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Shyness, Social Anxiety, and Disorder/Phobia

No they are NOT totally seperate, they overlap (a lot). Not all shy people have social anxiety, but many do.

98.245.150.162 ( talk) 09:05, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Shyness and social anxiety are two completely separate beasts. This article makes like the two are the same or always appear in pairs. Shyness is a personality trait; social anxiety is a mental disorder. More differentiation between these would be wise. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.125.117.4 ( talkcontribs)

A new paragraph has been added in the overview section (weeks ago). Gflores Talk 21:28, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
Wrong to say completely separate. The relation between them isn't fully understood, but the correlations are high, at least with pathological social anxiety and shyness. DivisionByZer0 06:10, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
There certainly can be correlations, but from everything I've read, shyness is still considered a personality trait and not a disorder. So they are completely separate in the apples vs. oranges way. Perhaps that is what the original person meant? Either way, I still think it's wise to make the distinction for that reason. 122.57.136.187 ( talk) 16:17, 5 June 2008 (UTC)


To add to whoever made the above point [which looks like it has been addressed] - 'social anxiety' is also not the same term as 'social anxiety disorder' or 'social phobia', clearly. A while back I altered the intro slightly and it read: Social anxiety refers to feelings of fear, apprehension or worry about social situations and being evaluated by others. In psychiatry or clinical psychology, recurrent disabling social anxiety can be diagnosed as...."

But the intro now starts: Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is a psychiatric anxiety disorder involving overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations. People with social phobia have a..."

This makes no sense. It is defining a term referring to a regular kind of everyday anxiety and defining it as a pathological psychiatric condition. Why is there not a separate page for social anxiety disorder or phobia, or a separate part of this page? The issue recurs throughout the article: e.g. "In cognitive models of social anxiety, social phobics experience dread over how they will be presented to others". Cognitive models of social anxiety are not the same as cognitive models of social phobia.

Franzio 10:50, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

Frazio, yes, social anxiety is very difficult to define, even most researchers have trouble distinguishing it from shyness and general social anxiety. I'm addressing your first point by moving it to social anxiety disorder (do you agree?), so it'll speak just about the disorder and there won't be confusion between social anxiety and the disorder. Gflores Talk 21:28, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
Yes the article is very confusing, mixing terminology everywhere. The name of the article is 'social anxiety' so it seems wrong to define 'social anxiety disorder' as the opening paragraph. Could you suggest here which articles should be separate? Perhaps define shyness / social anxiety / social phobia / social anxiety disorder. -- Barrylb 11:09, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, I agree, I suggest we move the article to social anxiety disorder, as that is what this page is talking about (and has been since before I came here). Agree? For the more general social fear (social anxiety), that should be described in anxiety.

I agree that social anxiety disorder would be the best place for what is currently there. Most use this term interchangeably with social phobia so could there be a duplicate (automatically synchronised?) page listed under social phobia as well? Or, my perception is that the former usage is becoming the more accepted and used professionally and by those with such problems (although opinion varies) so would agree that the social phobia term could forward to the social anxiety disorder article.

I would also argue that the disorder page should take care not to explain an established medical disorder as if an NPOV view, but rather that some approaches (mainly but not only psychiatry) propose and define a disorder of this nature. And clarify early on that other approaches see extremes of social anxiety as just the high end of a continuum with no categorical division between order and disorder of this sort, and which relates not just to functional problems but to issues with a positive dimension (e.g. empathy; self-awareness).

I feel there is enough reason and work for an article specifically on social anxiety, rather than just a subset of an anxiety article. I agree about the confusion over terms and would say shyness is commonly seen as a slightly different mental state/trait and related behavioral pattern, sometimes involving or following from social anxiety but not necessarily (similar relationship between Social Anxiety Disorder and Avoidant Personality Disorder perhaps, although some describe them on the same spectrum). To some extent they seem to be just historically or theoretically different approaches to very similar underlying issues.

Of course others may have different perceptions. And not suggesting my intro amendment was ideal, just hopefully along the right lines. Franzio 15:09, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

It seems DSM-IV still calls this disorder "Social Phobia", so I believe "Social Anxiety Disorder" is the less commonly used name. Actually either names is fine to me; however, the main topic being located at "Social anxiety" is a problem to me. Having non-clinical information mixed into the clinical article is a major problem for we who maintain these topics. It is silly to recommend CBT or Prozac therapy to someone with slight public speak problem. Perhaps it is best for there to be two cross-referenced topics, "Social anxiety" and "Social anxiety disorder". - MegaHasher 04:43, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

Worse yet, ICD9 reads "Social Phobia", and ICD10 reads "Social Phobias". So that infobox is going to clash with the bold faced "Social Anxiety Disorder" if that's going to be the official naming scheme. - MegaHasher 04:52, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

What I propose is to move this article to either social phobia, as that is what the DSM-IV is calling it, as is NIMH and other places. I don't feel too strong either way. Social anxiety disorder will then be redirected to Social phobia. Social anxiety, the more common anxiety, can remain on Social anxiety with an {{ otheruses4}} tag to Social phobia. Comments? Gflores Talk 05:29, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
I think we should wait to hear from User:Sadhaka who made an edit to the opening paragraph saying that social anxiety disorder was "previously referred to clinically as social phobia". In which case the article should be at social anxiety disorder. Despite the common usage of the term social phobia, it may not be correct. Barrylb 06:55, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

Despite the DSM-IV heading, I believe it is listed in the anxiety disorders category and also referred to as social anxiety disorder. This article by multidisciplinary leading experts in the field argues that social anxiety disorder is the better term that should be used: Liebowitz, Heimberg, Fresco, & Travers (February 2000) “Social Phobia or Social Anxiety Disorder: What’s in a Name?” Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 57, No. 2. Franzio 09:41, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

I was asked to comment on this... Here's the conflict...social phobia is proper per the DSM-IV-TR (I don't know, yet, what the DSM-V is going to look like re: this d/o). That said, Social anxiety disorder is also proper, when discussing the formal diagnosis of social phobia. That said, rarely do I, myself, nor do I often (if ever), hear my colleagues discussing social phobia...we invariably say, "social anxiety", whether discussing a formal diagnosis or a state of mind/behavior.
My sense is that this article should be entitled Social phobia (aka Social anxiety). Or we should have an article (this one) entitled Social phobia, and re-direct Social anxiety to it. Social anxiety disorder is a whole different ball of wax. Cheers! -- Sadhaka 19:05, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Ok, so Franzio, Sadhaka, and Gflores (me) agree to move it to social anxiety disorder. Barry, care to comment? The other issue is what should social anxiety and social phobia have? Sadhaka suggests having a separate social phobia article with social anxiety redirecting to it. I suggest that since social phobia is often used interchangebly with SAD, as well as being the name in the DSM, that social phobia redirect to SAD. Franzio? Barry?

You mis-read me..., and I may have mis-written. I stated that the article should be entitled Social phobia, with a re-direct from Social anxiety. And a second article should contain the Social anxiety disorder overview. If this is the SAD article, great...but there should be a separate article detailing social phobia. If any of this is muddled, it's because I'm ill, and probably shouldn't be messing about out here, anyway. Cheers! -- Sadhaka 19:54, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
It's not your fault, I misread you. Fixed now. I agree with separate articles, but I think social phobia generally refers to the disorder rather than social anxiety. Gflores Talk 20:05, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
For example, in [1] this disorder is quoted as "Social Phobia, or Social Anxiety Disorder". This means to me that either title can be used interchangeably. On measure of circulation, I did a google search on "social anxiety disorder" site:gov, and got 9440 hits. For "social phobia" site:gov, I got 33700 hits. Searching "social anxiety" on government sites, I am seeing mostly lower case usages, which means usages as a common term, and not as a capitalized name. - MegaHasher 03:12, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Interesting discussion. I'm not sure how to to interpret the .gov stats. General google search (if I've done it correctly) suggests about 3:2 to social phobia. This is the older term, originating from behaviorist approaches to the treatment of specific phobias, so might be found more in documents for that reason.

