If avoidance behavior due to social phobia negatively affects work or social life, if there is constant tension due to fears and if there is a decrease in relationships with people, professional help and treatment is required.
Social phobia, which first started to be pronounced in the 60s. It was thought to be very rare. Being evaluated as shyness or timidity or personality structure has made it difficult to recognize and treat. Developments in diagnostic criteria and methods in recent years show that social phobia is at a considerable rate.
Social phobia is characterized by flushing, sweating, and shaking of hands while sitting in public, talking, eating or drinking, writing or performing any action. It can be defined as the fear of doing something wrong, thinking that it will humiliate oneself.
In social environments, an unreasonable, constant and distinct fear arises, thinking that one's behavior will be examined by others or that one will be embarrassed in situations that require performance. In fact, the main reason for the disorder is the fear of being laughed at in front of others. More precisely, they are afraid of shame. Clumsiness or inappropriate behavior in public (stuttering, saying wrong things); Blushing, sweating, and shaking are the most feared situations.
Social phobic patients most often have trouble speaking, writing, and using public toilets in public.
Some of them fear that they will say the wrong thing. They avoid talking. Others are afraid that they will forget what they want to talk about.
Some are afraid of eating or drinking in public. They are afraid that their hands will shake while holding a glass or cutlery and that their throat will become tight and they will choke while eating.
Counting money in public, writing on the blackboard in the classroom, dancing, entering a room where there are people, Talking to someone in authority or talking to someone of the opposite sex can be a cause for fear. As the community grows or becomes more formal, fear increases.
The anxiety felt in the face of the feared environment or object can be at the level of panic and cause the person to exhibit clumsy movements. The most common symptoms in social phobias are palpitations, sweating, and flushing. and trembling. The thought that these symptoms may be seen by other people may further increase the person's anxiety.
Symptoms of a person with social phobia in the face of the situation they fear:
* Tremors, chills
* Palpitations
* Sweating
* Flushing, paleness
* Frequent urination
* Diarrhea
* Frequent breathing
* Numbness
* Feeling of tightness in the stomach
* Dry mouth
* Feeling of a lump in the throat
* Restlessness
* Feeling of fear
Patients with generalized social phobia resent being criticized and disapproved, and make negative evaluations about themselves. They see themselves as socially inadequate and inferior compared to others, and their self-confidence is low.
Others see them as worthless, they need approval from others for their happiness, and it is shameful to appear fearful and distressed. False beliefs push the person towards being socially phobic.
The behavior of social phobia can be defined as constantly avoiding the feared object or environment and performing unsuccessfully in these situations.
In fact, although their performance is not as bad as they think, they gradually become weaker because of their avoidance, and they drift towards social isolation and loneliness.
Not being able to participate in social environments or leaving early. , social activities are weakened by avoiding eye contact.
* Phobic avoidance may lead to some restrictions in professional and academic fields, appointments, education, and marriage.
* In people with social phobia, the rate of not going to work, decreasing work efficiency, being fired, and unemployment is quite high, and their economic level decreases significantly.
* Social phobia If it starts at a young age, it may hinder a person's education and career goals. Social phobics have lower education levels and school rejection is quite high.
* The marriage rate of social phobics is lower than in normal society because their relationships with people are negatively affected, they feel deprived of social support and the number of close friends is limited.
* In social phobics, to reduce the distress caused by the social environment. Alcohol or drug use (tranquilizers) is at a high rate.
* The frequency of alcohol problems in those with social phobia is 2 times higher, and the frequency of social phobia in those with alcohol problems is 9 times higher than the normal population.
Diseases accompanying social phobia;
* Alcohol addiction 18%
* Drug abuse 13%
* Depression 35-50%
* Agoraphobia 45%
* The suicide rate in social phobics is 5 times higher than the general population.
Differences of social phobics from the normal population:
* Rates of living alone are high
* Business life has its ups and downs
* Social isolation
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* Low education levels
* Economically poor or dependent
* Suicidal thoughts are high
* Alcohol and drug addiction is high
Onset: In the 10s, usually between the ages of 13-19 It may start between 1960 and 2000, or it may occur in children or in their thirties.
In young children, social phobia may manifest itself as crying, tantrums, freezing, school refusal, and avoidance of the social environment.
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There may be no initiating factor or it may be triggered by an embarrassing event.
Factors:
* It has been understood that children who are punished when they behave in a way that does not comply with their parents' wishes and expectations, but are not rewarded when they comply with the behavior pattern determined by their parents, develop a fear of failure and are prone to social phobia.
* In our country, due to the mistakes in the way of raising children (suppression, excessive obedience and respect, shame), there are issues of free behavior in society. Shyness is a common condition in the world, which makes us, as a society, prone to social phobia.
Frequency:
The lifetime rate of suffering from social phobia is approximately 10%. It is understood that more than 10% of the society is affected. It is more common in men and the male/female ratio is 3/2.
Prognosis and Treatment:
* Social phobia is chronic It is a disease that has an uninterrupted course.
* The young onset of the disease, high level of education, and the absence of any other accompanying psychiatric disease are factors that ensure positive results from the treatment.
* It is understood that only 25% of social phobics receive treatment.
* The treatment method is applied together with medication and psychotherapy for at least 6 months. good response is received.
Summary:
* Social phobia; It is a common and restrictive serious disease.
* It is a severe condition that affects private and business lives, causes stress and socioeconomic problems, and leads to isolation from society.
* The main reason is the fear of being ridiculed and humiliated in front of others.
* If left untreated, the risk of alcohol-drug addiction and suicide is high.
* It is a disease that responds well to treatment.
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