Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) is the intense fear of social situations. The condition affects 9% of women and 7% of men within a year period.
People with social anxiety disorder:
* Avoid interactions with other people
* Are extremely afraid of being judged negatively by others
* Feel humiliated, embarrassed, and inadequate more easily than others
Social anxiety may be:
* Generalized to all social interactions
* Specific to certain social situations, such as public speaking
Social anxiety is much more severe than shyness; it interferes with normal functioning at work, school, or in other situations and carries physical reactions. The fear of social situations is seen by the respective person as being more than it is expected and not within reason, but children may not have this insight about their behavior
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