The 'International Consensus Group on Depression and Anxiety', 1998, concluded that: "We believe social anxiety disorder is the better term and draw an analogy with panic disorder, in which the anxiety and phobic [avoidance] components were not at first separated...we feel that it is time to adopt social anxiety disorder as the preferred descriptor" (italics and lower case theirs) (Jnl of Clin Psychiatry, vol 59, Supplement17 1998). This doesn't appear to be an international consensus group in any genuinely inclusive sense, and was supported by funds from the pharmaceutical industry so I don't really trust it, but that's what they said anyway.

It's tricky that 'social anxiety' or 'SA' is used to refer to the disorder/phobia, often by sufferers. This is informal not name usage though I agree, and clinically innacurate - except, as I suggested above, when used in the context of not categorically dividing social anxiety experiences into the normal and the disordered, but referring to all of it on one social anxiety continuum of low to high or infrequent to pervasive (or whatever). I think this should be explained on all the pages.

I certainly agree that social phobia should not be used to equate to social anxiety. The only other option I would personally think of is for all 3 pages - social anxiety disorder the main disorder page, with social phobia explaining the usage of the phobia term but primarily referring to the disorder page (and to social anxiety page as the more general issue). And social anxiety as the standard page covering any experience of social anxiety. Franzio 09:20, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Surely not, since sufferers of other disorders such as agoraphobia, panic disorder, ocd, ADHD, depression, paranoid PD can all experience social anxiety but the *reason* or "cause" of the anxiety will likely be different in each case. My understanding is that "social phobia" is an older term, no longer preferred by clinicians who specialize in it's treatment. It was fashionable to lump it into "the phobias" which is a mistake because social anxiety disorder is the most prevalant anxiety disorder -- lumping it together with the specific phobias diminishes it status. DivisionByZer0 05:59, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
I think we should have an article "Social anxiety disorder" and a separate article "social anxiety" and the term "social phobia" should redirect to "Social anxiety disorder". -- Barrylb 20:10, 10 March 2006 (UTC)
Speaking strictly from the standpoint of professional reference material, I believe we should have an article entitled, "Social anxiety disorder", a second article entitled "Social phobia", with a disclaimer in the intro that states, 'while social phobia is correct language, social anxiety is common usage', and that social anxiety should redirect to ths social phobia article. That would follow the referential documentation, although, in terms of usage, the whole Google search thing clearly stands in contrast to this position. Are we an academic resource, or are we going to go with the flow?...that's the bigger question. Cheers! -- Sadhaka 12:11, 11 March 2006 (UTC) Talk to me

I just want to say I feel strongly that Wikipedia isn't just an academic thing but an everyone thing. I wouldn't personally be against following the widest current usage if it is clearly social phobia. Although that consensus group stated that patient groups in the US are strongly in favor of the disorder rather than phobia term... I don't like the way they state this so categorically as if all think the same, and they give no stats or citation, but maybe there's some truth in it. I have to strongly disagree that the professional material equates social phobia to social anxiety. Franzio 11:24, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

So no consensus? But everyone agrees social anxiety is not the correct article name for this page. Any suggestions what to do now? Gflores Talk 05:34, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

Most of the topic still uses "Social Phobia". I think there is no need to change that. Describe "Social Anxiety Disorder" as an alternate name of "Social Phobia". Change "Social anxiety" to "social anxiety". Maybe a paragraph of "Normal everyday social anxiety" description can be added into the topic. Perhaps no drastic changes are needed. - MegaHasher 06:20, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
It still doesn't make sense for the title to be social anxiety when the article mostly talks about the disorder. Gflor e s Talk 18:19, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

"Social Anxiety disorder" is the most current and correct term. Social phobia is outdated and NOT the more commonly used name. I was at one point, but not anymore. It is just like "Manic Depression" vs. "Bipolar disorder." Basically, this article had the correct and current title and then changed it to the outdated one and make the beginning of the artcile more confusing. As of 1994, THE DSM USES THE TERM "SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER." The DSM has been using that term for fifteen years. [1] Now there shouldn't be any discussion about what people's opinions are. The DSM replaced the term years ago and that's that. http://www.socialanxietyinstitute.org/prefer.html

I agree with the proposals put forward by Gflores and Barrylb for a separate Social Anxiety Disorder article. Given the erudite nature of the discussion here, I'm not even going to attempt to justify my opinion. :) -- Macropode 13:19, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

This was a really good artcile until the name was changed from "social anxiety disorder" to "social phobia." I can't understand why wikipedia would change the title to a term that was replaced in 1994. [2] (It is now 2009, Wikipedia, as you are unaware.) You are doing the opposite of updating this page. You took a page and actively outdated it. Wikipedia, itself, also uses the term "social anxiety disorder" in other, now more correct, pages [3] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kt89x ( talkcontribs) 02:46, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

I've added a warning note below the intro, regarding the penultimate comment above, I don't know if someone will remove it. The above discussion got a bit complicated (partly my fault I think, under a previous nick Franzio) and doesn't seem to have reached a conclusion? I do think it should be made clear to people whether they're reading about social anxiety in general or only about the excessive level diagnosed by clinicians EverSince 23:43, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Good idea. Not sure if it matters, me being an anon, but I think it should be moved to Social anxiety disorder. 71.240.184.146 03:22, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
On balance I agree. I would say I'd be happy to help build up content that remained here that was on the general issue of social anxiety rather than the disorder. Stuff from social psychology and sociology and evolutionary psychology etc. EverSince 10:42, 30 January 2007 (UTC)


The line between Shyness and Social Anxiety is not so clear-cut. Its more like a continuum. Or maybe better described as two distinct conditions that can overlap significantly for some people.

69.171.160.180 ( talk) 04:22, 11 December 2009 (UTC)

The entries above have become blurred together, so I don't know who posted the link to the prefered term statement by Dr. Richards, but here is the cureent e-dress: https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/why-we-prefer-social-anxiety-social-phobia
Here is his statement on shyness vs SAD: https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/shyness-or-social-anxiety-disorder
Thank you, Wordreader ( talk) 01:36, 12 December 2014 (UTC)
It's definitely better described as two distinct conditions. Sometimes, yes, the overlap is significant but that's not to say that they're the same. In most cases, the immense overlaps aren't there. According to Wordreader's links, social anxiety is (being the new filler rather than social phobia as the definition is convoluted and patients have a difficult time understanding it, even after a professional explains it) is more precise, clear, and understandable than "social phobia." [4] It's surprising to read that even the largest organizations in the world are misusing these terms accidentally, we hope. Also, the other link states that shyness is a personality trait. Many people who are shy do not have the negative emotions and feelings that accompany social anxiety disorder. They live a normal life, and do not view shyness as a negative trait. While many people with social anxiety disorder are shy, shyness is not a pre-requisite for social anxiety disorder. [5] The two are virtually unrelated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Complete turing ( talkcontribs) 02:44, 12 December 2014 (UTC)

Assessment and Diagnosis Sandbox Edits for Social Phobia

Hello all, I have made changes in my Sandbox about this topic focusing on evidence-based assessment and diagnosis. It would be great if people would look at it and leave comments on my talk page before I post it on the article.

The sandbox link can be found here ( /info/en/?search=User:Heysarahhey/sandbox).

I appreciate it! YenLingChen ( talk) 20:52, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

see Talk:Autism_spectrum#Assessment_and_Diagnosis_Sandbox_Edits_for_Autism_Spectrum_Disorder Jytdog ( talk) 00:17, 4 November 2014 (UTC)
and see User_talk:YenLingChen Jytdog ( talk) 00:21, 4 November 2014 (UTC)
YenLingChen: Have you seen these items? ---
Always include your references as you are writing along. It is an unfair burden to expect other Wikians to re-research your work and do that for you. They aren't mind-readers, after all. ;^) Thank you, Wordreader ( talk) 06:25, 12 December 2014 (UTC)

content about "shadow friend"

was sourced to a spanish article. in english this is Invisible friend - I could see how there could be good content about this here, sourced to MEDRS compliant sources, perhaps from that article. I don't have time now... Jytdog ( talk) 14:21, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Social Anxiety Disorder

The article did not mention anything about the stage of life social anxiety disorder develops at. Also includes a small bit of information regarding why the disorder develops at this stage in a juvenile's life.

