Research Paper on Social Anxiety: Fear of Judgement & Embarrassment

Introduction

Social anxiety is the fear of being judges and getting negative evaluations from other individuals. Therefore, it results in persons feeling inadequate and embarrassed about their situations. In communal cases, the person becomes anxious yet gets better when alone. People encounter emotional distress with social nervousness in the following circumstances. Being introduced to new people makes them uncomfortable because a series of thoughts runs through them; hence, they may seem unfriendly in most cases. When a person with the disorder becomes the center of attraction, they become embarrassed because they contemplate on what others think about them.

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Moreover, the interpersonal relationship with others is always mild since some may think that the individuals are ignorant (Alden, Buhr, Robichaud, Trew & Plasencia, 2018). The psychological accompaniment is very intense and may result in sudden deaths of the individuals. The racing of the heart especially when the patient is asked to stand in a room full of people to speak, the throat may run dry resulting in a difficulty to accomplish the mission. Therefore, social anxiety forms part of the whole discussion as the different aspects will be elaborated significantly.

Disorders of anxiety have become the most common illness affecting citizens across the world. Research done has shown that young adults and women are the most likely to suffer from anxiety problems. Women are prone to anxiety when compared to men. Anxiety is sometimes taken to be a synonym of worry or stress which someone gets when she/he looks at their to-do list. Anxiety has become a sinking feeling in women's stomach. The signs of anxiety noticed amongst women are everywhere. The anxiety disorders can be due to some common complications such as addiction, pregnancy and other health conditions that may affect the normal functioning of the body.

The generalized disorder is anxiety that is characterized by chronic fretfulness that is exaggerated with pressure and worries even when nothing has provoked the feeling. Obsessive social disorder is usually characterized by repetitive behavior such as cleaning excessively with the hope of preventing thoughts or making them go away (Hoyer, Colic, Pittig, Crawcour, Moeser, Ginzburg & Stangier, 2017). Hence, the patient avoids people by engaging in an activity that will destruct anxiety from arising. Social panic anxiety arises when episodes of extreme fear accompanied by physical symptoms such as pain in the chest, palpitations of the heart and dizziness. Post-traumatic stress disorder also makes people avoid groups. Hence, it develops after being exposed to an event that threatens the life of an individual. Therefore, accidents and violent assaults result in the illness.

Effects on the Brain

Studies have provided that most people with social phobia suffer from hyperactivity and the affected part of the brain is amygdala. Therefore, it is responsible for the physical changes that are related to the response of flight or fight. Avalanche of symptoms are triggered, making individuals not usually think (Naim, Kivity, Bar-Haim & Huppert, 2018). The organ diffuses the reactions resulting in prefrontal cortex getting damaged when the condition is severe. The brain becomes very sensitive such that it develops a defensive stance that detects anything that appears as a threat to the social aspect of humans. Therefore, the decisions made usually are to tackle the situation at that moment. If the condition is not severe, the brain manages the fear as the daily activities are not affected.

Anxiety is one of the mental conditions that affect the brain and unlike many diseases such as sadness; changes in the brain chemistry cause depression. The human brain is the engine of the human body, and it controls all the activities that occur within the body. Factors such as changes in body hormones, medical conditions, stress, genetics, and stressful life situations are other factors that have been believed to cause depression. Although statistics show that the rate of females who are affected by anxiety is high than that of men, the disease does not discriminate, and both genders are affected. The other important factor to note is that the disease attacks people at any stage. Every life aspect of individuals such as marriage, parenting, finances, and interaction with friends is affected when one is infected.

Many individuals feel apprehensive and depressed now and then, but when does this one happen? Losing a loved one, performing poorly in schools, being bullied and experiencing other hardships may make an individual feel sad, loneliness, being scared, feeling of nervousness or anxiety. Some individuals experience these feelings on a daily basis, sometimes for even no reason at all. Those individuals might have depression or apprehension disorder. There is a high probability for individuals suffering from anxiety disorder to be also suffering from depression and vice versa. According to various studies, 50% of individuals diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

The rationale of the state is based on the cognitive mind taking over the emotional aspect resulting in one becoming reactive. The lifting of the brakes in the brain makes persons with the illness show little to no response (Gorka, Fitzgerald, Labuschagne, Hosanagar, Wood, Nathan & Phan, 2015). Getting for potential threats is significant since the different situations can be managed according to how the disease attacks one. Most times, the brain be triggered to reach even when nothing has accelerated the actions. The hippocampus encodes the events that are threatening to memories. The size differs depending on life experiences. Therefore, those that have experienced threatening events have a smaller one. The deficit is explicit memory is recorded making the brain develop a negative art of always wanting to protect the body. The brain may also release unnecessary chemicals resulting in the organs managing the condition getting damaged.

