Social phobia: epidemiology, recognition, and treatment

Fear of being stared at is common to most animals, including humans.Normal social discourse involves being under the gaze of strangers, friends, and colleagues-interactions that are usually navigated without conscious thought.Most people admit to social discomfort while under public scrutiny-for example, before performing in public. 1Social phobia, however, is the excessive fear that a performance or social interaction will be inadequate, embarrassing, or humiliating-people with social phobia avert their gaze from their interlocutors and often avoid a feared social setting.Social phobia is a poorly investigated and misunderstood condition. 2The resulting disability severely impairs educational attainment and gainful productivity.Unless the disorder is accurately diagnosed and promptly treated, a burden is placed on society.This review examines the epidemiology, recognition, and treatment of this debilitating condition.It is based on articles selected (in December 1995 and