Social phobia, also called social anxiety disorder, involves 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 being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions. Their fear may be so severe that it interferes with work or school, and other ordinary activities. While many people with social phobia recognize that their fear of being around people may be excessive or unreasonable, they are unable to overcome it. They often worry for days or weeks in advance of a dreaded situation. Social phobia can be limited to only one type of situation such as a fear of speaking in formal or informal situations, or eating, drinking, or writing in front of others or, in its most severe form, may be so broad that a person experiences symptoms almost anytime they are around other people. Social phobia can be very debilitating it may even keep people from going to work or school on some days.
Many people with this illness have a hard time making and keeping friends. Physical symptoms often accompany the intense anxiety of social phobia and include blushing, profuse sweating, trembling, nausea, and difficulty talking. If you suffer from social phobia, you may be painfully embarrassed by these symptoms and feel as though all eyes are focused on you. You may be afraid of being with people other than your family. People with social phobia are aware that their feelings are irrational. Even if they manage to confront what they fear, they usually feel very anxious beforehand and are intensely uncomfortable throughout. Afterward, the unpleasant feelings may linger, as they worry about how they may have been judged or what others may have thought or observed about them.
Social phobia affects about 5.3 million adult Americans. Social phobia often co-occurs with other anxiety disorders or depression. Substance abuse or dependence may develop in individuals who attempt to “self-medicate” their social phobia by drinking or using drugs. Social phobia can be treated successfully with carefully targeted psychotherapy and or medications.
Should you be prescribed benzodiazepines, medications such as Xanax, Valium, Atavan, and Klondipin are the most common. It’s wise to abstain from alcohol because the interaction between those medications and alcohol can easily lead to serious and possibly life-threatening complications. It’s extremely important to tell your doctor about other medications being taken. People taking benzodiazepines for weeks or months may develop tolerance for and dependence on these drugs. Abuse and withdrawal reactions will occur should anyone stop taking those medications for any reason. And for those reasons, the medications are generally prescribed for brief periods of time; days or a few weeks.
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