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Social Phobia for Beginners
Author:
Mark Sykes
 Many
people report that they would rather die than give a speech at a
wedding or at a business conference. The idea of standing in front of
hundreds or even thousands of people is often too fearful to seriously
contemplate. If being rejected by one person is bad enough imagine
forgetting the words to your speech or mixing up the name of the bride
and groom. Imagine the social rejection by hundreds of people
simultaneously! To compound the disaster, your speech maybe recorded
on video and so future generations may get to experience your
humiliation many times over.
When social interaction is anticipated the
perceived fear maybe so great that suffers start to experience
physical discomfort such as sweating, increased heart rate
and trembling. The person may conjure up a range of possible
embarrassing scenarios and come to the conclusion that it is so much
safer just to stay away from the social event. This is a fantastic
strategy as avoidance is almost guaranteed to reduce the risk of
social humiliation down to zero. The resultant feeling of safety and
comfort simply reinforces the avoidance behavior and soon the
individual start to avoid even small social situations such as
shopping and having coffee with friends.
Just as you or I
would decide not jump from a plane because it could lead to serious
injury, so people with social phobia
conclude that staying at home is the emotionally safest thing to do.
Social phobia comes to the attention of
psychologists
usually when it impacts on the person’s everyday work and play
activities. Social phobia impacts on the very core of our existence
and that is human relationships. The effects are felt with the
person’s career, wealth, social life and family connections.
Ironically people with social phobia find it
difficult to seek help for the simple reason that it often involves
social contact with
doctors,
psychiatrists, psychologists and counselors.
Article Source:
http://www.articlesbase.com/psychology-articles/social-phobia-for-beginners-469129.html
About the Author:
Mark Sykes
BPsych(Hons), MBus, GradDip(Qual), BSc.
http://www.geckohouse.com.au
disclaimer
Webpage by Paul Susic MA Licensed Psychologist Ph.D Candidate
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