Social phobia vs Panic attacks?

Question

What is the difference with social phobia's and panic attacks? They seem to have the same symptoms. Could they be the same thing?

Answer 1

Panic attacks can occur in anyone who has any of the anxiety disorders (all phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, etc).

Panic attacks are the result of your body's response to feelings of anxiety that keep increasing. As the intensity keeps going up, your brain misinterprets this as a life-threatening event, so it prepares you to take action.

Adrenalin is released which makes your heartrate and blood pressure go up. Your breathing gets deeper and faster to provide more oxygen to the brain and 'escape muscles' like those in the legs.

Cortisol is released, which shuts down non-essential body functions that would rob us of resources needed if we were actually having a real emergency. Food processing, cell growth, sex drive, etc are some of the non-essentials.

Eventually the physical sensations of heartrate, blood pressure and shortness of breath get so intense, we get dizzy and feel like we're spinning out of control. That's the 'attack' portion of the panic attack.

Hope that helps explain the similarities and differences.

Answer 2

Sounds like you just haven't met the right therapist. Make a few phone calls and ask your prospective therapists over the phone if they can help you with this particular kind of anxiety. You should get an idea right off the bat if the person has the potential to be a good match, thus saving a little time and money. But I think therapy is the way to go. I've got run-of-the-mill emetophobia (fear of doing it and of others doing it near me, not worried about embarrassment) and even just reading more about the phobia has helped me get over the most debilitating aspects of the phobia. I know now that emetophobics are so afraid, and have such strong willpower in regard to puke, that they just don't ever do it. Now I trust myself not to vomit, and because I know I can trust my willpower, I'm a lot less anxious about whether I might be starting to feel nauseated or not. Perhaps you could benefit from the same kind of reflection: since you feel that public vomiting is about the worst thing that could happen to you, you're very unlikely to do it. Now that you're an adult, you can get up and leave to use the restroom whenever you want. Just know that you can always leave. And accept that if you're going to be sick, you'll have at least a minute's warning. You can get out any situation in a minute, and get away to a private/ safe place. If the situation arises, you are perfectly capable of taking care of it in an non-embarrassing way. Just keep assuring yourself of that. And try the therapy again!

Answer 3

Not the same thing. Social phobia can cause panic attacks when placed in a frightening social situation.

http://www.socialanxietyinstitute.org/dsm.html

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cognitive_b... worked best for me. I suffered from social anxiety for over 15 years. I've tried meds, individual therapy, and group therapy and studied psychology for 10 years, as a profession, but also with the hope to cure myself.

Depending on your comfort level, you could go to a psychologist that practices CBT and specializes in anxiety disorders, seek a group therapy, or create one. Usually those that do attend the group therapy are a bit more high functioning because as you know, it can be difficult to speak in a group.

Another idea is to see if there are any local research studies being conducted that you could participate in.

The program that finally worked the best for me is this one: http://www.socialanxiety.us/findinghelp.... and I was lucky enough to have a structured behavioral group to go along with it. Sometimes the people that actually attend this program come back home and form groups.

Any questions, let me know ... I can't tell you how much this has improved my life!

Answer 4

Hi the attached website has some excellent information on social phobias and panic attacks. I hope this information is helpful to you.

Answer 5

social phobia panic attacks

Answer 6

They are the same but in some cases no. I have both and usually i start to get panic attacks in social situations or even when im alone with symptoms such as nervousnes/ jumpiness, trembling voice/ dry mouth and shaky hands although there are medications that can control them that can be prescribed by your doctor such as avitan and clonazepam for panic disorders or paxil for social anxiety.

Answer 7

panic attacks are usually more intense and can come on quickly, social phobia can be around all the time where you try and avoid any socialising for fear of looking or feeling emmbarrased or doing something stupid.it is a very hard thing to live with and can affect everyday life.

Answer 8

I am so happy, it was only a 35 minute drive ( 70 minutes total) but absolutely no sign of anxiety or panic i shopped till I dropped - brilliant! I will now go for the next stage DUAL CARRIAGE way, probably at the weekend, with my husband accompanying me first then the solo drive, if successful the final stage of driving on motorway

Beat Anxiety And Panic Attacks Naturally?

Answer 9

Phobia is a kind of illogical fear of something.This can be anything:spiders,water,fire,stairs,elevator,etc.Social phobias are for example "fear" of talking in public or fear of using public restrooms.Panic attacks are "acute and sudden and severe" fears of in fact nothing.The patient is walking or sitting or working normally ;suddenly his heart starts beating severely,breathing rapidly,feel warm,hands shake .... and in a short time stops.When someone have phobia ,he knows what he is afraid of but in Panic disorder he does
not.