Avoidant personality disorder and social anxiety disorder share the same symptoms with different effects on the patient’s social life. The indications are intertwined and overlapping, making it almost impossible to tell them apart. Many psychiatry clinics in St Paul, MN, help people with both conditions.
Sometimes, they co-occur, making it hard to identify. Both these conditions impair the individual’s ability to socialize. Such patients have low self-esteem and confidence and avoid crowds.
Everyone fears social rejection at some point in their lives. But uncontrollable or extreme fear is not normal. Debilitating fear that cripples a person from mingling with others is a medical condition that requires attention. Both APD and social anxiety require a separate diagnosis.
Understanding Avoidant Personality Disorder: Key Facts You Need:
Avoidant personality disorder is the feeling of extreme shyness due to low esteem to mingle freely with people. Social inhibition and extreme sensitivity to being judged or criticized are mental health conditions that require therapy. This condition develops during childhood and comes with the person until the end if left untreated.
These individuals with APD consider themselves unfit for unaccepting and avoid gatherings. Such a feeling might have stemmed from the displeasing comments or neglect he underwent during childhood. Even in workplaces, they avoid work that requires interacting with a group.
Such people have a fear of judgment and are hypersensitive to comments. The patients start living inside a shell that gradually becomes their life. They need a psychiatrist’s effort to break open the shell and flourish. These individuals have a strong craving for socializing, but over-sensitivity towards criticism holds them back.
Common symptoms of APD:
Even though it is extremely difficult to differentiate between APD and social anxiety, there are certain conditions prescribed for APD. Psychiatry clinics in St Paul, MN treat people with symptoms like:
- Avoiding crowds and being alone always results in extreme boredom.
- Avoid undertaking new activities.
- Fear of judgment.
- The inferiority complex blows out of proportion.
- Heightened negative feelings about oneself leading to huge embarrassment and neglect.
Social Anxiety Disorder:
SAD can be defined as low self-esteem and avoiding talking to others because of fear of negative comments. Social phobia leads to avoidance behavior. Patients with this condition may avoid talking to others or even feel panic attacks at times.
Symptoms of SAD:
There are some explicit signs of SAD. They are:
- Avoid speaking in gatherings.
- Avoid being friendly with people as they fear negative comments.
- When there are more than 4 people, a person with SAD may start sweating, or hypertension.
- Repeatedly thinking about past incidences to judge his own mistakes.
What Are The Treatment Options For SAD And Social Anxiety?
A combination of therapy with medication can help the cases with SAD and Social Anxiety. Therapists try cognitive-behavioral therapy to reverse extreme conditions of rejection fear. They gradually help him gain confidence and break his negative self-image.
Exposure theory may be another method to treat people with this condition. The psychiatrists help the patients slowly participate in gatherings and let them face situations. Sometimes, they prescribe anti-depressant pills and anti-anxiety drugs to help patients recover from this situation. Ultimately therapy is the best option since it helps the patient break the chain of limiting factors and start interacting with others confidently.
How To Develop Coping Techniques?
Many coping strategies are there to help a patient treat social anxiety and avoidant personality disorder. They are:
- Mindfulness Sessions:
Techniques like meditation, yoga, and deep breathing techniques can reduce hypertension condition and increase confidence.
- Social Skills Training:
Practicing social enhancement skills in a favorable condition can help develop confidence and reduce anxiety.
- Support Groups:
Getting in touch with people with similar conditions can help you boost your image and improve confidence.
Summing Up:
Both Anxiety disorder and avoidant personality disorder are harmful to the development of an individual. It significantly impairs the social life of a patient, and they avoid socializing. There are treatment options like pills and therapy to manage symptoms and boost confidence. Psychiatry clinics in St Paul, MN have many clinics with therapists to help patients with these conditions.
