Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Social phobia in a nutshell - part 2

How widely is social phobia spread?
It is established, that from 3 up to 13 % of people suffered from various social fears during certain periods of their life. From 1 up to 2,5 % of people suffer from social phobia during all their life. In course of investigations from 80 up to 90 % of people answered in the affirmative to the question whether they ever felt shyness in their life. And 30-40 % of men and women consider themselves shy all the time.

What are sociophobics mainly afraid of?
Overwhelming majority of people with social phobia are afraid to perform in public as it is accompanied with the necessity to communicate with strangers. Other wide-spread social phobias are: fear to consume food and water in the presence of other people, fear to fill in receipts, checks and other corresponding written forms in the presence of third parties, etc.

When does social phobia usually appear?
Fear of communication usually appears between fifteen and twenty years. Usually it goes away as a young person gets accustomed to this or that situation. But sometimes it takes the form of phobia and people start to avoid those social situations. Thus, social phobia may take a prolonged form if it is not treated on the fly. Social phobia can recede, for example, when a person is in close relations with someone dear to him or her.

Who usually suffer from social phobia?
Social phobia can victimize both men and women, irrespectively of their education and occupation.

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