PHOBIA

Social phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder)

Social phobia is also known as Social Anxiety Disorder.  

After 1960, social fear is explained in isolation from other fear disorders.  Social fear disorder is a very common type of disorder.  According to a survey, the prevalence of this disorder is higher in women than in men.  This social fear is more prevalent in the early period of adolescence and early adulthood.  About 40 percent of individuals with this disorder have symptoms of anxiety disorders and depressive depression.  

Social fears mainly involve the experience of discomfort during social interaction and the fear of negative evaluation by other individuals.  The presence of other people and the discomfort experienced during interaction with them creates fear and anxiety in the person.  

It causes some physical symptoms such as excessive sweating, difficulty in breathing, tremors, abnormally fast heartbeat, vomiting or nausea.  

Individuals with social fears are usually distressed by the presence of another person in more than one social situation.  A person with this disorder constantly experiences that the other person is deeply examining his or her behavior, the presence of another person is only to disturb or demean him.  So the person either ignores the social situation or tolerates it very stressfully.  Especially in public speaking, using public toilets, eating in public, etc., the person is seen to feel fear.

Fear of open space (Agoraphobia):

The fear of open space is called Agoraphobia in English.

It is derived from the Greek word agora which means public place.  A person who usually suffers from fear of open space constantly believes that when a dangerous situation arises he will not be accompanied by other people or it will be difficult to take himself to a safe place from that dangerous situation.  So they avoid going to the streets, social gatherings, shopping centers, theaters, playgrounds, etc. alone.  

0It is very difficult for a person to stand in line, use public transport, cross a bridge, etc. to face the situation alone.  The DSM-V shows five main conditions. If a person experiences fear or anxiety over two of these conditions for more than six months, it can be said that the person suffers from open space fear.  

The five conditions outlined in DSM-V are as follows: 

1. use of public transport (e.g. use of bus, railway, plane, etc.)  

2. Reaching a closed place (e.g. going to shops, theaters or cinema houses.) 

3. Standing in line or going in a crowd.  

4. Going out of the house alone. 

Individuals suffering from fear of open space are found to ignore the above mentioned situations or feel extremely anxious to face such situations.

[Reference - Std 12 psychology textbook]

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