Social anxiety (social phobia)
Overview
Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is a long-term and overwhelming fear of social situations.
Symptoms
Social anxiety is more than shyness. It's a fear that does not go away and affects everyday activities, self confidence, relationships and work or school life. Many people occasionally worry about social situations, but someone with social anxiety feels overly worried before, during and after them. You may have social anxiety if you: worry about everyday activities, such as meeting strangers, starting conversations, speaking on the phone, working or shoppingavoid or worry a lot about social activities, such as group conversations, eating with company and partiesalways worry about doing something you think is embarrassing, such asblushing, sweating or appearing incompetentfind it difficult to do things when others are watching – you may feel like you're being watched and judged all the timefear being criticised, avoid eye contact or havelow self-esteemoften have symptoms like feeling sick, sweating, trembling or apounding heartbeat (palpitations)havepanic attacks, where you have an overwhelming sense of fear and anxiety, usually only for a few minutes Many people with social anxiety also have other mental health issues, such asdepression,generalised anxiety disorderorpanic disorder.
Treatment
A number of treatments are available for social anxiety. The main options are: cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)with a therapist, which is therapy that helps you identify negative thought patterns and behaviours, and change them; this can be done with just you and a therapist, in a group or with your parents or carersguided self-help, which involves working through a CBT-based workbook or online course with regular support from a therapistantidepressant medicines, usually a type called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), such asescitalopramorsertraline; these are usually not used to treat children and young people CBT is generally considered the best treatment, but other treatments may help if it does not work or you do not want to try it. Some people need to try a combination of treatments.