Psychology

The paper provides a brief description of social anxiety disorder. A brief definition and statistics are provided. Symptoms, screening methods, and possible treatment options are described. The paper briefly discusses the impacts of social anxiety disorder on individuals and their daily performance.

Anxiety
Introduction
Anxiety is a recurrent topic in professional literature. Social anxiety disorder represents one of the most common forms of anxiety in different population groups. Because social anxiety disorder is often confused with shyness, many of its symptoms and complications may go unnoticed. Thesis Today, social anxiety disorder presents a serious social problem to those, who either dismiss its symptoms as too insignificant or fail to cope with it without professional assistance.

Social anxiety disorder is one of the most common psychiatric disorders (Anonymous, 2010). Social anxiety disorder is also known as social phobia and involves persistent fear of one or more social performance situations in which a person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others (Tolman et al, 2009). Social anxiety does not extend beyond the feeling of fear and embarrassment, but social anxiety disorder is associated with serious impairments and produces significant negative impacts on the quality of individual routine performance (Roy et al, 2009). Social anxiety disorder affects 7 of Americans in any given year and 12 of Americans at some point of their lives (Anonymous, 2010). About two-thirds of Americans with social anxiety disorder are women (Anonymous, 2008). Unfortunately, the symptoms of social anxiety disorder in men and women are often confused with shyness and are dismissed as too trivial (Anonymous, 2010). For this reason, researchers often lack opportunities to study social anxiety disorder in more detail, while individuals fail to understand the seriousness of the issue and its psychological life implications.

Why some individuals are more vulnerable to social anxiety disorder than others is unclear, but that SAD symptoms first appear during adolescence is a scientific fact (Anonymous, 2008 Anonymous, 2010). The first symptoms tend to appear between ages 10 and 19 (Anonymous, 2010). The onset usually occurs in middle or late adolescence sometimes, social anxiety disorder is diagnosed as early as 8 years of age (Roy, 2009). Typical symptoms of social anxiety disorder in adults include a dry mouth, a racing heart, blushing and a shaky voice, trembling, sweating, and even nausea (Anonymous, 2010). In younger children, social anxiety disorder can manifest through crying (Anonymous, 2010). The severity of symptoms increases with age adolescents can successfully cope with their shyness and embarrassment, but younger adults display prolonged symptoms of SAD, and their failure to cope with stressful situations results in continuous social, functional, and developmental impairments (Anonymous, 2010).

The DSM-IV lists the criteria, which individuals must meet to be diagnosed social anxiety disorder. These include persistent fear of situations with unfamiliar people, anxiety and or a panic attack produced by the feared situation, and conscious avoidance of anxiety-inducing situations (Anonymous, 2010). Individuals with social anxiety disorder recognize that their fear is excessive but fail to cope with their symptoms (Anonymous, 2010). Social anxiety disorder interferes with school and workplace activity, and negatively influences the quality of social relationships (Anonymous, 2010). Professionals can use a variety of methods to screen individuals for social anxiety disorder. Rytwinski et al (2009) propose that psychology professionals use self-report scales. Self-report scales are an accurate and cost-effective means to identify patients with social anxiety disorder and can increase the percentage of those who will receive necessary treatment (Rytwinski et al, 2009). Crippa et al (2008) write that telephone interviews are more effective compared with personal diagnostic interviews, when used to screen prevalence of social anxiety disorder in different population groups.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is fairly regarded as one of the basic approaches to social anxiety disorder. The goal of CBT is to supply patients with techniques and practices, needed to change their perceptions about socialization and situations that involve unfamiliar people (Anonymous, 2010). Exposure therapy is a form of CBT, in which individuals are exposed to the dreaded situation and learn the ways of managing fear (Anonymous, 2010). Attention training is another form of psychotherapy which can relieve the symptoms and improve the state of anxiety in patients with diagnosed social anxiety disorder (Schmidt et al, 2009). Because attentional bias to threat plays a significant role in maintaining anxiety disorders in individuals, attention training can serve an effective means of coping with SAD (Schmidt et al, 2009).

The effects of psychological treatment are rather limited and can apply only in mild SAD forms. Psychological treatment alone cannot suffice to reduce and eliminate severe symptoms of social anxiety disorder in patients (Acarturk et al, 2009). In such situations, medications are used to address the symptoms of generalized social anxiety disorders, and include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, venlafaxine, beta blockers, and benzodiazepines (Anonymous, 2010). The choice of particular medication and particular form of psychotherapy depends on the wide range of individual and contextual factors. The effectiveness of CBT and medication is almost equal (Anonymous, 2010). Patients must realize that although medication works faster, is can result in physical dependence and substance abuse problems (Anonymous, 2010). Simultaneously, those who choose psychotherapy should not expect fast results. The current state of knowledge about social anxiety disorder provides enough opportunities for patients and psychologists to successfully cope with SAD symptoms and its negative effects on life performance, but these treatment options will lose their relevance if individuals fail to recognize the seriousness of the issue and the value of professional support.

Conclusion
Social anxiety disorder is one of the most common forms of anxiety in adolescents and adults. Today, social anxiety disorder presents a serious problem to those who either dismiss its symptoms as too insignificant or fail to cope with them without professional assistance. Approximately 12 of Americans suffer its symptoms and consequences in any given year. The symptoms include a racing heart, blushing and a shaky voice, and even nausea. Possible treatments cover CBT and medication. The current state of research provides enough opportunities for patients and psychologists to successfully cope with the symptoms and negative consequences of social anxiety, but these treatment options will lose their relevance, unless individuals can realize the seriousness of the issue and the value of professional support in treating SAD.