Social phobia is a very common condition nowadays, especially among young people. This condition is also known as social anxiety disorder or social phobia disorder. To define it briefly, social phobia; It is when a person experiences severe feelings of anxiety and anxiety when interacting with another person, especially with more than one person. People with this condition have a hard time communicating with their environment and expressing themselves as they wish. The reason for this is that the person feels as if other people are constantly examining him, criticizing him negatively, and belittle him. This may seem like an ordinary situation to many people.
Because everyone can feel nervous and negative emotions when talking to people they fear and shy away from, high-ranking people or their boss. But this is different for people with social phobia. This is because the person with social phobia may find it unusually difficult to perform even the simplest social interactions. For example, the person has trouble with very ordinary social interactions such as going to the grocery store, asking an important question for which he does not know the answer at the moment, asking for an address, asking for a simple thing, or greeting other people other than those he or she is totally adopted to. Social phobia is not a disorder that occurs in the form of attacks or suddenly.
It usually takes a chronic course and the person may feel anxious, panicked, stressed and unhappy whenever he is not comfortable on a regular basis. This condition often shows its first symptoms in people entering childhood or adolescence. People with this disorder may be seen by other people as asocial, shy, indifferent, cold, boring, distant and strange. Because the characteristics that the person reflects outwardly also support these prejudices.
Because the person acts in an extremely recessive manner, especially when communicating with people he is not accustomed to or when being in social environments. But this is just the way it looks from the outside. In fact, people with social phobia enjoy making friends, intimacy with other people, participating in social situations and similar activities just like other people. However, they always involuntarily withdraw themselves because of their chronic state of anxiety, stress and anxiety.
Who Gets Social Phobia?
Social phobia is the third most common psychological disorder after depression and alcoholism. This makes up about 7% of the population. Studies show that it occurs more frequently in women than in men. Although it can sometimes appear in adulthood, it mainly appears in late childhood and adolescence.
What Causes Social Phobia?
Social phobia can occur for many different reasons. Therefore, the emergence of the disease is affected by biological, environmental and psychological factors. Genetic transmission is also a very important factor.
In general, we can list other factors as follows:
● Social phobia usually occurs between the ages of 12-14. There are many different reasons for this situation. However, social phobia is likely to be triggered by situations such as traumatic events, bad memories, rejection, ridicule, bullying or harassment, which can be felt more clearly during adolescence.
● As the biological cause of social phobia, the functioning of the brain’s amygdala region stands out. The amygdala is the region that controls the fear response of the brain to the external environment. This region may work much more actively in some people than normal, causing the person to overreact to various situations, worry or fear.
● Another biological cause of the disorder is that the serotonin level in the brain is below normal or at a highly unstable level. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter secreted in the brain that provides communication between nerve cells in the brain and regulates the mood of the person. It is also known as the happiness hormone. In cases where this chemical is deficient, communication between nerve cells cannot be ensured properly and the person may develop various psychological disorders. Serotonin deficiency is among the most important causes of many psychological disorders and social phobia.
● A person’s character is shaped by many environmental or psychological factors from the time he is born. Therefore, children with a shy and introverted temperament will be more likely to develop social phobia in the future. This situation can also be triggered by the oppressive, threatening and controlling attitudes of the person’s parents. Because the child, who is exposed to constant pressure or serious reaction by his parents, may avoid communicating with his surroundings, worrying that he will get a reaction or be taken aback after a while.
● When this behavior pattern is internalized by the child, the likelihood of social phobia will increase. Another situation that may be related to the parents is that the parents have very high expectations from the child. Parents with such expectations may sometimes punish their children when they fail. This can cause the child to develop various psychological disorders.
● Social phobia can also be triggered if the person is dissatisfied with his appearance, lack of speech, mobility or similar physical functions. The reason for this is that many people find themselves to blame in such situations. The person may see himself as incomplete due to his illness or physical defect and think that other people will make fun of him. Therefore, escaping from social environments and living an isolated life may occur.
● As a genetic factor, if the person’s close relatives or parents have social phobia and severe anxiety symptoms, this may trigger social phobia.
