since these factors are related and interact with each other, no single factor has been identified as the cause of social phobia.
What are the situations that trigger social phobia?
• Making phone calls in the community, eating and drinking,
• Speaking in front of the audience,
• Working while being watched by others,
• Talking on the phone or face-to-face with people you don't know or don't know very well,
• Using public toilets,
• Ability or knowledge test applications,
• Making presentations,
• Meeting new people,
• Job interviews,
• Mutual sitting in public transportation vehicles,
• Situations such as eye contact can trigger social phobia.
Does social phobia cause other psychological disorders?
As a result of social phobia,
• Depression
• Agoraphobia
• Disorders such as anxiety are observed.
How is social phobia diagnosed?
Social phobia can prevent people from seeking treatment because of its various characteristics that are accepted as "mastery" by the society. Social phobia is a curable disorder. Depending on the patient's condition, psychotherapy can sometimes be applied alone or in combination with drug therapy.
Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy is one of the most effective methods of treatment. The aim is to functionalize the person's real, dysfunctional and excessive thoughts.
In the face of situations that cause social phobia,
• Thinking, behaving and reacting differently,
• Ways of coping with feelings of fear, anxiety and shame are taught.
By identifying sources of stress, that is, triggers, it starts with raising awareness about which environments, when and how often these problems are experienced. Various relaxation and breathing techniques and restructuring methods are used to cope with bodily symptoms. The aim is to ensure that the negative beliefs of the individual about himself become healthy, realistic and functional.
Social phobia is treated under the guidance of a specialist. However, there are various initial steps that an individual can take to cope with the situations that will trigger their symptoms.
• Regular exercise,
• Being physically active,
• Participating in social environments with people who feel comfortable with them,
• Eating healthy,
• Limiting or not consuming caffeine,
• Not drinking alcohol,
• To functionalize the skills of coping with stress,