Social Anxiety Test: How to Know If You Have Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder is one of the most common types of anxiety. It’s commonly known as social phobia. It happens when you have extreme fears in social settings. If you are suffering from a social anxiety disorder, you will be hesitant to talk to people, meet new people, and even attend social gatherings. In this article, I will discuss all you need to know about social anxiety tests and how you can conduct them yourself.
If you have a social anxiety disorder, you will always be afraid of what other people think about you. In order words, you will be afraid of being judged or scrutinized.
Of course, as a social anxiety disorder patient, you may know that your fears are irrational and unreasonable. But overcoming them won’t be easy.
Again, let me clarify something quickly. Social anxiety disorder is completely different from shyness. While shyness is only for a short time, social anxiety is debilitating and persistent. An untreated social phobia could affect your ability to work, attend school, and develop good relationships with people.
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How To Know If You Have Social Anxiety Disorder
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), about 15 million American adults have a social anxiety disorder. Most times, social phobic patients start experiencing the symptoms as early as age 13.
Sometimes, you may have social phobia without knowing. So, it’s advisable always to undergo a social anxiety test whenever you experience antisocial symptoms like reluctance to meet new people and the fear of being judged or scrutinized by other people.
Social anxiety test is a psychological examination that’s tailored towards ascertaining your social anxiety status. You can either do the test online or visit a psychologist to administer the test offline.
Again, social anxiety tests are usually a list of questions that reflect life experiences common among social phobia patients. Below are common questions asked in a social anxiety test questionnaire;
What Social Anxiety Test is best for me?
A test that is closely aligned with the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-V for social anxiety disorder would be the best choice. However, there are multiple options, one that is simple and closely aligns with the DSM criteria is the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. It has 24 questions with a rating scale of 1 to 4, answering questions about how you feel in certain situations.
Frequently Asked Questions During Social Anxiety Disorder Test
- Do you always feel anxious or panicky during a social gathering or event?
- Are you always afraid of being evaluated or scrutinized by people when in public?
- Do you always avoid social situations due to fear or anxiety?
- Do you easily think that people are judging you as being anxious, weak, crazy, stupid, intimidating, etc. whenever you are in public?
- Are you always worried that people will notice anxiety symptoms like sweating, blushing, trembling, staring, etc. you while in a social situation?
- Are you over conscious of your actions in public due to fear of offending someone or being rejected?
- Are you always reluctant to meet someone new?
- Are you afraid of speaking in public?
- Do you always avoid public restrooms where other people might see you?
Therefore, during a social anxiety test, you will be asked the questions mentioned earlier. And the answers you provide will enable whoever is assessing you to know if you are socially phobic or not.
Symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder
Certain symptoms are associated with social anxiety disorder. Once you start experiencing them, you don’t need to undergo a social anxiety test to know that you have a disorder.
The symptoms are physical, emotional, behavioral, and social. Here are some of them;
Social Symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder
- The fear of asking questions in public
- The fear of job interviews
- The fear of going shopping in public spaces
- You have the fear of using public restrooms
- Fear of eating in public
- Avoid having interaction with unfamiliar people.
- The fear of attending parties and other social gatherings
Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms of Anxiety Disorder
- Excessive fear of being judged or scrutinized by others
- The fear of embarrassing or humiliating yourself
- Always expecting the worst possible consequences from every negative situation in a social setting.
- You avoid doing things or speak with people out of fear.
- Spending time analyzing your performance and identifying flaws in your interaction after a social setting
Physical Symptoms
- Fast heart rate
- Trembling
- Nausea
- Lightheadedness
- Blushing
- Sweating
- Muscle Tension
- Trouble catching your breath.
Causes of Social Anxiety Disorder?
It’s difficult to give the exact cause of social anxiety disorder. But studies suggest that it’s a blend of environmental and genetic factors. Again, if you had a negative experience like bullying, family conflict, sexual abuse, etc. in the past, you are prone to social anxiety disorder.
Furthermore, there are instances when physical abnormalities like serotonin contribute to social phobia. Let me explain, serotonin is a mood-regulating chemical in the brain.
Similarly, if you have an overactive amygdala (the structure of your brain that controls your fear response, feelings, or thought), you are also prone to having a social anxiety disorder.
Sometimes, anxiety disorder could be genetics (it runs in the family). For instance, a child can unconsciously inherit anxiety disorder from his/her parents who previously suffered from it.
Lastly, children raised in a controlling and overprotective environment could also have a social anxiety disorder.
What’s the Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder
There are different treatment options available for anxiety disorder, depending on the patient. While one type of treatment is enough to treat some people with social anxiety disorder, others require a combination of two or three treatment options. Utilizing individualized therapy in combination with group therapy can be helpful in making a client feel they are not alone.
Here are some common treatment options for social anxiety disorder;
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a common treatment option for social anxiety disorder. It involves learning how to control your anxiety through relaxation and breathing.
During cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions, you will be taught how to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. This treatment option works better during the early days of the condition.
Exposure Therapy
Exposure therapy is another effective treatment option for social anxiety disorder. It involves gradually exposing social anxiety patients to social settings or events. The treatment option is effective and can help to blend people with social anxiety into social settings easily.
Virtual Reality Therapy
Virtual reality can be used to help a patient “go” to a place in their mind with a visual image that helps them “be there” without being there. The therapist can see the client’s responses while in these social situations.
They can practice relaxation techniques while being in these stressful situations. This will help the stressor which is the social environment and the potential to be criticized in it, will be lessened.
Motivational Interviewing and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Motivational interviewing can help a client see why they need to face their fears and focus on why they truly want to reduce this anxiety.
In combination with mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy, they can reduce their symptoms of depression, anxiety, and overall self-image. Mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy works by decreasing their negative emotional response, reducing their emotional reactivity while improving their emotional regulation. (Goldin & Gross, 2010)
Essentially it helps an individual gain better control over their emotional response that they may not have felt they had when they were experiencing symptoms of social anxiety.
Group Therapy
This therapy helps people suffering from social anxiety to learn social skills and techniques that will enable them to interact freely in a social setting.
During a group therapy session, you participate with other people who have the same disorder. This will give you the confidence to participate and learn new skills through role-playing.
Avoid Caffeine
If you have a social anxiety disorder, try to avoid foods like coffee, chocolate, soda, etc. They are stimulants that could trigger anxiety.
If you feel the need to drink caffeine, do not drink it after 3 pm so it does not mess up your sleep schedule. Also, try consuming less caffeine and supplementing with an adaptogenic herb such as Ashwagandha.
There is a coffee brand that contains ashwagandha along with mushrooms that help create balance. (no it does NOT taste like mushrooms or herbs, I promise!)
Caffeine increases cortisol and adaptogenic herbs help reduce your cortisol response and help you have more sustained energy.
Get Enough Sleep
Everyone needs to get plenty of sleep in order to keep their mental health intact. Otherwise, anxiety will increase and possibly worsen social phobia symptoms.
Research shows that getting less than eight hours of sleep per night can increase your risk for stroke, heart disease, and other serious illnesses by as much as 20% or more.
How to Keep Your Fears Under Control
Sometimes, the effectiveness of your social phobia treatment depends on how well you can manage or control your fears. Below are tips to help you keep your fears under control;
- Always practice relaxation and breathing techniques. It helps to calm your nerves and put the anxiety under control.
- Try to recognize the triggers that always make you feel nervous or out of control.
- Take your medications as prescribed by your health provider.
References:
Goldin, P. R., & Gross, J. J. (2010). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder. Emotion, 10(1), 83–91. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018441
Originally posted 2022-02-27 05:04:09.
Megan Santiago
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