People with Social Phobia face very large barriers to getting the treatment they need — larger than those faced by others with mental illnesses.
Many of the barriers are the same as with other mental illnesses, but some are unique to Social Phobia. Mark Olfson of Columbia University says:
Socially anxious people are often ashamed of their symptoms and embarrassed to discuss them with friends or health care professionals. It is ironic that the very symptoms socially anxious individuals seek to relieve may interfere with their ability to seek treatment.
This post, based on research by Olfson reported in The American Journal of Psychiatry, goes into detail about the barriers people with Social Phobia face, along with what can be done about it. It addresses the following topics:
- First, what is Social Phobia?
- Research on barriers to getting treatment for Social Phobia
- Untreated Social Phobia is very common
- Untreated Social Phobia greatly impairs daily functionality
- Barriers to treatment of Social Phobia
- What can be done to increase the treatment rate for people with Social Phobia?
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Tagged as:
Barriers to treatment,
SAD - Social Phobia,
Stigma
There is an ongoing debate about what constitutes shyness and at what point it turns into Social Phobia (also known as Social Anxiety Disorder).
Some, such as Christopher Lane, in his “Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness” say that normal shyness has been medicalized by an over-enthusiastic drug industry and the psychiatrists who wrote the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). He holds that what used to be considered a virtue and the sign of modesty and a contemplative mind, has become a diagnosable mental illness.
Others believe that extreme shyness is a scourge on the American population, and that it is the third largest of the mental disorders, after only depression and alcoholism. They hold that undiagnosed Social Phobia causes untold suffering and millions of lives in self-imposed chains — all treatable with a short course of therapy.
This post investigates shyness, Social Phobia, and the difference between the two. It lists the triggers and reactions of shyness, then makes clear the distinction between shyness and Social Phobia.
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Tagged as:
Mental Health Professionals,
SAD - Social Phobia,
Shy,
Shyness
Social Phobia is an Anxiety Disorder that affects up to 40 million Americans.
Also called Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), Social Phobia, is characterized by overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations. People with Social Phobia have a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and of being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions.
So far, there have been no medications approved by the FDA specifically for the treatment of Social Phobia. The only medications proven to be effective have been antidepressants such as Effexor and Nardil, and Benzodiazepines such as Klonopin and Xanax.
In two different studies scientists have shown that the hormone oxytocin can inhibit the feelings of Anxiety in people with Social Phobia. These people were able to socially interact much more effectively and showed greatly reduced fears, as well. These discovery may lead to a better understanding and treatment of psychiatric conditions such as Social Phobia, in which people feel distressed when meeting and interacting with others.
Predrag Petrovic, one of the authors of a Swedish study, said that,
[O]xytocin can reduce anxiety and increase the chances of social contact for people with certain types of psychiatric disorder. There are also previous studies to show that oxytocin can inhibit [fear] activity, which tells us that we should see this as an opportunity for new forms of treatment.
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Tagged as:
Medications,
Research,
SAD - Social Phobia
Recent research shows that 95 percent of patients diagnosed with Social Phobia originally went to the doctor for treatment of another disorder.
In addition, it was found that a majority of psychiatry outpatients have more than one mental disorder, and more than one-third have at least three disorders. Most patients had two current diagnoses.
Of the twelve most common disorders, major Depression was the most frequent diagnosis, with Social Phobia being diagnosed in 25 percent of the patients. The highest rate for comorbid (simultaneous presence of two or more chronic conditions) disorders was found for patients with a principal diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Bipolar Disorder.
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Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Mental Health Professionals,
SAD - Social Phobia
A study published in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine proves that there is a biological cause in the brain for Social Anxiety Disorder. The lead author, Dr. van der Wee, M.D., Ph.D. said,
Our study provides direct evidence for the involvement of the brain’s dopaminergic system in social anxiety disorder in patients who had no prior exposure to medication… It demonstrates that social anxiety has a physical, brain dependent component.
The research involved tracing how serotonin and dopamine act upon the receptors in the brains of people with Social Anxiety Disorder. Serotonin and dopamine are neurotransmitters, or substances responsible for transferring signals from on neuron to another. If the neurotransmitters are out of balance, messages cannot get through the brain properly. This can alter the way the brain reacts to normal social situations, leading to Anxiety.
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Tagged as:
Anxiety,
dopamine,
glucose,
neuroimaging,
neurotransmitter,
oxygen,
serotonin,
Social Anxiety Disorder