Anxiety is diagnosed after a patient shows symptoms such as feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness, loss of interest in things that previously excited them and unending feelings of sadness. Anxiety also changes a patient's sleep pattern where they either have insomnia or excessive sleep. Persons suffering from social anxiety fatigued, cry for no reason, are irritable and withdraw from other people, lack concentration, and have suicidal thoughts.

Difficulties Associated with Social Anxiety

The ability to make sound decisions and skills related to various activities are compromised. Individuals suffering from the disorder are considered as worriers because they are always reactive to any situation that arises. When the levels of being anxious are high, specific actions are taken that become regrettable in the future (Whitfield-Gabrieli, Ghosh, Nieto-Castanon, Saygin, Doehrmann, Chai & Gabrieli, 2016). Therefore, these persons require proper guidance and monitoring since they may get destructive at times. The daily activities are affected since one may become forgetful of essential sessions. Economic hardships have also increased the rates of social anxiety since it leaves people financially crippled. The growing unemployment rate has rendered many people jobless and redundant without a source of income with bills to pay.

Learning and Memory Difficulties That People with Social Anxiety Encounter

It gets challenging to develop romantic relationships since these persons have social hurdles in maintaining relationships. Most times individuals get isolated since they find it difficult to associate with the rest (Baldwin, Asakura, Koyama, Hayano, Hagino, Reines & Larsen, 2016). They are confused about being shy since they avoid gatherings as they will be considered ignorant. Therefore, maintaining the jobs becomes difficult since specific tasks are not accomplished within the set deadlines. The achievement in education gets complicated because the mental structure is altered (Bouchard, Dumoulin, Robillard, Guitard, Klinger, Forget & Roucaut, 2017).

Moreover, the person focuses on how they will react to the different events that arise such as being defensive. The negative thoughts may make some end their lives since they see no meaning in living. Fear becomes severe and results in these persons missing on meaningful opportunities significant to their way of living.

Treatment of Social Anxiety

Remaining in denial makes most people avoid seeking treatment. Therefore, patients get reluctant to talk to strangers for the rear of being judged. Hence, in most cases, one may not realize that they are ailing from a severe illness. Therefore, evading from social situations makes the fear stronger hence lower self-esteem arising. Professionals have recommended patients to attend sessions of cognitive behavior therapy (Hofmann & Otto, 2017). Thus, Cognitive behavior therapy is a better treatment that is crucial to psychology. Cognitive methods define the objectivity of human beings. Cognitive methods are occasioned by a specific framework of neurons in the fore section of the human brain. The development of human medicine to advanced levels has made it possible for some non-imaging methods to observe its reaction to a patient or someone used as a specimen. Cognitive psychology has been very helpful in carrying out treatment procedure of many brain-related diseases and traits in human beings, an accomplishment which could not be realized if only observation and intrusive methods in medicine were to be used. The overall human behavior that is seen externally is therefore chiefly influenced by the psychological activities and cognitive abilities of the brain.

In the recent past, it was restricted to managing depression but has been transformed to handle different situations. The patients are trained that they can control their environment and how they deal with events. Hence, they are asked not to focus on aspects they cannot control. Accordingly, it is divided into various segments resulting in tackling the different issues of social therapy. Dialect behavior therapy manages the thinking patterns and strategies of incorporation such as mindfulness (De Castella, Goldin, Jazaieri, Heimberg, Dweck & Gross, 2015). Multimodal treatment is significant because it addresses the seven interconnected modalities that affect the daily living of individuals. Several medications have been prescribed to treat the disorder.

Medication is given when the condition gets severe, and the therapy strategy has not worked for the persons. Beta blockers are taken orally and reduce the effects of anxiety such as the fast rate of heartbeat. Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors are a more effective form of medication of the disorder. The side effects are severe if the prescriptions are not followed according to the directions. The first line of treatment; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have a sustainable impact during administration. Thus, tapering should be conducted when ending the treatment to avoid withdrawal effects (Kaczkurkin & Foa, 2015). Moreover, the procedure assists in managing the body so that the next time the medication is administered a receptive reaction becomes the result. Common disorders are becoming the significant illnesses for individuals; thus treatment is recommended before the condition gets severe.

Conclusion

Fortunately, not all is lost; there are solutions to anxiety. Anxiety is treatable, and some individuals have successfully battled social anxiety. Healthy measures such as meditation should be taught in the schools, at home, and at the workplace. Teenagers and young adults must be encouraged to make and maintain meaningful social connections with others. It is a fa...