There are two subtypes of social phobia, namely generalized and circumscribed (non-generalized). The generalized subtype describes a person that experiences anxiety in numerous situations such as meeting new people, answering questions in class, or interacting socially at all(Jefferson & Moore, 2004). In “Tina’s” case, she suffered from generalized subtype. The circumscribed subtype is characterized by a fear of acting foolishly in only very specific situations (Jefferson & Moore, 2004). The most common type of circumscribed social phobia is the fear of public speaking. Don’t you remember those people back in school that were terrified when the teacher said that everyone had to do a speech in front of the whole class. For these people, doing a speech in front of others is literally a nightmare. Other common feared social situations include: fear of trembling when writing in public, fear of choking when eating in public, or being unable to urinate when others are present (Jefferson & Moore, 2004). Regardless of the subtype, it is not so much the act itself that is feared, but rather, it is the doing of the act in public which arouses the fear (Jefferson & Moore, 2004). In terms of treatment, the generalized subtype is by far the harder subtype to treat.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
What is Social Phobia? Continued
Social anxiety disorder typically begins during childhood with a mean age of onset between 14 and 16 years and is sometimes preceded by a history of social inhibition or shyness in younger years (JCP, 2001). This is of course just an average age. Social phobia can develop later in life or earlier.
There are two subtypes of social phobia, namely generalized and circumscribed (non-generalized). The generalized subtype describes a person that experiences anxiety in numerous situations such as meeting new people, answering questions in class, or interacting socially at all(Jefferson & Moore, 2004). In “Tina’s” case, she suffered from generalized subtype. The circumscribed subtype is characterized by a fear of acting foolishly in only very specific situations (Jefferson & Moore, 2004). The most common type of circumscribed social phobia is the fear of public speaking. Don’t you remember those people back in school that were terrified when the teacher said that everyone had to do a speech in front of the whole class. For these people, doing a speech in front of others is literally a nightmare. Other common feared social situations include: fear of trembling when writing in public, fear of choking when eating in public, or being unable to urinate when others are present (Jefferson & Moore, 2004). Regardless of the subtype, it is not so much the act itself that is feared, but rather, it is the doing of the act in public which arouses the fear (Jefferson & Moore, 2004). In terms of treatment, the generalized subtype is by far the harder subtype to treat.
There are two subtypes of social phobia, namely generalized and circumscribed (non-generalized). The generalized subtype describes a person that experiences anxiety in numerous situations such as meeting new people, answering questions in class, or interacting socially at all(Jefferson & Moore, 2004). In “Tina’s” case, she suffered from generalized subtype. The circumscribed subtype is characterized by a fear of acting foolishly in only very specific situations (Jefferson & Moore, 2004). The most common type of circumscribed social phobia is the fear of public speaking. Don’t you remember those people back in school that were terrified when the teacher said that everyone had to do a speech in front of the whole class. For these people, doing a speech in front of others is literally a nightmare. Other common feared social situations include: fear of trembling when writing in public, fear of choking when eating in public, or being unable to urinate when others are present (Jefferson & Moore, 2004). Regardless of the subtype, it is not so much the act itself that is feared, but rather, it is the doing of the act in public which arouses the fear (Jefferson & Moore, 2004). In terms of treatment, the generalized subtype is by far the harder subtype to treat.
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Mine developed when I was very young, it was there when I began elementary school or before. I think it was generalized, I was afraid of pretty much all social interactions with other children in school. I was not phobic with adults though, and sometimes could open up in one on one social encounters outside school with other kids, so maybe it was not generalized, I don't know.
The SAD was at its worst in early childhood through my mid teen years. It then became just shyness, but social anxiety came back later for a while, in specific situations. Now it is not too bad, but I am shy.
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