The presence of a mental disorder, which is called social phobia, is often evidenced by anxiety, which makes itself felt when necessary to participate in social life. This is one of the most common violations, which lends itself even to self-correction.
Sociopathy - what is it?
The history of the study of social phobia as an independent violation begins in the 60s of the last century. Prior to this, the social phobia was perceived as a neurosis, burdened by certain features of character - timidity, a desire for solitude. At present, thousands of psychiatrists and psychologists from all over the world are engaged in studying this problem. in the age of the Internet, social phobia acquired new features and spread very widely.
Anxiety in social phobia differs from the normal reaction of the body to stress factors, it is specific, blurred, illogical, irrational and extremely long in time. Margaret Thatcher accurately described this state as a fear of what will never happen. The sufferer of social phobia experiences difficulties in any social action - speaking in public, passing exams, talking on the phone, but even more social phobias are afraid to get a negative evaluation of their actions from society.
Types of social phobia
Anxiety in sociophobes manifests itself in two directions, according to which the disease can be classified. Social phobias - species:
- outlined social phobia - manifests itself in the same type of situations, for example, when passing the exam, the need to get acquainted or to pass an interview;
- generalized - arises in a different social setting.
Sociopathy and sociopathy - the difference
The presence of a common root in terms of sociopathy and social phobia speaks about their relationship, but on the whole they have little contact. Socioblob - afraid of society, is experiencing anxiety when necessary to interact with other people. Sociopath is a mentally ill person ignoring social norms, aggressive, conflicting, indifferent to others, often leading an antisocial way of life. Another difference is that a person can learn social phobia independently, and with sociopathy, a doctor needs help.
What is the danger of social phobia?
Many people believe that social phobia is a mental illness, but this is a mental disorder. Sociofob strives for loneliness, minimizes contact. On the one hand, it looks quite innocuous, and on the other - a sociophobic like no other is prone to alcoholism and drug addiction, because with the help of these tools he can try to reduce anxiety, liberate himself. In addition, many suffering from social phobia can not realize themselves, demonstrate their abilities, create a family. The tendency of sociophobes to depression and suicide is high.
Sociopathy - reasons
In a large number of cases, the origins of social phobia should be sought in early childhood - up to 1 year. If the mother was not attentive to the child, often left him, leaving her on grandmothers or nannies, the baby became more anxious, restless, whiny. The fear of losing a mother forever took root in the psyche of the baby, he began to fear other people, too. saw in them a threat. Under such conditions, a child may develop hospitalism by the year, a gross mental disorder leading to serious problems in social life (social phobia, anthropophobia, sociopathy) and the psychoemotional sphere.
Hospitalism is still an extreme option, developing if the child spends the first months of life in a nursery, a hospital, an orphanage. At home, neglect of the mother does not lead to such serious consequences, but even minor deviations put the child at risk for social disorders. To protect the child from social phobia, the mother should be as gentle and caring as possible.
Sometimes acute social phobia occurs later - in adolescence. The cause of development can be an unpleasant incident that will become a real catalyst for the formation of a mental disorder. For example, a child in the school was sharply criticized by the teacher, after which he began to be afraid to answer at the blackboard or refused to attend the school altogether. Further this fear can spread and communicate with peers, especially - with representatives of the opposite sex. The group of special risk includes children whose parents also suffer from social phobia.
The reason for the development of social phobia can be:
- absence in childhood of adequate evaluation and praise from parents;
- presentation of inflated demands to the child;
- mockery in children's collective;
- conflicts in the team or family;
- antisocial way of life of parents;
- unsuccessful beginning of sexual life;
- somatic diseases.
Social phobia - symptoms
If the cause of an attack of fear is acute social phobia, a person will experience a set of unpleasant symptoms, among which there are often:
- labored breathing;
- problems with speech - psychological dumbness, stammering;
- increased heart rate;
- nausea;
- dizziness;
- chills, trembling of limbs;
- heat or cold sweat.
Signs of social phobia
The above somatic signs mean that a person has a diagnosis of social phobia, in which this anxiety manifests itself emotionally:
- in anticipation of the worst course of events;
- in violation of attention;
- in anxiety, irritation, tension;
- in nightmarish dreams;
- in the sense of déjà vu;
- in the sensation of the "empty" brain.
Situations in which there are physical and psychological signs of social phobia:
- speaking before a large audience (answer at the blackboard at school, university);
- demonstration of their talents or skills for a large number of spectators (performance on stage, competition);
- interview;
- business meeting;
- meetings with significant, authoritative people;
- communication with strangers;
- conversations on the phone, skype;
- visiting crowded places;
- any actions on people (snacks, reading).
How to live with social phobia?
For a person with an anxiety disorder, it is very important to learn to look at some frightening situations differently and remember - social phobia is curable. Often, others do not notice others' mistakes, because are focused on themselves. And even if they see them, they do not make a big mistake. Defeat the social phobia quickly does not work, but with corrective actions it will eventually recede. If you do nothing, social anxiety can develop into anthropophobia - the fear of all people in general.
How to overcome social phobia?
To learn how to get rid of social phobia, you need to contact a therapist. The combination of psychological correction and drug treatment gives good results. The doctor will teach the social phobia to objective self-perception, self-control, help in the fight against negative thoughts and feelings. With the help of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, a person will begin to feel less comfortable uncomfortable situations. In some cases, doctors diagnose social phobia and hypnosis. Medication includes antidepressants, benzodiazepine drugs.
How to overcome social phobia on your own?
Existence under the yoke of social phobia is very difficult, but if a person does not want to contact a specialist for some reason, he can try to help himself. When diagnosing social phobia, treatment should begin independently with the elimination of symptoms - learn breathing exercises, adjust the way of life, leaving more time for rest and enjoyable activities, eat right and eat less caffeine and alcohol.
Psychologist's advice for the treatment of social phobia:
- in order to depend less on the opinions of others, it is necessary to form a positive image of oneself, develop its strong features;
- you can not avoid disturbing situations - this can only aggravate the problem;
- get rid of social phobia from a small point of view - small steps towards fear will subsequently complicate the task;
- it is necessary to remember forever - everybody likes it unreal, and not necessarily;
- to successfully heal, you need to reflect less and become more interested in the surrounding world.
Orthodoxy about social phobia
It is important for a believer to know how the church perceives the diagnosis of social phobia. The clergy insist that the social phobic is a lazy person who, moreover, has neither humility nor patience. Seeing its problem, the social phobia, in the opinion of the church, should make every effort to eradicate the phobia. And not to be afraid of people - you need to love them, and do not get hung up on yourself. And the more love a person experiences, the less fear and social phobia in him.
Celebrities suffering from social phobia
Paradoxically, among people with world renown, there are a lot of those with pronounced social phobia. These people are stubbornly struggling with their fears and can be examples for others:
- Kim Basinger is panically afraid to perform in public and suffers from panic attacks, but she continues to struggle with a phobia, in which she is helped by a psychologist and daughter.
- Robert Pattinson - he was always a shy and clenched youth, he was helped to film social phobia by filming, although he became an actor to please one girl.
- Jim Carrey - not without reason it is believed that under the guise of a clown hides a very sad man - a famous actor has always been very timid, and only work on himself helped him cope with anxiety and become popular.
- James Hetfield - "come up" from the disturbing experience this member of the Metallica group helped music, and advised his fans with a diagnosis of social phobia to believe in themselves and tirelessly to translate their dream into reality.