SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER

Social anxiety is defined as feeling uneasy, full of dread and apprehensive about social interaction. It is a concern about being judged negatively by others. Generally, it surfaces in adolescene or early adulthood. In the USA, social anxiety is the most common anxiety disorder and the third most common mental disorder. It is a worldwide disorder. In addition to being afraid that s/he will make mistakes, that person’s quality of life may be significantly affected. Social anxiety disorder may be caused by biological, psychological, and environmental circumstances.

Firstly, there is no doubt that biological factors may be a cause of social anxiety disorder because it tends to run in families. According to the research by the Foundation of Pyshical and Mental Health, social anxiety disorder might be more likely to occur if parents or a first degree relative have increased anxiety;  this is because  genetic factors may also contribute.

The second cause of social anxiety disorder is psychological factors. Everyone is anxious before exiciting events but if their anxiety develops, they may have social anxiety disorder in the future. This feeling might stem from embarrassing or humiliating social experiences in the past. For example, a child who was laughed at during a presentation in class might have social anxiety disorder now because he developed his anxiety due to the humiliation.

Finally, environmental circumstances may be responsible for social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety is a learned behavior so the person can develop it  from witnessing the anxious behavior of others. This may lead to negative attitudes to society or even alienation from society.

To sum up, social anxiety disorder means social interactions cause important anxiety because of fear of being judged (because of fear of judgement) by others. It may even interfere with normal daily routine. Biological, psychological and environmental factors may have effects on social anxiety disorder.