Social anxiety disorder tends to develop in either the early preschool years or adolescence; this is when many people become self-conscious about others' opinions of them. [1]

The proposed edit is to follow the last sentence in the introductory paragraph. Justinlaneuville ( talk) 17:10, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

NIMH Prevalence Rate Correction

The article contains an incorrect statistic from the National Institute of Mental Health on the prevalence of social anxiety in American adults. The incorrect statement is as follows:

According to U.S. epidemiological data from the National Institute of Mental Health, social phobia affects 5.3 million adult Americans in any given year.

The NIMH article on anxiety disorders actually states the following: "Social phobia affects about 15 million American adults." I propose that the statistic be corrected to accurately reflect this information, as well as including a citation to support this change. The proposed new statement would be as follows:

According to U.S. epidemiological data from the National Institute of Mental Health, social phobia affects 15 million adult Americans in any given year. [2]

References:

  1. ^ Nolen-Hoeksema, Susan (2014). Abnormal Psychology (Sixth Edition ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 124–125. ISBN  978-0-07-803538-8. {{ cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= ( help); |edition= has extra text ( help)
  2. ^ "Anxiety Disorders". National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved 16 April 2015.

-- Idaniels778 ( talk) 01:41, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

Mention of Kava-kava in opening lacks merit.

Kava-kava has also attracted attention as a possible treatment,[9] although safety concerns exist.[10][11]

[9] Pittler MH, Ernst E (2003). Pittler, Max H, ed. "Kava extract for treating anxiety". Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online) (1): CD003383. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003383. PMID  12535473.

In addition to being vague and unnecessary on its face (has attracted attention? possible? Weak statements.) the systematic review linked has not been backed up in the 12 years since authored, and features many weaknesses that mark it as a problematic, mostly irrelevant review. The conclusions of the study include the statements "...although, at present, the size of the effect seems small. The effect lacks robustness and is based on a relatively small sample." This is based on reviewing and re-interpreting data from a total of 12 studies not conducted by the authors. Neither of the authors are credentialed. One author works/worked at "Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, Complementary Medicine" and the other worked in a statistical department. The lack of credentials and the obvious Complementary Medicine bias of one author is notable when the following stated criteria is included for study selection: "The screening of studies, selection, data extraction, validation and the assessment of methodological quality were performed independently by the two reviewers. Disagreements in the evaluation of individual trials were largely due to reading errors and were resolved through discussion."

With the closing statement of the conclusion as "Rigorous trials with large sample sizes are needed to clarify the existing uncertainties. Also, long-term safety studies of kava are required." it would seem that, without a more recent study in the 12 years since publication, that this study adds nothing to the discussion or the article. The sentence in the article is a muddy statement that requires immediate caveats [10][11] and, as such, should be removed until a solid connection between kava and the article's topic can be produced.

Thank you. -- JohnnyBillPants ( talk) 14:25, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Sounds reasonable. Moved it out of the lead. Doc James ( talk · contribs · email) 16:51, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Clinical Terminology

It is not polite or professional to refer to individuals as "social phobics". This implies that this is all the person is: a "social phobic".

In addition, "social phobia" is an outdated term that does not define the disorder correctly, and many of my patients cringe if the word is used. It is inaccurate as far as terms go. Using the term "social anxiety" clarifies the issue and is line with the terminology used concerning other anxiety disorders.

Professional terminology would be to say, "a person with social anxiety". I certainly never refer to my patients as "social phobics". It sounds rude as well as being unprofessional (as mentioned above).

As an example, it is not professional to refer to people as "schizophrenics" as if that is the only thing they are. The correct terminology would be "a person with schizophrenia" or "a person who displays schizophrenic symptoms".

If you think this is a minor point, begin asking people with social anxiety what they think when they are called "social phobics". Many of them would not go to a psychiatrist or psychologist who called them that.

The wording in this article would be clearer, and terms would be better defined, if the wording is changed to reflect that.

Thank you,

-- Thomas A. Richards, Ph.D. 15:05, 30 April 2015 (UTC)BestandingbyThomas A. Richards, Ph.D. 15:05, 30 April 2015 (UTC)

-- Thomas A. Richards, Ph.D. Psychologist/Director, Social Anxiety Institute. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bestandingby ( talkcontribs) 15:05, 30 April 2015 (UTC)

Emphasis needed on successful treatment

There is a lack of attention to just what is involved in cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder specifically. Research continues to show therapy groups for this disorder are generally superior to other forms of treatment. When people read the article, they want to know more than "cognitive-behavioral therapy is the treatment of choice". What is involved (specifically) in cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety should be explained.

We have a book that helps people with social anxiety by providing cognitive-behavioral therapy. Everything is based on scientific research, but the cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety is different than the cognitive-behavioral therapy used for other disorders. This needs to be explained and understood. Many people think cognitive-behavioral therapy is a monolithic approach and the same things are done for every mental disorder, which is not the case. This article should pay more attention to the specific cognitive-behavioral methods, shown by research, that helps people with social anxiety get better.

We have a web article fully explicating how cognitive-behavioral therapy is different for each mental disorder.

Also, perhaps the lack of treatment should be mentioned. As someone who has worked in this field for twenty-five years, there is a lot of talk, but no action. We are usually unable to find any treatment programs anywhere in the world that are operating. That is, unfortunately, why people move here to go through our groups, because they know there is a functioning group, they know I had social anxiety until I was 40, and they have hope they can get better.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy groups are hard to organize and keep operating. Perhaps that is why psychologists do not run them. More attention should be paid to programs that are currently operating so that people can get help. People with social anxiety want to read things like this.

Thank you,

Thomas A. Richards, Ph.D. 15:26, 30 April 2015 (UTC)bestandingby — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bestandingby ( talkcontribs)

I agree with the need to expand the section on CBT. I don't have citations now but I would propose something of this nature.

After completing a psychological or psychiatric evaluation, patients starting CBT typically choose their goals. Therapeutic goals are realistic and meaningful steps towards remission of social anxiety that can be achieved within a few months using CBT (e.g. becoming able to shop by oneself. The goal is not a personality change nor a banishment of anxiety but a measurable change that will improve the patient's quality of life. Patients will work with their therapist during sessions as well as by themselves or with their families between sessions. CBT is different from insight-based therapies in that the goal is not to discover the reason for one's SAD in terms of inner forces (psychodynamics) or life experiences.

Like all CBT, therapy for SAD has cognitive and behavioral components. The cognitive therapy component focuses on recognizing and challenging "automatic" thoughts that are experienced during the acute period of anxiety when the person is in the social situation. Because patient with SAD have insight into their condition, they readily identify such thoughts as irrational and can point why. For example, a dreaded outcome might be unlikely (e.g. inadvertently offending a co-worker by asking how their day is going) or much more tolerable than the patient's irrational fears suggest (e.g. spilling a drink on your date is unlikely to end your relationship). Patients will begin by practicing this skill during therapy but are expected to also do "homework" assignments between sessions.

The behavioral therapy component involves exposure to the feared situation which can take many forms in the form of "exercises". A simple behavioral exercise involves imagining the feared event or using a computer interface that models it. The therapist may also role-play the feared situation with the patient during therapy and in some cases may accompany the patient into the "outside world" in a feared situation. Recording the patient practicing a feared situation and then playing it back can be useful with both fear of performing under scrutiny and challenging automatic thoughts by providing physical evidence the patient interacted normally. Often, patients decide how to break down a behavioral goal into achievable steps (e.g. fear of participating in class discussions can be split into 1)thinking about asking a question 2)practicing asking a question in therapy 3)asking a question after class 4)asking a question in class 5)responding to the teacher's question in class). Behavioral exercises lend themselves well to group therapy because patients a ready-made group they can practice with. As with the cognitive component, patients are expected to practice outside of therapy. It is important to note that exposure is about becoming comfortable with anxiety-provoking situations through practice rather than learning how to be socially adept, the latter of which is done in social skills training. Most CBT for SAD does not include social skills training because most individuals with SAD--despite fears that they are horribly awkward--do not lack social skills. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.137.24.206 ( talk) 01:20, 4 November 2015 (UTC)

Examples of Cognitive Distortions in Social Anxiety Disorder

Distorted automatic thoughts

  • “I won’t be able to think of anything to say.”
  • “I’ll say something stupid.”
  • “I’ll freeze.”
  • “I’m boring.”
  • “My face is hot. I’m blushing.”
  • “My hands are shaking.”
  • “I’m losing control.”
  • “Everybody is looking at me.”
  • “People can tell I’m nervous.”
  • “I’m a loser.”
  • “They think I’m stupid.”
  • “They’re better/smarter/funnier than me.”
  • “They think I’m a fool.”
  • “That was terrible.”
  • “No one liked me.”
  • “I blew it again.”

