What Is Social Phobia?

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For many years, it was thought that social phobias were a type of specific phobia that simply had a different trigger, but closer examination has shown an error in this line of thinking. Social phobias are perhaps more serious than specific phobias, especially since a link has been made between social phobias and drug or alcohol abuse.

The most common social phobia is a fear of speaking in public, although it is not the only social phobia. Most if not all phobias which are social in nature are founded on a feeling that you will end up being ridiculed or judged 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. This only leads to more alcohol or drug abuse and avoidance of the situations they fear; as this continues they become more entrenched in their isolationism, and 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 suspect that someone close to you has a social phobia, you may want to speak to them about seeing a psychologist about their problem. This is even truer if you notice that they begin or have been using drugs or alcohol excessively. There may be a tendency to want to avoid offending them or getting in their business, but remember that phobias are completely irrational and make people behave strangely, as do drugs and alcohol.

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