Social Anxiety and Misdiagnosis
The biggest barrier to overcoming social anxiety disorder is to know what problem you have -- and then be able to explain (i.e., define) it.
Because social anxiety disorder is a relatively new diagnosis, most professionals in the field are not aware or have incorrect conceptions of this problem. For example, many professionals confuse panic disorder with social anxiety disorder -- please see our page on how to differentiate between the two disorders.
It is not uncommon for the socially anxious person to seek help and be misdiagnosed. At The Social Anxiety Institute, we see socially-anxious people on a regular basis that come to us after being misdiagnosed as having:
- clinical depression
- bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder)
- panic disorder
- schizophrenia, all types
- schizoid personality disorder
- schizotypal personality disorder
- attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
among others. RECEIVING AN INCORRECT DIAGNOSIS LIKE THIS, the socially-anxious person many times accepts this "label" as fact and begins taking medication that is not appropriate for them.
Even worse than this, people still do not know what really is troubling them. Thus they may spend many more years and thousands of dollars to find out...if they ever do.
If you are socially anxious, it is very important that you seek treatment from a professional who thoroughly understands your problem and the depth of pain you endure every day. It is also important that your therapy be cognitive-behavioral in nature, because research has been clear that this form of therapy is the only effective method of reducing and eliminating social anxiety once and for all.
Socially-anxious people who are misdiagnosed are often prescribed medication that is inappropriate. The appropriate medication, as a tool to reduce anxiety and continue with cognitive-behavioral therapy, is very beneficial if needed. Please be aware that medication does not change brain patterns or brain chemistry forever. That is why you need to take the medication every day. If you stop taking it, your brain reverts to its old "patterns".
Only by LEARNING and ACTING on new behaviors do your neural pathways and brain chemistry change permanently. This can only be done through therapy, not through medication.
Our History and Our Mission
The Anxiety Network began in 1995 due to growing demand from people around the world wanting help in understanding and overcoming their anxiety disorder. The Anxiety Clinic of Arizona and its website, The Anxiety Network, received so much traffic and requests for help that we found ourselves spending much of our time in international communication and outreach. Our in-person anxiety clinic has grown tremendously, and our principal internet tool, The Anxiety Network, has been re-written and re-designed with focus on the three major anxiety disorders: panic, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety disorder.
The Anxiety Network focuses on three of the major anxiety disorders: panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety disorder.
In 1997, The Social Anxiety Association, a non-profit organization, was formed and now has its own website.
The Social Anxiety Institute, the largest site on the internet for information and treatment of social anxiety, has maintained an active website since 1998. Continuous, ongoing therapy groups have helped hundreds of people overcome social anxiety since 1994.
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