Maladaptive assumptions

  • “If I’m quiet, people will think I’m boring.”
  • “I have to have something intelligent or witty to say.”
  • “If I’m not perfect, they’ll reject me.”
  • “If someone doesn’t like me, it means there is something wrong with me.”
  • “If they see I’m anxious, they’ll think I’m incompetent.”
  • “I have to make a good impression.”
  • “I must get everyone’s approval.”
  • “I must not show any signs of weakness.”
  • “If I disagree with someone, they’ll get mad or think I’m stupid.”

Dysfunctional schemas

  • “I’m odd.”
  • “I’m different from everyone else.”
  • “I’m weird.”
  • “I’m a nerd.”
  • “I’m stupid.”
  • “I’m ugly.”
  • “I’m weak.”
  • “I don’t have what it takes to be successful.”
  • “I’m not likeable.”
  • “I’m inadequate.”

Postmortem assumptions

  • “Everyone saw that I was nervous and that I was losing my train of thought.” (Mindreading)
  • “I will continue to mess up any time I meet new people.” (Fortunetelling)
  • “I didn’t tell the story the right way.” (Negative filter)
  • “Even though people seemed interested in my conversation, no one asked me out.” (Discounting the positives)
  • “I can’t stand the fact that she didn’t seem interested in me.” (Catastrophizing)
  • “I was probably the only person at the party who was so uninteresting.” (Personalizing)
  • “I was a loser.” (Labeling)
  • “I totally messed up—there was nothing positive in this.” (All-or-nothing thinking) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.1.217.131 ( talk) 18:00, 21 October 2016 (UTC)

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NEJM

doi:10.1056/NEJMcp1614701 JFW |  T@lk 13:04, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

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Social Phobia Stereotypes

According to Dr. Richard, [1] if people have social anxiety one day... they will have it every day for the rest of their life, unless they receive the appropriate therapy from an experienced therapist. Without education and treatment, those who suffer from this mental disorder will have a very difficult life. The difficult part about treating this disorder is that everyone’s symptoms can differ. Dr. Richard explains that many “generalized” Social Anxiety Disorder symptoms include, but are not limited to, speaking very little and staying at home. Other symptoms are a bit more difficult to detect or define. For example, people with SAD know that their thinking is irrational; however, they have no knowledge as to how act rational. Also, they may come off as rude simply because they speak very little. Christina Brook [2] explains, “SAD places individuals, both children and adults, at risk for chronic distress and impairment and differs from shyness and performance anxiety by its greater severity and pervasiveness.” Understanding Social Anxiety Disorder is the first step in treating the disorder.

Many people get the wrong idea of what a mental disorder is from the media and television. In fact, images and ideas of mental illness in the media are mostly negative and inaccurate (Hoffner et al). [3] An example of this can be seen in the early 2000s television show Monk. The television show is about a detective, Adrian Monk, who suffers from Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder and social anxiety. Both are mental disorders associated with Social Anxiety Disorder. While Adrian is negatively affected by these mental disorders, they seem to help him be more focused on his job and solve crimes much more quickly than the average detective.

Many of the social phobia stereotypes may have resulted in the series demise. While many of the stereotypes may have been true, a study was completed to see how the show affected people with OCD. The study included 142 men and woman from the ages of 19-66. Overall, many people not directly affected by a mental disorder had a positive attitude towards the show in that in that it positively affected their attitudes towards people with Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (Hoffner et al). On the other hand, people directly affected by a mental disorder were less likely to believe Monk had the issues the television show claimed he had. The television show is also unrealistic in that many people, as opposed to Monk, are unwilling to disclose their mental illness to anyone or even seek medical advice or treatment (Hoffner et al). Monk was very open about his illness and did very little to try to hide it. This inaccurate representation of mental illness may have resulted in the low ratings which ultimately led to the cancellation of the show.

Monk did, however, have a few positive affects during its run (Hoffner el al). This drastically changed the public’s view of mental disorders and people began to recognize them more. According to research done by Cynthia A. Hoffner and Elizabeth L. Cohen, many watched the show as a result of feeling sorry for Monk and his mental illness. This allowed many people to recognize mental disorders much more easily. Also, may people suffering from a mental illness felt compelled to come forward about their illness as a result of watching the show. Many sought medical treatment and professional help. In essence, the concept of the show had a positive effect as a whole, but the main character who suffers from mental disorders was negatively and incorrectly portrayed.

The content looked to have some issues with it, the first of which is that I don't think that all of the sourcing would meet WP:MEDRS. (One is a study, the other was to a site that offers therapy and other things for a price. The other looks like it could be OK offhand.) There was also a lot of emphasis put on the character of Adrian Monk and the tone read a little casual, which brought up concerns of original research. It was also a subsection under "causes", which wouldn't be the right place for this since it's not about the causes of this. I figured that I would move it here - I think that the student had a good idea for the section and for covering how it's misrepresented in media, but it needs more work. Shalor (Wiki Ed) ( talk) 16:37, 26 June 2018 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ "What is it like to live with Social Anxiety? | Social Anxiety Institute". socialanxietyinstitute.org. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  2. ^ Brook, Christina A; Schmidt, Louis A (February 2008). "Social anxiety disorder: A review of environmental risk factors". Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 4 (1): 123–143. ISSN  1176-6328. PMC  2515922. PMID  18728768.
  3. ^ Hoffner, Cynthia A. and Elizabeth L. Cohen (2012). [EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/08838151.2012.732136 "Responses to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder on Monk among Series Fans: Parasocial Relations, Presumed Media Influence, and Behavioral Outcomes"]. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. 56 (4): 650. doi: 10.1080/08838151.2012.732136. Retrieved 19 April 2018. {{ cite journal}}: Check |url= value ( help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= ( help)

organization thought

I think it looks weird for the history of SAD to be put all the way down at the bottom. To me, that seems more like it would be part of the opening up at the top. ( Chubbybunny28 ( talk) 01:09, 26 January 2020 (UTC))

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Possible typos and other mistakes

Should tolerability be changed to intolerability? "Compared to older forms of medication, there is less risk of tolerability and drug dependency associated with SSRIs" Scienceteacher3k ( talk) 22:09, 13 October 2018 (UTC)


"... disfigurement from bums or injury" (10. in [ Diagnosis]) Shouldn't it be "burns" instead of "bums"? 77.57.2.82 ( talk) 15:03, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Nice catch. The section was added by an IP back in Dec 2020 [2] and the typo has apparently gone unchecked since. I've went ahead and fixed it since this document on page 98 says 'burns' instead of 'bums'. Some1 ( talk) 17:30, 11 May 2021 (UTC)


Item 4 in [ Diagnosis]– "...avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety. Alternatively, the situations are endured with intense fear or anxiety." The plain face text seems to be restating the bold text that precedes it. Is the bold text directly pulled from the DSM-V or is it rephrased? Is the plain text really necessary in this item? I say either remove "or endured" from the bolded portion or remove the plain face text entirely. Wlwdwi ( talk) 18:29, 19 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Intro to Psychology

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 7 July 2022 and 25 August 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): BahronovaD ( article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by BahronovaD ( talk) 04:17, 21 July 2022 (UTC)

Home

I kinda like school but like some of the teachers are rude, you know? 2600:6C67:4A7F:74F0:459:E5DA:F0B6:5B52 ( talk) 18:35, 31 July 2022 (UTC)

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Shyness, Social Anxiety, and Disorder/Phobia

No they are NOT totally seperate, they overlap (a lot). Not all shy people have social anxiety, but many do.

