Online Social Anxiety Disorder Test

Thank you for taking our social anxiety disorder test! We've added some additional information below about social anxiety that you may find useful.

What is Social Anxiety Disorder?

It's normal to feel anxiety in some social situations. For example, many people have anxiety when they have to give a big presentation, or when they show up for a first date with someone they don't know. These situations may cause you to feel butterflies in your stomach, sweaty palms, or cause difficulty breathing.

In social anxiety disorder, or social phobia, everyday interactions cause significant anxiety similar to the above or even worse. Social anxiety disorder causes a person significant anxiety, feelings of self-consciousness, embarrassment, or fear of being negatively judged by others.

When a person is struggling with social anxiety disorder, the fear and anxiety caused by social situations lead to disruption of normal life. Severe stress from SAD can affect a person's relationships, their normal routines, their social life, their work, and everyday interactions.

Social anxiety disorders can be debilitating for many sufferers, but getting treatment and taking medications can help a person's ability to deal with and overcome social anxiety disorder.

Social Anxiety Disorder Symptoms

Let's review some of the social anxiety disorder symptoms:

Emotional & Behavioral Symptoms

A person struggling with social anxiety disorder may have emotional and behavioral symptoms. A person may:

• Fear that others are taking notice of their anxiety symptoms
• Be very afraid to speak to new people
• Worry about embarrassing themselves in public
• Worry about situations where they may get judged negatively
• Avoid people because they fear they'll mess up or be embarrassed
• Avoid being the center of attention
• Have intense anxiety during social interactions
• Expect the worst during a social interaction
• Heavily analyze their performance after a social interaction
• Be afraid of physical symptoms in a social situation, like shaking, blushing, sweating, or not being able to breathe well

For children struggling with social anxiety disorder, they may get anxiety dealing with adults or other children  in the form of crying, temper tantrums, refusing to speak, or clinging to their parents.

For performance type of social anxiety, a person may experience intense fear before and during speaking or performance activities, but not for more general social situations.

Physical Symptoms

Physical symptoms often accompany a person who struggles from social anxiety disorder. These symptoms can include:

• Trembling
• Blushing
• Sweating
• Loss of Breath
• Stomach ache or Nausea
• Feeling dizzy or faint
• Tension in muscles
• Mind feels empty or blank
• Increased heart rate
• Feel like choking
• Feel the need to vomit

Avoidance

A person struggling with social anxiety disorder may start avoiding social situations like the following:

• Interacting with new people
• Going to parties
• Starting conversations
• Participating in meetings
• Presenting in front of people
• Eating in front of others
• Using a public restroom
• Dating
• Going to work or school

Causes of Social Anxiety Disorder

Similar to many other mental health conditions, social anxiety disorder likely arises from a complex relationship in the biological and environmental realms. Some causes may include:

Inheriting it From Family

Anxiety disorders tend to run in families. It is not yet clear as to how much of this is contributed from genetics or from learned experiences/behaviors.

How Your Brain is Wired

Certain parts of our brains may play a role in how a person responds to fear. An overreaction in the brain may trigger the heightened fear response often found in social anxiety disorder.

The Environment You Live In

Social anxiety disorder may be learned from situations a person has experienced in the past. For example, if someone experienced a significantly embarrassing situation giving a presentation, they may start fearing giving future presentations. In addition, a child may exhibit social anxiety disorder after modeling how their parents react in social situations.

DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), or DSM-5, outlines that social anxiety disorder is diagnosed when a person meets the following:

1. Marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others. Examples include social interactions (e.g., having a conversation, meeting unfamiliar people), being observed (e.g., eating or drinking), and performing in front of others (e.g., giving a speech).

Note: In children, the anxiety must occur in peer settings and not just during interactions with adults.

The individual fears that he or she will act in a way or show anxiety symptoms that will be negatively evaluated (i.e., will be humiliating or embarrassing; will lead to rejection or offend others).

2.  The social situations almost always provoke fear or anxiety.

Note: In children, the fear or anxiety may be expressed by crying, tantrums, freezing, clinging, shrinking, or failing to speak in social situations.

3. The fear or anxiety is out of proportion to the actual threat posed by the social situation and to the sociocultural context.

4. The social situations are avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety.

5. The fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

6. The fear, anxiety, or avoidance is persistent, typically lasting for 6 months or more.

7. The fear, anxiety, or avoidance is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or another medical condition.

8. The fear, anxiety, or avoidance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder, such as panic disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, or autism spectrum disorder.

9. If another medical condition (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, obesity, disfigurement from burns or injury) is present, the fear, anxiety, or avoidance is clearly unrelated or is excessive.

Specify if: Performance only: if the fear is restricted to speaking or performing in public.

Social Anxiety Treatment

Anxiety disorders can be treated by proven methods of psychotherapy and sometimes medications. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a common technique for treating anxiety disorders and is well-researched for it's quick and direct success treating this condition.

If you need help, there is hope! Reach out to a licensed mental health professional that treats social anxiety disorder.