SOCIAL ANXIETY

 

Social anxiety or social phobia, as it is also known, is characterised by a strong and persistent fear of everyday social and/or performance situations where the person is either exposed to other people unknown to them or to possible evaluation by others.

 

The core feature of this anxiety problem is a fear that he or she will act in an embarrassing way or become obviously anxious whilst in the situation and experience humiliation as a result.

 

The person understands that the fear is excessive (although this understanding is often absent in the case of children) and the individual either engages in avoidance of the situation or experiences great distress and anxiety whilst enduring it.

 

Exposure to the feared situation often triggers an extreme anxiety reaction, which may in some cases lead to a panic attack. 

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