98.245.150.162 ( talk) 09:05, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Shyness and social anxiety are two completely separate beasts. This article makes like the two are the same or always appear in pairs. Shyness is a personality trait; social anxiety is a mental disorder. More differentiation between these would be wise. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.125.117.4 ( talkcontribs)

A new paragraph has been added in the overview section (weeks ago). Gflores Talk 21:28, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
Wrong to say completely separate. The relation between them isn't fully understood, but the correlations are high, at least with pathological social anxiety and shyness. DivisionByZer0 06:10, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
There certainly can be correlations, but from everything I've read, shyness is still considered a personality trait and not a disorder. So they are completely separate in the apples vs. oranges way. Perhaps that is what the original person meant? Either way, I still think it's wise to make the distinction for that reason. 122.57.136.187 ( talk) 16:17, 5 June 2008 (UTC)


To add to whoever made the above point [which looks like it has been addressed] - 'social anxiety' is also not the same term as 'social anxiety disorder' or 'social phobia', clearly. A while back I altered the intro slightly and it read: Social anxiety refers to feelings of fear, apprehension or worry about social situations and being evaluated by others. In psychiatry or clinical psychology, recurrent disabling social anxiety can be diagnosed as...."

But the intro now starts: Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is a psychiatric anxiety disorder involving overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations. People with social phobia have a..."

This makes no sense. It is defining a term referring to a regular kind of everyday anxiety and defining it as a pathological psychiatric condition. Why is there not a separate page for social anxiety disorder or phobia, or a separate part of this page? The issue recurs throughout the article: e.g. "In cognitive models of social anxiety, social phobics experience dread over how they will be presented to others". Cognitive models of social anxiety are not the same as cognitive models of social phobia.

Franzio 10:50, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

Frazio, yes, social anxiety is very difficult to define, even most researchers have trouble distinguishing it from shyness and general social anxiety. I'm addressing your first point by moving it to social anxiety disorder (do you agree?), so it'll speak just about the disorder and there won't be confusion between social anxiety and the disorder. Gflores Talk 21:28, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
Yes the article is very confusing, mixing terminology everywhere. The name of the article is 'social anxiety' so it seems wrong to define 'social anxiety disorder' as the opening paragraph. Could you suggest here which articles should be separate? Perhaps define shyness / social anxiety / social phobia / social anxiety disorder. -- Barrylb 11:09, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, I agree, I suggest we move the article to social anxiety disorder, as that is what this page is talking about (and has been since before I came here). Agree? For the more general social fear (social anxiety), that should be described in anxiety.

I agree that social anxiety disorder would be the best place for what is currently there. Most use this term interchangeably with social phobia so could there be a duplicate (automatically synchronised?) page listed under social phobia as well? Or, my perception is that the former usage is becoming the more accepted and used professionally and by those with such problems (although opinion varies) so would agree that the social phobia term could forward to the social anxiety disorder article.

I would also argue that the disorder page should take care not to explain an established medical disorder as if an NPOV view, but rather that some approaches (mainly but not only psychiatry) propose and define a disorder of this nature. And clarify early on that other approaches see extremes of social anxiety as just the high end of a continuum with no categorical division between order and disorder of this sort, and which relates not just to functional problems but to issues with a positive dimension (e.g. empathy; self-awareness).

I feel there is enough reason and work for an article specifically on social anxiety, rather than just a subset of an anxiety article. I agree about the confusion over terms and would say shyness is commonly seen as a slightly different mental state/trait and related behavioral pattern, sometimes involving or following from social anxiety but not necessarily (similar relationship between Social Anxiety Disorder and Avoidant Personality Disorder perhaps, although some describe them on the same spectrum). To some extent they seem to be just historically or theoretically different approaches to very similar underlying issues.

Of course others may have different perceptions. And not suggesting my intro amendment was ideal, just hopefully along the right lines. Franzio 15:09, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

It seems DSM-IV still calls this disorder "Social Phobia", so I believe "Social Anxiety Disorder" is the less commonly used name. Actually either names is fine to me; however, the main topic being located at "Social anxiety" is a problem to me. Having non-clinical information mixed into the clinical article is a major problem for we who maintain these topics. It is silly to recommend CBT or Prozac therapy to someone with slight public speak problem. Perhaps it is best for there to be two cross-referenced topics, "Social anxiety" and "Social anxiety disorder". - MegaHasher 04:43, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

Worse yet, ICD9 reads "Social Phobia", and ICD10 reads "Social Phobias". So that infobox is going to clash with the bold faced "Social Anxiety Disorder" if that's going to be the official naming scheme. - MegaHasher 04:52, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

What I propose is to move this article to either social phobia, as that is what the DSM-IV is calling it, as is NIMH and other places. I don't feel too strong either way. Social anxiety disorder will then be redirected to Social phobia. Social anxiety, the more common anxiety, can remain on Social anxiety with an {{ otheruses4}} tag to Social phobia. Comments? Gflores Talk 05:29, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
I think we should wait to hear from User:Sadhaka who made an edit to the opening paragraph saying that social anxiety disorder was "previously referred to clinically as social phobia". In which case the article should be at social anxiety disorder. Despite the common usage of the term social phobia, it may not be correct. Barrylb 06:55, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

Despite the DSM-IV heading, I believe it is listed in the anxiety disorders category and also referred to as social anxiety disorder. This article by multidisciplinary leading experts in the field argues that social anxiety disorder is the better term that should be used: Liebowitz, Heimberg, Fresco, & Travers (February 2000) “Social Phobia or Social Anxiety Disorder: What’s in a Name?” Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 57, No. 2. Franzio 09:41, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

I was asked to comment on this... Here's the conflict...social phobia is proper per the DSM-IV-TR (I don't know, yet, what the DSM-V is going to look like re: this d/o). That said, Social anxiety disorder is also proper, when discussing the formal diagnosis of social phobia. That said, rarely do I, myself, nor do I often (if ever), hear my colleagues discussing social phobia...we invariably say, "social anxiety", whether discussing a formal diagnosis or a state of mind/behavior.
My sense is that this article should be entitled Social phobia (aka Social anxiety). Or we should have an article (this one) entitled Social phobia, and re-direct Social anxiety to it. Social anxiety disorder is a whole different ball of wax. Cheers! -- Sadhaka 19:05, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Ok, so Franzio, Sadhaka, and Gflores (me) agree to move it to social anxiety disorder. Barry, care to comment? The other issue is what should social anxiety and social phobia have? Sadhaka suggests having a separate social phobia article with social anxiety redirecting to it. I suggest that since social phobia is often used interchangebly with SAD, as well as being the name in the DSM, that social phobia redirect to SAD. Franzio? Barry?

You mis-read me..., and I may have mis-written. I stated that the article should be entitled Social phobia, with a re-direct from Social anxiety. And a second article should contain the Social anxiety disorder overview. If this is the SAD article, great...but there should be a separate article detailing social phobia. If any of this is muddled, it's because I'm ill, and probably shouldn't be messing about out here, anyway. Cheers! -- Sadhaka 19:54, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
It's not your fault, I misread you. Fixed now. I agree with separate articles, but I think social phobia generally refers to the disorder rather than social anxiety. Gflores Talk 20:05, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
For example, in [1] this disorder is quoted as "Social Phobia, or Social Anxiety Disorder". This means to me that either title can be used interchangeably. On measure of circulation, I did a google search on "social anxiety disorder" site:gov, and got 9440 hits. For "social phobia" site:gov, I got 33700 hits. Searching "social anxiety" on government sites, I am seeing mostly lower case usages, which means usages as a common term, and not as a capitalized name. - MegaHasher 03:12, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Interesting discussion. I'm not sure how to to interpret the .gov stats. General google search (if I've done it correctly) suggests about 3:2 to social phobia. This is the older term, originating from behaviorist approaches to the treatment of specific phobias, so might be found more in documents for that reason.

