Social phobia, like Agoraphobia, was thought to be identical to a fear of spiders or heights, but the trigger is related to social situations. However, this theory has proved to be untrue, and social phobias are now its own family of phobias and are recognized to have distinct symptoms, treatments, and risk factors.
The most common social phobia is a fear of speaking in public, although it is not the only social phobia. All social phobias are based upon a feeling that you will be judged or ridiculed for your actions among other people. This can lead to people who suffer from social phobias to become very shy and isolated which has its own set of risk factors, namely drug and alcohol abuse. Many who suffer from social phobias will frequently drink or use drugs before facing certain social situations so that they will 'loosen up,' but like other phobias, this behavior begins a vicious cycle that only strengthens the social phobia.
Because they appear drunk or high in public, the situation oftentimes will become a self fulfilling prophesy and they do in fact embarrass themselves and put themselves in a position to be judged. What happens is it leads to additional drug as well as alchohol abuse and avoiding situations which are feared; as this progresses they become increasingly entrenched in their isolationism as well as their substance abuse.
Although most people do not understand social phobias, they are all too real for many people. The most common treatment for social phobias is the use of anti-anxiety medication to calm the social phobia sufferer and help them forget about their worries of embarrassing themselves or being judged. However, prescribing anti-anxiety medication can be dangerous if the social phobia sufferer has a drug or alcohol addiction. Anti-anxiety medicine typically intensifies the effects of drugs or alcohol, and they should not be mixed. This factor can complicate the treatment of social phobias if the symptoms have gone untreated for too long.
Because social phobias present much more risk of developing a substance abuse problem than other phobias, like a fear of snakes or heights, etc., it must be taken very seriously. Care must be taken to ensure that a social phobia does not spawn a cycle of substance abuse and isolationism that could ruin someone's life forever. Although it may sound like a stretch, the irrationality of phobias and the addictive natural of drugs and alcohol make sufferers of social phobias extremely likely to get pulled into a lifestyle that they did not want.
If you think that someone you know may have a social phobia, you may need to recommend that they speak to a specialist about their problem. Although most people insist that they do not need any help, treating a social phobia can drastically improve someone's life and relieve them of a lot of anxiety. If you notice unbalanced drug or alcohol use, it is all the more important that you get involved before they create another set of problems for themselves.
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