Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is an overwhelming and disabling fear of scrutiny, embarrassment, or humiliation in everyday social situations, which leads to avoidance of potentially pleasurable and meaningful activities.

Anthropophobia is also known as fear of people. Most nerds and basement-dwellers are anthropophobic, which explains why they spend a lot time on the Internet and never get out anywhere. It should be noted that anthropophobia is not one of the so-called l33t diseases, like Asperger's Syndrome and depression, and thus attention seekers will never claim they are anthropophobic. Anthropophobia is the general term often taken as an equivalent to social phobia, which comprises the several afflictions known in Europe under various names like autodysosmophobia, scopophobia, erythrophobia, and olfactory reference syndrome, among others. Following a general introduction to anthropophobia, we shall use three short observations to illustrate a phenomenological approach which shows both the confusion between the two dimensions of corporeity and intersubjectivity and the specific relations joining body and language that are characteristic of this pathology. In addition to it, a psychoanalytical insight shows that anthropophobic patients possess traits that are specific to the intrusion complex and that reveal an evolutionary stage between narcissism and Oedipian phases.

Almost everybody experiences symptoms of social anxiety from time to time. But if you are suffering from social anxiety disorder, these emotional and physical symptoms are severe and disruptive to your life.

Social phobias often start in adolescence and are centered on a fear of scrutiny by other people in comparatively small groups (as opposed to crowds), leading to avoidance of social situations. Unlike in most other phobias, social phobias are equally common in men and women. They may be limited to (i.e. limit to eating in public, to public speaking, or to encounters with the opposite sex) or diffuse, involving almost all social situations outside the family circle. A fear of vomiting in public may be very important. Direct eye-to-eye confrontation may be very stressful in some cultures. Social phobias are usually associated with low self-esteem and the fear of criticism. They may be present as a complaint of flushing, hand tremor, nausea, or urgency of micturition, the individual sometimes being convinced that one of these secondary manifestations of anxiety is the primary problem; symptoms may progress to panic attacks. Avoidance is often marked and in extreme cases it may result in almost complete social isolation. Most people experience some shyness or nervousness in certain social or work situations, but for someone with social anxiety disorder, the anxiety is so extreme that it can become really debilitating.

Diagnostic Guidelines

All of the given below criteria should be fulfilled for a definite diagnosis:

The behavioral, psychological, or autonomic symptoms must be primarily manifestations of anxiety and not secondary to other symptoms such as delusions or obsessional thoughts.
The anxiety should be restricted to or predominate in particular social situations
Avoidance of the phobic situations usually will be a prominent feature.

Differential Diagnosis

Agoraphobia and depressive disorders are often prominent, and may contribute to sufferers becoming "housebound". If the distinction between social phobia and agoraphobia is very difficult, precedence should always be given to agoraphobia; a depressive diagnosis should not be made unless a full depressive syndrome can be diagnosed.

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