Social Phobia

Social Phobia

Social phobia, also called social anxiety disorder, is a disorder characterized by overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations. People with social phobia have a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and of being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions. Their fear may be so severe that it interferes with work or school - and other ordinary activities. Social phobia sufferers often worry for days or weeks in advance of a dreaded situation. 

Social Phobia can be limited to only one type of situation - such as a fear of speaking in formal or informal situations, or eating or drinking in front of others - or, in its most severe form, may be so broad that a person experiences symptoms almost anytime they are around other people.

Physical symptoms often accompany Social Phobia include blushing, profuse sweating, trembling, and other symptoms of anxiety, including difficulty talking and nausea or other stomach discomfort. These visible symptoms heighten the fear of disapproval and the symptoms themselves can become an additional focus of fear. Fear of symptoms can create a vicious cycle: as people with Social Phobia worry about experiencing the symptoms, the greater their chances of developing the symptoms.

How common is Social Phobia

• About 3.7% of the U.S. population ages 18 to 54 - approximately 5.3 million Americans - has Social Phobia in any given year
• Social Phobia occurs in women twice as often as in men, although a higher proportion of men seeks help for this disorder
• The disorder typically begins in childhood or early adolescence and rarely develops after age 25

What causes Social Phobia?

A small structure in the brain called the amygdala is responsible for the symptoms of Social Phobia. The amygdala is the central site in the brain that controls fear responses and produces the symptoms of anxiety disorders such as social phobia.

Investigation shows the environment's influence on the development of social phobia. People with Social Phobia may acquire their fear from observing the behavior and consequences of others, a process called observational learning or social modeling.

What treatments are available for Social Phobia?

To eliminate social phobia, the cause of the phobia must be addressed directly. The Amygdala does not respond to medication or psychotherapy, a more direct approach is required. The Linden Method addresses the root cause of social phobia and is simple to implement, permanent and guaranteed!

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Phobias – what are they?

Phobias can be divided into two distinct types:

Specific Phobia

Specific phobias are usually to things such as dentists and doctors, heights, flying, dogs or snakes for example. Whilst specific phobias can cause anxiety and even panic to happen on exposure to them, they are not caused by generalized anxiety or an underlying anxiety disorder.

Social Phobia

Social Phobia is anxiety caused by exposure to social situations and interaction with other people. Includes fear of public speaking or performance, eating in public, writing in front of someone and other social interaction.

Social phobia sufferers experience an overwhelming and frightening fear of being scrutinized or of being embarrassed or humiliated. This can lead to avoiding situations where this could happen, which means missing out on many pleasurable aspects of life.

Agoraphobia – what is it and how can YOU overcome it?

Agoraphobia is officially defined as the fear of the marketplace and although not strictly a phobia, rather a symptom of anxiety, it can be categorized as such because of the specific reaction it causes. Agoraphobia often affects sufferers in far more diverse places than just crowded or open places. Agoraphobia is taken to mean a reaction to a geographic location – this could be far from home, where escape or retreat is restricted (e.g. theatre, cinema, train) or anywhere when you are alone and feel vulnerable.

Agoraphobia develops as a coping device in high anxiety. Sufferers develop symptoms and thoughts of which they become scared, they start to depend on a person or place of safety and this place becomes their sanctuary, where they feel calm or experience a reduction of their anxiety symptoms.

Agoraphobia, like all other phobias can be eliminated using a structured program. Agoraphobia, is, in fact, the easiest phobia to cure as its existence is directly linked to your anxiety disorder – without the underlying anxiety, agoraphobia simply can’t exist.

Social Phobia (social anxiety) – what is it?

Social phobia (social anxiety) is an anxiety reaction to any situation which means that you must interact with other people. Social phobia (social anxiety) can cause mild anxiety to extreme panic attacks and the situation which creates anxiety could be interaction with just one or perhaps a crowd of people. Every social phobia (social anxiety) sufferer is different.

Some social phobia (social anxiety) can happen when you go on dates, talk to a person in authority or just interact with anyone with whom you are not fully comfortable as well as causing problems in larger groups or when confronted with having to perform or speak in public.

Many social phobics experience problems when they have to eat or write in front of another person also.

Social phobia (social anxiety) is a symptom of an anxiety disorder. Because the sufferer’s general anxiety levels are artificially raised all of the time, just a slight increase can cause an anxiety reaction and even panic.

The good news is that social phobia (social anxiety), can be eliminated by addressing the underlying anxiety that causes it.

Phobia Elimination – is it possible?

Phobias are symptoms of an anxiety disorder and NOT stand-alone disorders. Anxiety disorders occur when the 'anxiety switch', the Amygdala, in the brain, becomes stuck in the ON position as a result of repeated anxiety provoking situations or, less commonly, a one-off trauma which has caused the sufferer to experience high anxiety.

The Amygdala is the organ in the brain that regulates and stores the anxiety response and it is this which MUST be addressed in order to return the anxious response back down to normal in order to eliminate your agoraphobia… in fact any phobia, completely.

There is an effective way of overcoming and conquering phobias permanently.

With anxiety, it is important to gain control of this response as soon as you feel it developing. The Linden Method will show you how you can take control simply and effectively, no matter how long you have suffered.

Our clients who suffer from agoraphobia and social phobia find that by reducing and eliminating the anxiety which causes and drives their phobias, they can become anxiety free, more confident and more effective in their lives.

Our Linden Method Specialists are trained to help, support and advise you at every step of your journey and will always be there to do so whenever you need them.

Panic And Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is one of the so-called anxiety disorders and is the result of an increased level of anxiety which is caused by a change in the way a small organ called the Amygdala, in the brain, responds to anxiety-provoking thoughts or situations.

When this process becomes disrupted, the sufferer develops feelings of anxiety which may escalate into panic attacks or Panic disorder.

Panic Disorder has such diverse and sometimes extreme symptoms. BUT, this is caused by the same internal mechanism in every single sufferer. The brain thinks it is behaving normally as it has become re-set at a higher than normal level of anxiety due to a catalyst of some sort; the catalyst is unimportant actually, what is important, however, is that an internal switch, which activates the anxiety response in the brain has been 'adjusted' to a higher level of anxiety and it is this that causes and perpetuates the Panic Disorder. I don't like the term disorder, it suggests illness and anxiety isn't an illness, it's a natural device that can become disturbed.

Panic Attacks

What are the causes of panic attacks and how can they be eliminated completely ?

Panic attacks or anxiety attacks, are the result of reaching a level of inappropriate anxiety at which Adrenalin, the hormone responsible for the anxiety reaction, is not used up by either fighting or fleeing.

When too much adrenalin is present and your body hasn't 'used it up' appropriately, the subconscious mind activates a 'panic attack'. This panic attacks 'mops up' all the excess adrenalin.

Panic attacks sufferers often visit their physician to be told they have 'stress' or 'depression' and then receive prescriptions for antidepressants or sedative which have next to zero therapeutic affect – how wrong is that?

Panic attacks (anxiety attacks) can happen just once, or can become regular when, what is known as, a panic disorder develops.

Panic attacks can cause a disturbing group of symptoms which cause the sufferer to fear the next attack and UNFORTUNATELY, it is this fear of having another attack that causes another to happen.

Panic Attacks & Panic Disorder - The truth

Panic attacks (anxiety attacks) sufferers can be subjected to a large group of both physical and psychological symptoms during high anxiety and panic attacks.

Sufferers may also experience what are called 'limited symptom panic attacks' during which, maybe as few as three or four symptoms are experienced.

Most panic attacks produce, what seem like, overwhelming symptoms and thoughts that make the sufferer believe that they are ill, about to pass out or even die!