Social Anxiety Disorder Can Have Serious Effects


by Chas Oliver - Date: 2007-02-16 - Word Count: 340 Share This!

Social Anxiety Disorder, a condition marked by an overwhelming discomfort in and fear of unfamiliar social situations, can potentially cause significant problems in the lives of people who suffer with it. Isolation is probably the most common consequence of Social Anxiety Disorder: the person with Social Anxiety Disorder experiences such negative reactions in unfamiliar social situations that they frequently avoid social activities altogether, leading to entrenched, chronic social isolation, a state that often results in extreme loneliness and depression.

If loneliness and depression weren't enough, medical studies also indicate a connection between chronic social isolation and the development of mental atrophy conditions. A correlation between chronic social isolation and mental dementia has been known for some time, and newer research suggests there may also be a correlation between chronic social isolation and Alzheimer's disease.

Social Anxiety Disorder has socioeconomic effects as well as emotional and physical effects. Nearly seventy percent of people with Social Anxiety Disorder find themselves near the bottom of the economic ladder, and almost fifty percent of people with Social Anxiety never earn a high school diploma. Regardless of their level of education and experience, people with Social Anxiety Disorder often wind up in jobs that are beneath their capabilities.

Symptomatically, Social Anxiety Disorder presents itself as anxious symptoms -- increased heart rate and pulse, trembling, flushing, sweating, stomach upset, etc. -- within a social situation or when considering a social situation, brought on in large part by a fear of being scrutinized and/or negatively critiqued by other people. It's thought that roughly ten percent of the population has Social Anxiety Disorder.

Treatment is typically required for optimal recovery from Social Anxiety Disorder to occur. In lieu of treatment, a person with Social Anxiety Disorder may become entrenched in their social isolation, possibly leading to extreme loneliness and/or depression, and to an inability to fully and productively integrate into society. Postponing treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder may leave afflicted people well behind in social and professional opportunities, even after successful treatment has taken place; though it's certainly possible to ultimately close this gap.


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