Spotlight Off: Social Phobia

While giving a concert in New York in 1967, Barbara Streisand forgot some of the lyrics to some of the songs she was performing. From then on, she worried that she might do the same thing and make embarrassing mistakes again while performing on stage. She developed social phobia, which prevented her from performing in public for 27 years.

Also known as social phobia, social anxiety disorder can have physical, emotional and behavioral signs and symptoms. Emotional and behavioral symptoms include fear of the following.

• being embarrassed or humiliated

• situations in which there are strangers

• situations in which the individual may be judged

• situations in which he / she may be noticed

The anxiety that the individual feels also cause disruptions on his/her daily routine, school, work or other activities. Some even avoid doing things or talking with people out of this fear.

Aside from emotional and behavioral symptoms, physical symptoms also manifest. These include blushing, trembling, nausea, profuse sweating, muscle tension, palpitations, stomach upset, diarrhea, shaky voice, cold hands and difficulty making eye contact.

Like all the other phobias, there is no cure for social phobia. But don't lose hope. There are many treatments that can be employed in order to control symptoms caused by social anxiety disorder. The two most effective methods of treating social phobia are psychotherapy and medication.

• Psychotherapy. The most commonly used type of psychotherapy for social phobia is cognitive behavior therapy. It is based on the idea that the individual's own thoughts determine how he / she behaves and reacts. This method involves recognizing and changing negative thoughts about himself / herself. Exposure therapy is sometimes used, in which the individual is gradually exposed to situations he / she fears the most. This enables the individual to cope with the anxiety.

• Medications. Numerous types of medications are used in treating social phobia. However, the three safest and most commonly used are paroxetine, sertraline and venlafaxine. All three are anti-depressants.

For best results, these two methods are combined.

Going back to Barbara Streisand, she learned to cope with her social phobia and conquer her stage fright. She slowly exposed herself to her fear of performing in public. She started with smaller shows, then a national tour and eventually, television. The positive responses she received made her change how she felt about performing. Now, she's a legendary multimedia icon.