A phobia is a very common condition that not always needs any treatment, but when it interferes with normal daily functioning of a person, it needs to be addressed by a professional, and in this case a person should seek appropriate treatment. A phobia is a fear or anxiety that has great strength, but does not have substantial reasons behind it, as the feared object or situations does not really pose great threat to a person experiencing such fear or anxiety (Mayo Clinic, 2014). Although sometimes a phobia is perceived as simply as strong fear, it is, in fact, a much more “intense physical and psychological reaction” that causes one to feel panic or dread and to avoid the feared situation or object at all costs, even if such behavior disrupts normal living; such reactions are very often uncontrollable and make a person feel powerless (Mayo Clinic, 2014). One of the most common phobias is social phobia also known as social anxiety disorder, which, according to National Institute of Mental Health, is accompanied with “a strong fear of being judged by others and of being embarrassed” (“Social Phobia,” 2013). A person with social phobia fears that he or she will be judged and rejected or embarrassed, especially if he or she shows symptoms of fear, and any social situation causes it, which makes the person avoid it; such fear needs to last for about 6 months and inflict on the person “significant distress” to be considered a social phobia, and the absence of drug effects and other significantly expressed anxiety disorders must be proved (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 203). Being very commonplace, this phobia is often misunderstood, and people, who experience it, are being judged as weird and psychopathic, which only further aggravates the condition of those experiencing it.
I have encountered social phobia with strong panic attacks at least once in my life, when one of my close friends suffered from this disorder. Needless to say that this condition s reduced my friend’s desire to go out and meet people to a minimal level, although he seemed very social before the age of 17. However, since the onset of the disorder, it has become very hard to persuade him even to go to a park or a mall, since he avoided social interactions as much as possible, although he acted absolutely normal in private setting. One of the many effects this phobia had on his life was his increasing loneliness and depression, as well as his leaving work in the office because of the inability to tolerate the presence of other people for fear of their judgement and rejection. These symptoms coincide with the first seven criteria listed in DSM-V, and when he sought professional treatment after 2 years of experiencing social phobia, the last three criteria were also satisfied for him to be diagnosed with the disorder and receive adequate treatment. The one most personally relevant experience, however, happened when I and my friend were at a party, and he suddenly started having a panic attacked, with his heartbeat becoming incredibly fast, his breathing very disrupted, him abnormally sweating and being unable to control his reactions. He repeatedly told that he needed to leave the party immediately. An hour later he explained that he felt very inadequate surrounded by people and that he feared any negative, harsh or cruel reaction from them because he felt that he was socially weird, uninteresting and inadequate. These fears stemmed from his childhood memories of being bullied and rejected by local children when he moved to a new neighborhood with his parents. Although I explained to him that he was just as normal and just as strange as everyone else, and that other guests of the party actually never paid any special attention to his behavior, these words could not relieve his pain. Luckily, cognitive-behavioral therapy helped him live through his memories again, accept that it was only his past experience that did not define him, and he has successfully recovered 2 years after the therapy combined with anxiety-relieving medication.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Mayo Clinic. (2014, February 8). Phobias. Retrieved March 30, 2016, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/phobias/basics/definition/CON-20023478?p=1
Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder): Always Embarrassed. (2013). Retrieved March 30, 2016, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/social-phobia-social-anxiety-disorder-always-embarrassed/index.shtml
