Learn about social phobia: symptoms, tests, and exposure exercises

People with social phobia often experience insecurity in their encounters with other people. Many times you realize that the anxiety is exaggerated about how serious the situation is – but you still find it hard to calm yourself down.

The thing that defines social phobia is the constant fear of being scrutinized or of excluding oneself in social situations. It is also common to feel nervous and anxious before encounters with new people, not least in larger groups.

List: Social phobia – common symptoms

Social phobia can occur differently from person to person and so the symptoms can vary. Here are some common symptoms of social phobia:

• You get throbbing.
• You get dry mouth.
• You blush, feel hot, or feel a cold sweat.
• It may feel like a lump in the stomach or throat.
• You feel twitching or weakness in your muscles.
• You feel dizzy or like you are going to pass out.

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Then you could suffer from social phobia

according to Doctor.se Is social phobia more serious than shyness and performance anxiety? How and when it is observed is very individual, but here are some examples:

• When speaking in front of a group of people.
• When to eat or drink in public.
• When you have to perform actions while someone is seeing or hearing.
• when talking to strangers.
• when talking on the phone.
• When you have to be around authority figures.

What is the difference between social phobia and social anxiety?

Social anxiety was previously known as social phobia. In other words, they describe the same diagnosis, and nothing separates the concepts.

What is social anxiety disorder?

Social Anxiety Disorder is an acronym for SAD which is the English term for social phobia.

Social phobia – test

How do you know if you have social phobia? It cannot be determined on your own – the diagnosis should be made by a physician, psychologist or licensed psychotherapist.

There are many tests online where you can test how likely you are to have social phobia or social anxiety, but they do not diagnose.

1177 states on its website that you should contact a health center or psychiatric outpatient clinic if you suspect you have social phobia.

Tips on exposure exercises for the person with social phobia

Social anxiety and social phobia are treated with cognitive behavioral therapy, CBT, which includes exposure exercises. Then you are exposed to situations that cause social anxiety.

Exposure exercises are done gradually and aim to gradually accustom the patient to dealing with the phobia.