Social Phobia
Social Anxiety Disorder: Social Phobia
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines social anxiety disorder as a marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur (DSM). Exposure to these situations provokes an immediate anxiety response such as a panic attack (DSM). In order to be diagnosed, fear or avoidance of these situations must interfere significantly with the person’s normal routines, occupational or academic functioning, social activities or relationships, or a person must experience marked distress about having the phobia (DSM).
In 400 B.C., Hippocrates described a young man that displayed the symptoms of a social anxiety disorder. “He dare not come in company for fear he should be misused, disgraced, overshoot himself in gesture or speeches, or be sick; he thinks every man observes him” (Burton 2009). Throughout the 20th century, psychiatrists described extremely shy patients as having social phobia and social neurosis. British psychiatrists Isaac Marks and Michael Gelder proposed that social phobias be considered a distinct category separate from other simple phobias (Hope, Heimberg, Juster, & Turk 2005).
In 1980, the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders introduced social phobia as an official psychiatric diagnosis. Social phobia was described as a fear of performance situations, but did not include fears of informal situations such as casual conversations or social situations. Patients with broad fears were likely to be diagnosed with avoidant personality disorder, which could not be diagnosed in conjunction with social phobia (Weiner, Freedheim, Freedheim, Reynolds, Miller, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, & Nelson 2003). In 1985, psychiatrist Michael Liebowitz and psychologist Richard Heimberg initiated a call to action for research on social phobia (Weiner, Freedheim, Freedheim, Reynolds, Miller, Gallagher, Nelson,
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines social anxiety disorder as a marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur (DSM). Exposure to these situations provokes an immediate anxiety response such as a panic attack (DSM). In order to be diagnosed, fear or avoidance of these situations must interfere significantly with the person’s normal routines, occupational or academic functioning, social activities or relationships, or a person must experience marked distress about having the phobia (DSM).
In 400 B.C., Hippocrates described a young man that displayed the symptoms of a social anxiety disorder. “He dare not come in company for fear he should be misused, disgraced, overshoot himself in gesture or speeches, or be sick; he thinks every man observes him” (Burton 2009). Throughout the 20th century, psychiatrists described extremely shy patients as having social phobia and social neurosis. British psychiatrists Isaac Marks and Michael Gelder proposed that social phobias be considered a distinct category separate from other simple phobias (Hope, Heimberg, Juster, & Turk 2005).
In 1980, the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders introduced social phobia as an official psychiatric diagnosis. Social phobia was described as a fear of performance situations, but did not include fears of informal situations such as casual conversations or social situations. Patients with broad fears were likely to be diagnosed with avoidant personality disorder, which could not be diagnosed in conjunction with social phobia (Weiner, Freedheim, Freedheim, Reynolds, Miller, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, & Nelson 2003). In 1985, psychiatrist Michael Liebowitz and psychologist Richard Heimberg initiated a call to action for research on social phobia (Weiner, Freedheim, Freedheim, Reynolds, Miller, Gallagher, Nelson,
References: Brooks, C.A., & Schmidt, L.A. (2008). Social anxiety disorder: a review of environmental risk factors. Neuropsychiatr Disease and Treatment, 4(1), Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515922/ Burton, Robert. (2009). The Anatomy of melancholy. Charlottesville, VA: The University of Virginia. Furmark T. (2002). Social phobia: overview of community surveys, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 105, Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11939957 Hope, Debra, Heimberg, Richard, Juster, Harlan, & Turk, Cynthia. (2005). Managing social anxiety. New York, NY: Oxford Univ Pr. Jefferson, J.W. (2001). Physicians postgraduate press, inc.. Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 3(1), Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC181152/ Kedler, K.S., Neale, M.C., Kessler, R.C., Heath, A.C., and Eaves, L.J. (1992) The genetic epidemiology of phobias in women: the interrelationship of agoraphobia, social phobia, situational phobia, and simple phobia. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. Rapaport, M.H., Clary, C, Fayyad, R, & Endicott, J. (2005). Quality-of-life impairment in depressive and anxiety disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(6), Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9861470 Social anxiety disorder (social phobia). (2009). Mayoclinic.com. Retrieved (2010, April 25), Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/social-anxiety-disorder/DS00595/DSECTION=treatments%2Dand%2Ddrugs Stein, M.B. (1998). Neurobiological perspectives on social phobia: from affiliation to zoology. Biological Psychiatry, 44(12), Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9861470 Weiner, Irving, Freedheim, Donald, Freedheim, Donald, Reynolds, William, Miller, Gloria, Gallagher, Michela, Nelson, Randy, Gallagher, Michela, Nelson, Randy, Gallagher, Michela, & Nelson, Randy. (2003). Handbook of psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.