WhatisSocialPhobia(SocialAnxietyDisorder)Socialphobiaisastrongfearofbeingjudgedbyothersandofbeingembarrassed.Thisfearcanbesostrongthatitgetsinthewayofgoingtoworkorschoolordoingothereverydaythings.Everyonehasfeltanxiousorembarrassedatonetimeoranother.Forexample,meetingnewpeopleorgivingapublicspeechcanmakeanyonenervous.Butpeoplewithsocialphobiaworryabouttheseandotherthingsforweeksbeforetheyhappen.Peoplewithsocialphobiaareafraidofdoingcommonthingsinfrontofotherpeople.Forexample,theymightbeafraidtosignacheckinfrontofacashieratthegrocerystore,ortheymightbeafraidtoeatordrinkinfrontofotherpeople,oruseapublicrestroom.Mostpeoplewhohavesocialphobiaknowthattheyshouldn'tbeasafraidastheyare,buttheycan'tcontroltheirfear.Sometimes,theyendupstayingawayfromplacesoreventswheretheythinktheymighthavetodosomethingthatwillembarrassthem.Forsomepeople,socialphobiaisaproblemonlyincertainsituations,whileothershavesymptomsinalmostanysocialsituation.CausesSocialphobiasometimesrunsinfamilies,butnooneknowsforsurewhysomepeoplehaveitwhileothersdon't.Researchershavefoundthatseveralpartsofthebrainareinvolvedinfearandanxiety.Bylearningmoreaboutfearandanxietyinthebrain,scientistsmaybeabletocreatebettertreatments.Researchersarealsolookingforwaysinwhichstressandenvironmentalfactorsmayplayarole.Signs&SymptomsPeoplewithsocialphobiatendto:Beveryanxiousaboutbeingwithotherpeopleandhaveahardtimetalkingtothem,eventhoughtheywishtheycouldBeveryself-consciousinfrontofotherpeopleandfeelembarrassedBeveryafraidthatotherpeoplewilljudgethemWorryfordaysorweeksbeforeaneventwhereotherpeoplewillbeStayawayfromplaceswherethereareotherpeopleHaveahardtimemakingfriendsandkeepingfriendsBlush,sweat,ortremblearoundotherpeopleFeelnauseousorsicktotheirstomachwhenwithotherpeople.WhoIsAtRisk?Socialphobiaaffectsabout15millionAmericanadults.Womenandmenareequallylikelytodevelopthedisorder,whichusuallybeginsinchildhoodorearlyadolescence.Thereissomeevidencethatgeneticfactorsareinvolved.Socialphobiaisoftenaccompaniedbyotheranxietydisordersordepression.Substanceabusemaydevelopifpeopletrytoself-medicatetheiranxiety.DiagnosisSocialphobiausuallystartsduringyouth.Adoctorcantellthatapersonhassocialphobiaifthepersonhashadsymptomsforatleast6months.Withouttreatment,socialphobiacanlastformanyyearsoralifetime.Socialphobiacanbelimitedtoonesituation(suchastalkingtopeople,eatingordrinking,orwritingonablackboardinfrontofothers)ormaybesobroad(suchasingeneralizedsocialphobia)thatthepersonexperiencesanxietyaroundalmostanyoneotherthanthefamily.First,talktoyourdoctoraboutyoursymptoms.Yourdoctorshoulddoanexamtomakesurethatanotherphysicalproblemisn'tcausingthesymptoms.Thedoctormayreferyoutoamentalhealthspecialist.TreatmentsSocialphobiaisgenerallytreatedwithpsychotherapy,medication,orboth.Psychotherapy.AtypeofpsychotherapycalledCognitivebehaviortherapy(cbt)isespeciallyusefulfortreatingsocialphobia.Itteachesapersondifferentwaysofthinking,behaving,andreactingtosituationsthathelphimorherfeellessanxiousandfearful.Itcanalsohelppeoplelearnandpracticesocialskills.Medication.Doctorsalsomayprescribemedicationtohelptreatsocialphobia.Themostcommonlyprescribedmedicationsforsocialphobiaareanti-anxietymedicationsandantidepressants.Anti-anxietymedicationsarepowerfulandtherearedifferenttypes.Manytypesbeginworkingrightaway,buttheygenerallyshouldnotbetakenforlongperiods.Antidepressantsareusedtotreatdepression,buttheyarealsohelpfulforsocialphobia.Theyareprobablymorecommonlyprescribedforsocialphobiathananti-anxietymedications.Antidepressantsmaytakeseveralweekstostartworking.Somemaycausesideeffectssuchasheadache,nausea,ordifficultysleeping.Thesesideeffectsareusuallynotaproblemformostpeople,especiallyifthedosestartsofflowandisincreasedslowlyovertime.Talktoyourdoctoraboutanysideeffectsyoumayhave.Atypeofantidepressantcalledmonoamineoxidaseinhibitors(MAOIs)areespeciallyeffectiveintreatingsocialphobia.However,theyarerarelyusedasafirstlineoftreatmentbecausewhenMAOIsarecombinedwithcertainfoodsorothermedicines,dangeroussideeffectscanoccur.It'simportanttoknowthatalthoughantidepressantscanbesafeandeffectiveformanypeople,theymayberiskyforsome,especiallychildren,teens,andyoungadults.Ablackbox—themostserioustypeofwarningthataprescriptiondrugcanhave—hasbeenaddedtothelabelsofantidepressantmedications.Theselabelswarnpeoplethatantidepressantsmaycausesomepeopletohavesuicidalthoughtsormakesuicideattempts.Anyonetakingantidepressantsshouldbemonitoredclosely,especiallywhentheyfirststarttreatmentwithmedications.Anothertypeofmedicationcalledbeta-blockerscanhelpcontrolsomeofthephysicalsymptomsofsocialphobiasuchasexcessivesweating,shaking,oraracingheart.Theyaremostcommonlyprescribedwhenthesymptomsofsocialphobiaoccurinspecificsituations,suchasstagefright.Somepeopledobetterwithcognitivebehaviortherapy,whileothersdobetterwithmedication.Stillothersdobestwithacombinationofthetwo.Talkwithyourdoctoraboutthebesttreatmentforyou.LivingWithInschoolIwasalwaysafraidofbeingcalledon,evenwhenIknewtheanswers.WhenIgotajob,Ihatedtomeetwithmyboss.Icouldn'teatlu