Are you "socially afraid" today?

Do you have "social phobia"?

Social phobia, or "social phobia" for short, has become a buzzword on the Web today. Afraid to call, greet others, avoid public speaking and speaking... Social phobia seems to have become an exclusive epidemic for young people.

What is "social phobia"?

Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder, is a mental illness. When faced with one or more social situations that may be scrutinized by others, patients may develop significant feelings of anxiety or fear, accompanied by physical manifestations such as blushing, trembling, rapid heartbeat, and inability to look at others. The disease usually begins in childhood or adolescence, but a small proportion of people develop it in adulthood.

Nowadays, the popularity of the term "social fear" stems more from the self-deprecation of young people, the meaning has been generalized and entertained, and the disease itself has not received public attention.

Introvert ≠ company fear

We usually think of introverts and socially intimidated people as a wave of people who are uncomfortable for an extra minute in public, while the extroverted wave can generally talk to unfamiliar people.

But in fact, social fear and introversion are two different things.

In daily life, some people with social phobia have certain social phobia symptoms, but they do not seriously affect their daily lives, and the level of anxiety is not to the point where they need treatment after clinical diagnosis.

The most typical feature of social phobia is that they are very afraid of receiving negative comments in one or some social situations, so they tend to think that they are not good enough, afraid of authority figures, worried that they are behaving unnaturally, and feel anxious about being the focus of attention.

The introversion is related to the extraversion dimension of the big five personality, and the division of extraversion is based on whether people enjoy the company of others and the level of energy level, so introverts are silent and like to be alone, and extroverts are active and social.

We can also see the difference between the two from the reasons for refusing social activities: the reason for introverts to refuse is often "how good it is to stay alone", while the reason for the refusal of social terrorists will be "there are friends with friends, so embarrassed not to count".

Is it possible for a person to be gregarious and energetic while feeling uncomfortable in social situations? Of course there will be! This is extroverted social fear.

Extroverted social terrorists are very much want to be accepted by the group, want to socialize, want to be liked by others, but at the same time worry about the negative evaluation of others, so the daily life is full of entanglements and contradictions, such as:

It's especially easy to feel that there are some things you don't do well enough with others

All the details of interpersonal communication will be engraved in the mind

I am very concerned about my performance in the eyes of others

Reluctance to express opinions contrary to others

Avoid any possibility of hurting others

It's always stressful to socialize with people I don't know, but I'd like to participate next time

Being alone is easy, but it's also boring

Compared with the traditional introverted social fear type, the "contradictory" characteristics of extroverted social fear bring them more tension and anxiety.

Moreover, the results of the study found that there are not a few people who belong to "extroverted social fear", and even more than the introverts + social fears.

Causes of "social phobia"

Due to the accelerated pace of life and the increase in pressure in modern society, many people are more or less facing some psychological problems. There are several factors that cause social anxiety disorder.

Social factors

Among the current young people, only children account for the majority, coupled with the relative independence of urban life, so the social frequency is much lower than that of the previous generation.

In addition, the rise of smart phones and the Internet has made social media software popular, and young people are more accustomed to communication in the virtual world and are no longer accustomed to exposing themselves to people, resulting in "social fear".

Educational factors

In the traditional way of education, it is more inclined to let children get recognition from elders, teachers and others in communication, rather than encouraging children to simply express themselves.

Therefore, when they grow up, these children have a high demand for recognition from others, and if they can't get the recognition they want in social activities, they are prone to avoidance.

Personal factors

Patients with social phobia often have biases in cognitive processing, and when facing the crowd, it is easy to exaggerate the possibility of negative results or make negative interpretations of ambiguous situations.

For example, anxiety arises from the fear of being ridiculed for misbehaving, being judged negatively by others, and so on.

What to do with "social phobia"

In fact, most of the "social fear" people do not need to carry out relevant treatment, as long as they choose to work that does not deal with people, reduce the frequency of social activities, etc., they can maintain a normal life.

However, if the symptoms of social phobia persist for 6 months or more, and seriously affect daily work, study and social activities, and impair social functions, you should consider seeking help from professionals such as psychologists.

For patients with milder degrees of social phobia, desensitization therapy, mindfulness therapy, etc. can be tried. In addition, you must also learn to adjust your self-perception, not to label yourself, draw conclusions, etc., and participate in social activities that can express yourself.

Severe social phobia is often accompanied by problems such as depression, so "social phobia" should not be taken lightly, and problems should be sought in time. If necessary, appropriate medication is prescribed under the guidance of a physician.

Source: China Public Health Network, Fruit Shell