If you are simply shy, then you don’t want a doctor bombarding you with drugs and other therapies. And yet if you suffer from genuine social fears, you definitely want the right diagnosis and whatever medical treatments are appropriate. The problem is that sometimes simple shyness is mistaken for one of the types of anxiety disorders, and drugs are prescribed when some coaching in public social skills would have served better. So it’s important for doctors to be able to tell the difference, and to offer the right solution for each problem.
Shyness usually manifests at a young age, where the person feels nervousness and fear in an unfamiliar social situation or when they encounter new people. Much of the nervousness revolves around the feeling that they will do something to look foolish in front of the people, or that they will have negative judgments made of them.
This phenomenon often fades as the person grows older and learns that they can do public things without looking foolish, and their confidence builds. When the fears of social circumstances get worse and can’t simply be “gotten over” with a little work, they are identified as genuine anxiety disorders.
One of the characteristics of social fears that goes beyond simple shyness is that even though the sufferer knows rationally that there is little to fear, they find it virtually impossible to overcome their anxiety through will power, pep talks or confidence exercises. Meanwhile, they find themselves almost incapacitated by the anxiety attacks or other intense symptoms that accompany even their slightest foray into a public situation.
Discovering the difference between genuine social fears and a severe case of ordinary shyness is crucial to applying the right treatment. Overcoming a social phobia may involve cognitive therapy, which might resemble the coaching people sometimes get to help overcome shyness. But you are also likely to be given antidepressants, which are often good treatments for the social anxiety, but which should not be used just to help a person overcome shyness. Having the right treatment involves first making the correct diagnosis.
Darren Wilson is a regular contributor to Panic and Anxiety Disorders. You might be interested in his latest article: Physical Symptoms of Anxiety.