The 'International Consensus Group on Depression and Anxiety', 1998, concluded that: "We believe social anxiety disorder is the better term and draw an analogy with panic disorder, in which the anxiety and phobic [avoidance] components were not at first separated...we feel that it is time to adopt social anxiety disorder as the preferred descriptor" (italics and lower case theirs) (Jnl of Clin Psychiatry, vol 59, Supplement17 1998). This doesn't appear to be an international consensus group in any genuinely inclusive sense, and was supported by funds from the pharmaceutical industry so I don't really trust it, but that's what they said anyway.

It's tricky that 'social anxiety' or 'SA' is used to refer to the disorder/phobia, often by sufferers. This is informal not name usage though I agree, and clinically innacurate - except, as I suggested above, when used in the context of not categorically dividing social anxiety experiences into the normal and the disordered, but referring to all of it on one social anxiety continuum of low to high or infrequent to pervasive (or whatever). I think this should be explained on all the pages.

I certainly agree that social phobia should not be used to equate to social anxiety. The only other option I would personally think of is for all 3 pages - social anxiety disorder the main disorder page, with social phobia explaining the usage of the phobia term but primarily referring to the disorder page (and to social anxiety page as the more general issue). And social anxiety as the standard page covering any experience of social anxiety. Franzio 09:20, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Surely not, since sufferers of other disorders such as agoraphobia, panic disorder, ocd, ADHD, depression, paranoid PD can all experience social anxiety but the *reason* or "cause" of the anxiety will likely be different in each case. My understanding is that "social phobia" is an older term, no longer preferred by clinicians who specialize in it's treatment. It was fashionable to lump it into "the phobias" which is a mistake because social anxiety disorder is the most prevalant anxiety disorder -- lumping it together with the specific phobias diminishes it status. DivisionByZer0 05:59, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
I think we should have an article "Social anxiety disorder" and a separate article "social anxiety" and the term "social phobia" should redirect to "Social anxiety disorder". -- Barrylb 20:10, 10 March 2006 (UTC)
Speaking strictly from the standpoint of professional reference material, I believe we should have an article entitled, "Social anxiety disorder", a second article entitled "Social phobia", with a disclaimer in the intro that states, 'while social phobia is correct language, social anxiety is common usage', and that social anxiety should redirect to ths social phobia article. That would follow the referential documentation, although, in terms of usage, the whole Google search thing clearly stands in contrast to this position. Are we an academic resource, or are we going to go with the flow?...that's the bigger question. Cheers! -- Sadhaka 12:11, 11 March 2006 (UTC) Talk to me

I just want to say I feel strongly that Wikipedia isn't just an academic thing but an everyone thing. I wouldn't personally be against following the widest current usage if it is clearly social phobia. Although that consensus group stated that patient groups in the US are strongly in favor of the disorder rather than phobia term... I don't like the way they state this so categorically as if all think the same, and they give no stats or citation, but maybe there's some truth in it. I have to strongly disagree that the professional material equates social phobia to social anxiety. Franzio 11:24, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

So no consensus? But everyone agrees social anxiety is not the correct article name for this page. Any suggestions what to do now? Gflores Talk 05:34, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

Most of the topic still uses "Social Phobia". I think there is no need to change that. Describe "Social Anxiety Disorder" as an alternate name of "Social Phobia". Change "Social anxiety" to "social anxiety". Maybe a paragraph of "Normal everyday social anxiety" description can be added into the topic. Perhaps no drastic changes are needed. - MegaHasher 06:20, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
It still doesn't make sense for the title to be social anxiety when the article mostly talks about the disorder. Gflor e s Talk 18:19, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

"Social Anxiety disorder" is the most current and correct term. Social phobia is outdated and NOT the more commonly used name. I was at one point, but not anymore. It is just like "Manic Depression" vs. "Bipolar disorder." Basically, this article had the correct and current title and then changed it to the outdated one and make the beginning of the artcile more confusing. As of 1994, THE DSM USES THE TERM "SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER." The DSM has been using that term for fifteen years. [1] Now there shouldn't be any discussion about what people's opinions are. The DSM replaced the term years ago and that's that. http://www.socialanxietyinstitute.org/prefer.html

I agree with the proposals put forward by Gflores and Barrylb for a separate Social Anxiety Disorder article. Given the erudite nature of the discussion here, I'm not even going to attempt to justify my opinion. :) -- Macropode 13:19, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

This was a really good artcile until the name was changed from "social anxiety disorder" to "social phobia." I can't understand why wikipedia would change the title to a term that was replaced in 1994. [2] (It is now 2009, Wikipedia, as you are unaware.) You are doing the opposite of updating this page. You took a page and actively outdated it. Wikipedia, itself, also uses the term "social anxiety disorder" in other, now more correct, pages [3] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kt89x ( talkcontribs) 02:46, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

I've added a warning note below the intro, regarding the penultimate comment above, I don't know if someone will remove it. The above discussion got a bit complicated (partly my fault I think, under a previous nick Franzio) and doesn't seem to have reached a conclusion? I do think it should be made clear to people whether they're reading about social anxiety in general or only about the excessive level diagnosed by clinicians EverSince 23:43, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Good idea. Not sure if it matters, me being an anon, but I think it should be moved to Social anxiety disorder. 71.240.184.146 03:22, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
On balance I agree. I would say I'd be happy to help build up content that remained here that was on the general issue of social anxiety rather than the disorder. Stuff from social psychology and sociology and evolutionary psychology etc. EverSince 10:42, 30 January 2007 (UTC)


The line between Shyness and Social Anxiety is not so clear-cut. Its more like a continuum. Or maybe better described as two distinct conditions that can overlap significantly for some people.

69.171.160.180 ( talk) 04:22, 11 December 2009 (UTC)

The entries above have become blurred together, so I don't know who posted the link to the prefered term statement by Dr. Richards, but here is the cureent e-dress: https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/why-we-prefer-social-anxiety-social-phobia
Here is his statement on shyness vs SAD: https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/shyness-or-social-anxiety-disorder
Thank you, Wordreader ( talk) 01:36, 12 December 2014 (UTC)
It's definitely better described as two distinct conditions. Sometimes, yes, the overlap is significant but that's not to say that they're the same. In most cases, the immense overlaps aren't there. According to Wordreader's links, social anxiety is (being the new filler rather than social phobia as the definition is convoluted and patients have a difficult time understanding it, even after a professional explains it) is more precise, clear, and understandable than "social phobia." [4] It's surprising to read that even the largest organizations in the world are misusing these terms accidentally, we hope. Also, the other link states that shyness is a personality trait. Many people who are shy do not have the negative emotions and feelings that accompany social anxiety disorder. They live a normal life, and do not view shyness as a negative trait. While many people with social anxiety disorder are shy, shyness is not a pre-requisite for social anxiety disorder. [5] The two are virtually unrelated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Complete turing ( talkcontribs) 02:44, 12 December 2014 (UTC)

Assessment and Diagnosis Sandbox Edits for Social Phobia

Hello all, I have made changes in my Sandbox about this topic focusing on evidence-based assessment and diagnosis. It would be great if people would look at it and leave comments on my talk page before I post it on the article.

The sandbox link can be found here ( /info/en/?search=User:Heysarahhey/sandbox).

I appreciate it! YenLingChen ( talk) 20:52, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

see Talk:Autism_spectrum#Assessment_and_Diagnosis_Sandbox_Edits_for_Autism_Spectrum_Disorder Jytdog ( talk) 00:17, 4 November 2014 (UTC)
and see User_talk:YenLingChen Jytdog ( talk) 00:21, 4 November 2014 (UTC)
YenLingChen: Have you seen these items? ---
Always include your references as you are writing along. It is an unfair burden to expect other Wikians to re-research your work and do that for you. They aren't mind-readers, after all. ;^) Thank you, Wordreader ( talk) 06:25, 12 December 2014 (UTC)

content about "shadow friend"

was sourced to a spanish article. in english this is Invisible friend - I could see how there could be good content about this here, sourced to MEDRS compliant sources, perhaps from that article. I don't have time now... Jytdog ( talk) 14:21, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Social Anxiety Disorder

The article did not mention anything about the stage of life social anxiety disorder develops at. Also includes a small bit of information regarding why the disorder develops at this stage in a juvenile's life.

