People are exposed to huge amounts of stress each day. Problems at work, dysfunctional relationships, insurance issues, taxes, children’s misbehavior, and so on – these typical misfortunes can upset anyone. However, there is a psychological problem which can make one’s life excessively complicated even on its own, without adding up the aforementioned factors. This problem is social anxiety; unfortunately, the modern world is permeated with these factors which contribute to the development of this psychological disorder.
Although the environment we live in definitely has an effect on how people feel, it is important to consider the biological factors leading to social anxiety disorder (SAD). In particular, biologists believe that SAD is related to a dysfunction of brain circuits responsible for regulating emotions and the “fight or flight” response center (WebMD). In particular, there is a brain structure called amygdala; it is known to play a role in controlling the fear response. If a person has an overactive amygdala, they often display an excessive “fear” type of emotional response; therefore, whenever a situation occurs that can be interpreted as even slightly uncomfortable, a person with SAD will overreact in terms of fear (Mayo Clinic). In addition, genetic factors should also be considered when studying the causes of SAD, because social anxiety may occur when it was also present in a first-degree relative: parent, sibling, or child.
Another significant group of factors responsible for the development of SAD is a group of environmental factors, including psychological climates. The first social interactions people make in their lives are usually connected to parents; from them, people learn basic social rules, what is acceptable and what is not, how it is like to be loved and to be ignored, and so on. Based on what happened in their childhood, people construct their personal systems of beliefs, including assumptions on what other people think about them. Commonly, if a child is loved and respected by parents, he or she later assumes that other people treat them in the same way; however, if a child is often criticized, it prevents him or her from developing a sense of personal value, and for such people it is more difficult to become socially confident (Overcoming).
In addition, the
