Have you ever experienced intense fear when being introduced to a new person? Or Have you noticed the acceleration in your heartbeat and the trembling in your voice while you are about to give a presentation? Individuals with social phobia live with intense anxiety about social environments or performance situations where they may be examined by others, and they are afraid of doing something missing or wrong or being negatively evaluated. They experience the feeling of embarrassment very intensely. There may be many reasons for this embarrassment, for example, they are worried about showing signs of anxiety (such as blushing, trembling) and that these symptoms will be noticed by others, and this worry can drag them into a vicious circle, as well as speaking strangely (related to the structure of the speech), or making mistakes about the content of the conversation. They may be afraid. They may worry about being judged by others as boring, strange, or inadequate. People may begin to experience anxiety (anticipatory anxiety) before entering the social environment, and they either avoid it or exhibit safety behaviors. There may be some physiological symptoms commonly seen in situations of anxiety and fear in people with social phobia: increased heart rate, shortness of breath, feeling of pressure in the chest, dizziness, feeling of suffocation, sweating / hot flashes. In addition to physiological symptoms, behaviors such as looking away, indecisive tone of voice, indecisive expressions, hesitant gestures, not revealing oneself, acting distant, not answering the phone, and not returning calls can be observed in people with social phobia. Studies have shown that although symptoms begin in adolescence in 95% of patients seeking treatment, most patients seek treatment in their thirties. It has been observed that the 12-month prevalence rate of social phobia is 7.9% and the lifetime prevalence rate is 13%, and the rate of occurrence in women is 2/3 higher than the rate in men. Finally, I would like to add that it should not be forgotten that it cannot be decided whether a person has social anxiety disorder (social phobia) or not by just looking at certain symptoms and without consulting a professional.
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