Social anxiety disorder tends to develop in either the early preschool years or adolescence; this is when many people become self-conscious about others' opinions of them. [1]

The proposed edit is to follow the last sentence in the introductory paragraph. Justinlaneuville ( talk) 17:10, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

NIMH Prevalence Rate Correction

The article contains an incorrect statistic from the National Institute of Mental Health on the prevalence of social anxiety in American adults. The incorrect statement is as follows:

According to U.S. epidemiological data from the National Institute of Mental Health, social phobia affects 5.3 million adult Americans in any given year.

The NIMH article on anxiety disorders actually states the following: "Social phobia affects about 15 million American adults." I propose that the statistic be corrected to accurately reflect this information, as well as including a citation to support this change. The proposed new statement would be as follows:

According to U.S. epidemiological data from the National Institute of Mental Health, social phobia affects 15 million adult Americans in any given year. [2]

References:

  1. ^ Nolen-Hoeksema, Susan (2014). Abnormal Psychology (Sixth Edition ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 124–125. ISBN  978-0-07-803538-8. {{ cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= ( help); |edition= has extra text ( help)
  2. ^ "Anxiety Disorders". National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved 16 April 2015.

-- Idaniels778 ( talk) 01:41, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

Mention of Kava-kava in opening lacks merit.

Kava-kava has also attracted attention as a possible treatment,[9] although safety concerns exist.[10][11]

[9] Pittler MH, Ernst E (2003). Pittler, Max H, ed. "Kava extract for treating anxiety". Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online) (1): CD003383. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003383. PMID  12535473.

In addition to being vague and unnecessary on its face (has attracted attention? possible? Weak statements.) the systematic review linked has not been backed up in the 12 years since authored, and features many weaknesses that mark it as a problematic, mostly irrelevant review. The conclusions of the study include the statements "...although, at present, the size of the effect seems small. The effect lacks robustness and is based on a relatively small sample." This is based on reviewing and re-interpreting data from a total of 12 studies not conducted by the authors. Neither of the authors are credentialed. One author works/worked at "Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, Complementary Medicine" and the other worked in a statistical department. The lack of credentials and the obvious Complementary Medicine bias of one author is notable when the following stated criteria is included for study selection: "The screening of studies, selection, data extraction, validation and the assessment of methodological quality were performed independently by the two reviewers. Disagreements in the evaluation of individual trials were largely due to reading errors and were resolved through discussion."

With the closing statement of the conclusion as "Rigorous trials with large sample sizes are needed to clarify the existing uncertainties. Also, long-term safety studies of kava are required." it would seem that, without a more recent study in the 12 years since publication, that this study adds nothing to the discussion or the article. The sentence in the article is a muddy statement that requires immediate caveats [10][11] and, as such, should be removed until a solid connection between kava and the article's topic can be produced.

Thank you. -- JohnnyBillPants ( talk) 14:25, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Sounds reasonable. Moved it out of the lead. Doc James ( talk · contribs · email) 16:51, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Clinical Terminology

It is not polite or professional to refer to individuals as "social phobics". This implies that this is all the person is: a "social phobic".

In addition, "social phobia" is an outdated term that does not define the disorder correctly, and many of my patients cringe if the word is used. It is inaccurate as far as terms go. Using the term "social anxiety" clarifies the issue and is line with the terminology used concerning other anxiety disorders.

Professional terminology would be to say, "a person with social anxiety". I certainly never refer to my patients as "social phobics". It sounds rude as well as being unprofessional (as mentioned above).

As an example, it is not professional to refer to people as "schizophrenics" as if that is the only thing they are. The correct terminology would be "a person with schizophrenia" or "a person who displays schizophrenic symptoms".

If you think this is a minor point, begin asking people with social anxiety what they think when they are called "social phobics". Many of them would not go to a psychiatrist or psychologist who called them that.

The wording in this article would be clearer, and terms would be better defined, if the wording is changed to reflect that.

Thank you,

-- Thomas A. Richards, Ph.D. 15:05, 30 April 2015 (UTC)BestandingbyThomas A. Richards, Ph.D. 15:05, 30 April 2015 (UTC)

-- Thomas A. Richards, Ph.D. Psychologist/Director, Social Anxiety Institute. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bestandingby ( talkcontribs) 15:05, 30 April 2015 (UTC)

Emphasis needed on successful treatment

There is a lack of attention to just what is involved in cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder specifically. Research continues to show therapy groups for this disorder are generally superior to other forms of treatment. When people read the article, they want to know more than "cognitive-behavioral therapy is the treatment of choice". What is involved (specifically) in cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety should be explained.

We have a book that helps people with social anxiety by providing cognitive-behavioral therapy. Everything is based on scientific research, but the cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety is different than the cognitive-behavioral therapy used for other disorders. This needs to be explained and understood. Many people think cognitive-behavioral therapy is a monolithic approach and the same things are done for every mental disorder, which is not the case. This article should pay more attention to the specific cognitive-behavioral methods, shown by research, that helps people with social anxiety get better.

We have a web article fully explicating how cognitive-behavioral therapy is different for each mental disorder.

Also, perhaps the lack of treatment should be mentioned. As someone who has worked in this field for twenty-five years, there is a lot of talk, but no action. We are usually unable to find any treatment programs anywhere in the world that are operating. That is, unfortunately, why people move here to go through our groups, because they know there is a functioning group, they know I had social anxiety until I was 40, and they have hope they can get better.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy groups are hard to organize and keep operating. Perhaps that is why psychologists do not run them. More attention should be paid to programs that are currently operating so that people can get help. People with social anxiety want to read things like this.

Thank you,

Thomas A. Richards, Ph.D. 15:26, 30 April 2015 (UTC)bestandingby — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bestandingby ( talkcontribs)

I agree with the need to expand the section on CBT. I don't have citations now but I would propose something of this nature.

After completing a psychological or psychiatric evaluation, patients starting CBT typically choose their goals. Therapeutic goals are realistic and meaningful steps towards remission of social anxiety that can be achieved within a few months using CBT (e.g. becoming able to shop by oneself. The goal is not a personality change nor a banishment of anxiety but a measurable change that will improve the patient's quality of life. Patients will work with their therapist during sessions as well as by themselves or with their families between sessions. CBT is different from insight-based therapies in that the goal is not to discover the reason for one's SAD in terms of inner forces (psychodynamics) or life experiences.

Like all CBT, therapy for SAD has cognitive and behavioral components. The cognitive therapy component focuses on recognizing and challenging "automatic" thoughts that are experienced during the acute period of anxiety when the person is in the social situation. Because patient with SAD have insight into their condition, they readily identify such thoughts as irrational and can point why. For example, a dreaded outcome might be unlikely (e.g. inadvertently offending a co-worker by asking how their day is going) or much more tolerable than the patient's irrational fears suggest (e.g. spilling a drink on your date is unlikely to end your relationship). Patients will begin by practicing this skill during therapy but are expected to also do "homework" assignments between sessions.

The behavioral therapy component involves exposure to the feared situation which can take many forms in the form of "exercises". A simple behavioral exercise involves imagining the feared event or using a computer interface that models it. The therapist may also role-play the feared situation with the patient during therapy and in some cases may accompany the patient into the "outside world" in a feared situation. Recording the patient practicing a feared situation and then playing it back can be useful with both fear of performing under scrutiny and challenging automatic thoughts by providing physical evidence the patient interacted normally. Often, patients decide how to break down a behavioral goal into achievable steps (e.g. fear of participating in class discussions can be split into 1)thinking about asking a question 2)practicing asking a question in therapy 3)asking a question after class 4)asking a question in class 5)responding to the teacher's question in class). Behavioral exercises lend themselves well to group therapy because patients a ready-made group they can practice with. As with the cognitive component, patients are expected to practice outside of therapy. It is important to note that exposure is about becoming comfortable with anxiety-provoking situations through practice rather than learning how to be socially adept, the latter of which is done in social skills training. Most CBT for SAD does not include social skills training because most individuals with SAD--despite fears that they are horribly awkward--do not lack social skills. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.137.24.206 ( talk) 01:20, 4 November 2015 (UTC)

Examples of Cognitive Distortions in Social Anxiety Disorder

Distorted automatic thoughts

  • “I won’t be able to think of anything to say.”
  • “I’ll say something stupid.”
  • “I’ll freeze.”
  • “I’m boring.”
  • “My face is hot. I’m blushing.”
  • “My hands are shaking.”
  • “I’m losing control.”
  • “Everybody is looking at me.”
  • “People can tell I’m nervous.”
  • “I’m a loser.”
  • “They think I’m stupid.”
  • “They’re better/smarter/funnier than me.”
  • “They think I’m a fool.”
  • “That was terrible.”
  • “No one liked me.”
  • “I blew it again.”

