Department of Pharmaceutical chemistry, Sree Vidyanikethan College of Pharmacy, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh – 517102, India.

Department of Pharmaceutical chemistry, Sree Vidyanikethan College of Pharmacy, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh – 517102, India.

Department of Pharmaceutical chemistry, Sree Vidyanikethan College of Pharmacy, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh – 517102, India.
Social phobia ,Anxiety disorders ,Psychotherapy ,

Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of a type of mental illness of abnormal and pathological fear and anxiety. Anxiety disorders are classified in two groups: continuous symptoms and episodic symptoms. Current psychiatric diagnostic criteria recognize a wide variety of anxiety disorders. Recent surveys have found that as many as 18% of Americans may be affected by one or more of them. Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is an anxiety disorder in which a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. Anxiety (intense nervousness) and selfconsciousness arise from a fear of being closely watched, judged, and criticized by others. A person with social anxiety disorder is afraid that he or she will make mistakes and be embarrassed or humiliated in front of others. The fear may be made worse by a lack of social skills or experience in social situations. The anxiety can build into a panic attack. As a result of the fear, the person endures certain social situations in extreme distress or may avoid them altogether. In addition, people with social anxiety disorder often suffer "anticipatory" anxiety -- the fear of a situation before it even happens -- for days or weeks before the event. In many cases, the person is aware that the fear is unreasonable, yet is unable to overcome it. Standardized rating scales such as Social Phobia Inventory can be used for screening social anxiety disorder and measuring severity of social phobia. A person with the disorder may be treated with psychotherapy, medication, or both. Research has shown cognitive behavior therapy, whether individually or in a group, to be effective in treating social phobia. The cognitive and behavioral components seek to change thought patterns and physical reactions to anxiety-inducing situations. Attention given to social anxiety disorder has significantly increased in the United States since 1999 with the approval and marketing of drugs for its treatment. Prescribed medications include several classes of antidepressants: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Zoloft, Prozac, and Paxil; serotonin-nor epinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs); and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Other commonly used medications include beta blockers and benzodiazepines, as well as newer antidepressants, such as mirtazapine. Kava-kava has also attracted attention as a possible treatment, although safety concerns exist

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