Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Part I What is Social Phobia?
- Part II What is The Nature of Social Phobia?
- 3 Social Phobia as a Disorder of Social Anxiety
- 4 Social Phobia as a Disease
- 5 Social Phobia as a Hypothetical Construct
- Part III What Causes Social Phobia?
- Part IV What Helps Social Phobic Individuals?
- Part V Concluding remarks
- References
- Author Index
- Index
4 - Social Phobia as a Disease
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Part I What is Social Phobia?
- Part II What is The Nature of Social Phobia?
- 3 Social Phobia as a Disorder of Social Anxiety
- 4 Social Phobia as a Disease
- 5 Social Phobia as a Hypothetical Construct
- Part III What Causes Social Phobia?
- Part IV What Helps Social Phobic Individuals?
- Part V Concluding remarks
- References
- Author Index
- Index
Summary
We have seen in chapter 3 that social phobia can neither be characterized as an instance of a “disordered” anxiety nor be considered a disorder of a singular kind of anxiety. The nature of social phobia then, remains an open question.
A potential answer might be found in the fact that social phobia is considered by some physicians a disease. An introduction to a series of articles published in International Clinical Pharmacology (James, 1997), for instance, had as title: “Social phobia – a debilitating disease with a new treatment option.”
That much is also implied by the vocabulary in use. Typically, individuals seeking help are “diagnosed” as “suffering from” social phobia – “a debilitating condition with an etiology that has yet to be established.” Fearfulness of and an inclination toward avoidance of social occasions are said to be its “symptoms.”
Moreover, social phobia is at least implicitly recognized as a disease by international official authorities and by some national professional bodies. Its “diagnosis” may be found listed in both the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10; Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders) compiled by the World Health Organization (1992) as well as in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA, 1994).
Is social phobia a disease then? Ostensibly, the answer is simple but as we shall see later, it is bedeviled by complex conceptual issues and the fact that there is rather little evidence to rely on.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Fearing OthersThe Nature and Treatment of Social Phobia, pp. 67 - 74Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007