Social Phobia and Avoidant Personality Disorder

Hi, I am a high school student conducting a research project about the similarities between social phobia and avoidant personality disorder for my Independent Research G/T class. It would be a huge help if you could complete this form. All answers are completely anonymous.

Social phobia as we all know about the fear of humiliation from public and avoidant personality disorder is about rejecting or avoiding people with the fear of rejecting or humiliating by them. So as per my self the fear of rejection and humiliating are the main similarities between this disorder.

A person with avoidant personality disorder may:

Be easily hurt when people criticize or disapprove of them

Hold back too much in intimate relationships

Be reluctant to become involved with people

Avoid activities or jobs that involve contact with others

Be shy in social situations out of fear of doing something wrong

Make potential difficulties seem worse than they are

Hold the view they are not good socially, not as good as other people, or unappealing

Physical symptoms that often occur with social phobia include:

Blushing

Difficulty talking

Nausea

Profuse sweating

Trembling

Social phobia is different from shyness. Shy people are able to participate in social functions. Social phobia affects the ability to function in work and relationships.

Some of the most common fears of people with social phobia include:

Attending parties and other social occasions

Eating, drinking, and writing in public

Meeting new people

Speaking in public

Using public restrooms

Social phobia is also known as social anxiety disorder.

The primary difference between the two is that one is a pervasive personality disorder that will not respond well to medication because it is rooted in one's thoughts -- it requires talk therapies over an extended period in order to change thought patterns; where social anxiety disorder responds better to meds and doesn't take as long to treat as a personality disorder.

A psych professor once told me that no therapist worth his salt would take on a client with a known personality disorder because even if you help them, they may still file a complaint on you with the licensing board and will cause all kinds of problems for the therapist. Those with personality disorders seldom stay in treatment for the years it takes to improve their thought patterns and often end up blaming their therapist for their own lack of improvement.