Maladaptive assumptions

  • “If I’m quiet, people will think I’m boring.”
  • “I have to have something intelligent or witty to say.”
  • “If I’m not perfect, they’ll reject me.”
  • “If someone doesn’t like me, it means there is something wrong with me.”
  • “If they see I’m anxious, they’ll think I’m incompetent.”
  • “I have to make a good impression.”
  • “I must get everyone’s approval.”
  • “I must not show any signs of weakness.”
  • “If I disagree with someone, they’ll get mad or think I’m stupid.”

Dysfunctional schemas

  • “I’m odd.”
  • “I’m different from everyone else.”
  • “I’m weird.”
  • “I’m a nerd.”
  • “I’m stupid.”
  • “I’m ugly.”
  • “I’m weak.”
  • “I don’t have what it takes to be successful.”
  • “I’m not likeable.”
  • “I’m inadequate.”

Postmortem assumptions

  • “Everyone saw that I was nervous and that I was losing my train of thought.” (Mindreading)
  • “I will continue to mess up any time I meet new people.” (Fortunetelling)
  • “I didn’t tell the story the right way.” (Negative filter)
  • “Even though people seemed interested in my conversation, no one asked me out.” (Discounting the positives)
  • “I can’t stand the fact that she didn’t seem interested in me.” (Catastrophizing)
  • “I was probably the only person at the party who was so uninteresting.” (Personalizing)
  • “I was a loser.” (Labeling)
  • “I totally messed up—there was nothing positive in this.” (All-or-nothing thinking) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.1.217.131 ( talk) 18:00, 21 October 2016 (UTC)

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NEJM

doi:10.1056/NEJMcp1614701 JFW |  T@lk 13:04, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Moved content

I've moved the following content here.

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Social Phobia Stereotypes

According to Dr. Richard, [1] if people have social anxiety one day... they will have it every day for the rest of their life, unless they receive the appropriate therapy from an experienced therapist. Without education and treatment, those who suffer from this mental disorder will have a very difficult life. The difficult part about treating this disorder is that everyone’s symptoms can differ. Dr. Richard explains that many “generalized” Social Anxiety Disorder symptoms include, but are not limited to, speaking very little and staying at home. Other symptoms are a bit more difficult to detect or define. For example, people with SAD know that their thinking is irrational; however, they have no knowledge as to how act rational. Also, they may come off as rude simply because they speak very little. Christina Brook [2] explains, “SAD places individuals, both children and adults, at risk for chronic distress and impairment and differs from shyness and performance anxiety by its greater severity and pervasiveness.” Understanding Social Anxiety Disorder is the first step in treating the disorder.

Many people get the wrong idea of what a mental disorder is from the media and television. In fact, images and ideas of mental illness in the media are mostly negative and inaccurate (Hoffner et al). [3] An example of this can be seen in the early 2000s television show Monk. The television show is about a detective, Adrian Monk, who suffers from Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder and social anxiety. Both are mental disorders associated with Social Anxiety Disorder. While Adrian is negatively affected by these mental disorders, they seem to help him be more focused on his job and solve crimes much more quickly than the average detective.

Many of the social phobia stereotypes may have resulted in the series demise. While many of the stereotypes may have been true, a study was completed to see how the show affected people with OCD. The study included 142 men and woman from the ages of 19-66. Overall, many people not directly affected by a mental disorder had a positive attitude towards the show in that in that it positively affected their attitudes towards people with Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (Hoffner et al). On the other hand, people directly affected by a mental disorder were less likely to believe Monk had the issues the television show claimed he had. The television show is also unrealistic in that many people, as opposed to Monk, are unwilling to disclose their mental illness to anyone or even seek medical advice or treatment (Hoffner et al). Monk was very open about his illness and did very little to try to hide it. This inaccurate representation of mental illness may have resulted in the low ratings which ultimately led to the cancellation of the show.

Monk did, however, have a few positive affects during its run (Hoffner el al). This drastically changed the public’s view of mental disorders and people began to recognize them more. According to research done by Cynthia A. Hoffner and Elizabeth L. Cohen, many watched the show as a result of feeling sorry for Monk and his mental illness. This allowed many people to recognize mental disorders much more easily. Also, may people suffering from a mental illness felt compelled to come forward about their illness as a result of watching the show. Many sought medical treatment and professional help. In essence, the concept of the show had a positive effect as a whole, but the main character who suffers from mental disorders was negatively and incorrectly portrayed.

The content looked to have some issues with it, the first of which is that I don't think that all of the sourcing would meet WP:MEDRS. (One is a study, the other was to a site that offers therapy and other things for a price. The other looks like it could be OK offhand.) There was also a lot of emphasis put on the character of Adrian Monk and the tone read a little casual, which brought up concerns of original research. It was also a subsection under "causes", which wouldn't be the right place for this since it's not about the causes of this. I figured that I would move it here - I think that the student had a good idea for the section and for covering how it's misrepresented in media, but it needs more work. Shalor (Wiki Ed) ( talk) 16:37, 26 June 2018 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ "What is it like to live with Social Anxiety? | Social Anxiety Institute". socialanxietyinstitute.org. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  2. ^ Brook, Christina A; Schmidt, Louis A (February 2008). "Social anxiety disorder: A review of environmental risk factors". Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 4 (1): 123–143. ISSN  1176-6328. PMC  2515922. PMID  18728768.
  3. ^ Hoffner, Cynthia A. and Elizabeth L. Cohen (2012). [EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/08838151.2012.732136 "Responses to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder on Monk among Series Fans: Parasocial Relations, Presumed Media Influence, and Behavioral Outcomes"]. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. 56 (4): 650. doi: 10.1080/08838151.2012.732136. Retrieved 19 April 2018. {{ cite journal}}: Check |url= value ( help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= ( help)

organization thought

I think it looks weird for the history of SAD to be put all the way down at the bottom. To me, that seems more like it would be part of the opening up at the top. ( Chubbybunny28 ( talk) 01:09, 26 January 2020 (UTC))

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Possible typos and other mistakes

Should tolerability be changed to intolerability? "Compared to older forms of medication, there is less risk of tolerability and drug dependency associated with SSRIs" Scienceteacher3k ( talk) 22:09, 13 October 2018 (UTC)


"... disfigurement from bums or injury" (10. in [ Diagnosis]) Shouldn't it be "burns" instead of "bums"? 77.57.2.82 ( talk) 15:03, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Nice catch. The section was added by an IP back in Dec 2020 [2] and the typo has apparently gone unchecked since. I've went ahead and fixed it since this document on page 98 says 'burns' instead of 'bums'. Some1 ( talk) 17:30, 11 May 2021 (UTC)


Item 4 in [ Diagnosis]– "...avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety. Alternatively, the situations are endured with intense fear or anxiety." The plain face text seems to be restating the bold text that precedes it. Is the bold text directly pulled from the DSM-V or is it rephrased? Is the plain text really necessary in this item? I say either remove "or endured" from the bolded portion or remove the plain face text entirely. Wlwdwi ( talk) 18:29, 19 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Intro to Psychology

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 7 July 2022 and 25 August 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): BahronovaD ( article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by BahronovaD ( talk) 04:17, 21 July 2022 (UTC)

Home

I kinda like school but like some of the teachers are rude, you know? 2600:6C67:4A7F:74F0:459:E5DA:F0B6:5B52 ( talk) 18:35, 31 July 2022 (UTC)


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