Social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a mental health anxiety where people are scared to talk to other people, thinking that they will embarrass themselves, not know what to say, say the wrong thing, be judged badly by another person or people or something unexpected happens that can range from something minor to something life-changing in a negative way. 

Causes

Exclusion theory

Social anxiety may come from the basic need to fit into a social group.Baumeister, R., & Tice, D. (1990). Anxiety and Social Exclusion. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(2).Leary, M. R. & Kowalski, R. M. (1995). Social Anxiety. New York: Guilford. Someone may be excluded due to unattractiveness, their inability to contribute to a group, or deviance from group standards. Due to the benefits of living in a group, an individual would want to avoid social isolation at any cost. 

Knowing what is and is not seen as attractive to others allows individuals to anticipate and prevent rejection, criticisms, or exclusion by others.Gilbert, P. (2001). Evolution and Social Anxiety: The Role of Attraction, Social Competition, and Social Hierarchies. Psychiatric Clinics, 24(4), 723-751. Humans are physiologically sensitive to social cues and therefore detect changes in interactions which may indicate negative reactions. Overall, social anxiety can help someone avoid what might bring anticipated social exclusion.

Genetics

It has been shown that a person is twice or thrice more likely to have social anxiety disorder if a first-degree relative also has it. This could be due to genetics and/or children becoming fearful of social interactions in the process of observational learning or parental psychosocial education. Studies of identical twins brought up in different families have indicated that, if one twin developed social anxiety disorder, the other was between 30‒50% more likely than average to have the disorder.

Impact

Social anxiety disorder can cause fear to someone with this type of anxiety, which can also affect their life if it is not treated soon.Social Anxiety Disorder SAD patients can also be scared to go out and talk to people even if they were good friends in the past. This can cause depression and fear of the outdoor activities.

References

Category:Phobias
Category:Psychiatry
Category:Psychology
Category:Anxiety disorders