The most common form of social phobia is a fear of public speaking. In some cases, social phobias can cause people to avoid social situations including school and work, which can have a major impact on the individual's well-being and ability to function.
1) Arachnophobia – fear of spiders
Arachnophobia is the most common phobia – sometimes even a picture can induce feelings of panic. And lots of people who aren't phobic as such still avoid spiders if they can.
Social anxiety disorder is an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others. This fear can affect work, school, and other daily activities. It can even make it hard to make and keep friends.
How common is social anxiety? If you have social anxiety disorder you're not alone: around 11 per cent of Australians experience social anxiety during their lifetime. around 7 per cent experience social anxiety in any 12-month period.
Anxiety disorders (such as Social Phobia) are the most common type of disorder, affecting 1 in 6 (17%, or 3.3 million) Australians, followed by Affective disorders (such as Depressive Episode) (8%), and Substance Use disorders (such as Alcohol Dependence) (3. %).
Each year, about 1 in every 5 Australians will experience a mental illness. Almost half the population has experienced a mental health disorder at some time in their life.
How Can It Affect Your Life? Social anxiety disorder prevents you from living your life. You'll avoid situations that most people consider “normal.” You might even have a hard time understanding how others can handle them so easily. When you avoid all or most social situations, it affects your personal relationships.
Anxiety disorders don't necessarily get worse with age. But the number of people dealing with them may change across the lifespan.
Extreme social anxiety: A person with extreme social anxiety may experience more intense symptoms of social anxiety, such as a panic attack, in social situations. Because of this, people with extreme social anxiety usually avoid social situations at all costs.
Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of having peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth. Arachibutyrophobia is a rare phobia that involves a fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth.
Common examples of simple phobias include: animal phobias – such as dogs, spiders, snakes or rodents. environmental phobias – such as heights, deep water and germs. situational phobias – such as visiting the dentist or flying.
Phobias can develop around any object or situation. Some people may experience multiple phobias.
550+ Types of Phobias A to Z
Essentially, any object, activity, or situation can become a phobia if associated with a traumatic experience or irrational idea gripped by emotion.
* There are over 500 named phobias, listed at the Phobia List web site . Most are extremely rare.
Anxiety disorders can make it difficult for pre-teens and teenagers to do everyday things like go to school, learn and socialise. They can also cause difficulties in their relationships with family and friends. Pre-teens and teenagers with anxiety disorders usually respond very well to professional treatment.
When severe or chronic, social anxiety can lead to the development of other conditions, such as depression or substance use disorders. In children, the symptoms appear in interactions with both adults and peers. Their feelings of anxiety might appear as: crying.
A simplified version of what goes on in the brain:
We can say that no one is "born" with social anxiety. You may remember circumstances and events from very early in life, but there is no "gene" that codes for social anxiety, and there is not an immutable set of genes that cause social anxiety to occur.
Often, social anxiety starts in childhood. Emotionally, a person may feel self-conscious and uncomfortable about being noticed or judged by others. They might fear being embarrassed, looking foolish, making a mistake, or being criticized or laughed at.
It's a common problem that usually starts during the teenage years. It can be very distressing and have a big impact on your life. For some people it gets better as they get older. But for many people it does not go away on its own without treatment.
A mental health issue may be considered a disability, but not always. There are many different types of mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, personality disorders and schizophrenia.
50% of mental health problems are established by age 14 and 75% by age 24. 10% of children and young people (aged 5 to 16 years) have a clinically diagnosable mental problem3, yet 0% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.
In their lifetimes, about one in five Australians will experience depression. Around the world, depression affects around 300 million people. Depression is the most commonly experienced mental health challenge for young people aged between 12-25 years old.