http://www.social-anxiety-network.com/third.html
The Third Largest
Mental Health Care Problem
in the World
Everyone has heard of alcoholism and depression, the two top mental
health care problems. But number three on this list is social
anxiety disorder, formerly called "social phobia".
Very few people have heard of social anxiety disorder (the acronym
of which should be the "true" SAD).
How is social anxiety going to compete against all the other, but
more unusual, mental health problems, such as schizophrenia,
multiple personality disorder, Tourette's Syndrome, antisocial
personality disorder, bipolar disorder, or even another anxiety
disorder, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder?
Social anxiety disorder, in comparison, is downright boring. It has
no "strange" elements that are visible to others. There are no
"sexy" elements to it. It is a disease of inhibition (shyness) and
avoidance. A person with social anxiety disorder typically shrinks
into the background and is usually not heard.
Can you see a movie-of-the-week about a very shy person who rarely
leaves the house except to go to work, who has no friends, and is
afraid of answering the door at times? This would be highly
interesting drama, wouldn't it?
This scenario partially explains the lack of understanding the
general public has about social anxiety.
The second problem is that people with social anxiety are afraid of
making appointments with mental health care professionals.
Why? It is hard to call and talk to another person, in the first
place. Then, if they are able to overcome this difficulty, the
"professional" typically does not understand what the
socially-anxious person is living with, prescribes a few relaxation
techniques, some medication, and tells the person that they are
really "OK".
This scenario, which can happen time and time again, is highly
debilitating for people with social anxiety. It reinforces the fact
that they have a horrible, life-restricting disorder that causes
extreme anxiety in most social situations, AND NO ONE CAN EVEN
UNDERSTAND IT, let alone help them.
"I must be the only one in the world who has this horrible
disease.
"I am a freak. I am just weird. No one else in the world is going
through what I'm going through."
The feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that are experienced
are intense; in fact, many professionals see this as "depression"
and never get at what the person is depressed about (i.e., being
socially anxious).
Learn more while you're here. This website is dedicated to the
better understanding and treatment of social anxiety disorder
(social phobia).