what is the main difference between social anxiety/phobia and avoidant personality disorder?
Thursday, September 9th, 2010 at
10:44 pm
just looking for a clear distinction as far as i can tell people suffering from social anxiety or social phobia don’t necessarily avoid social interaction they just experience anxiety in social situations and phyiscal symptoms are prominent while avoidants simply avoid social interaction due to feeling inferior to others and socially inept.. am i somewhat correct here? appreciate the help!
Tagged with: anxiety/phobia • avoidant • between • difference • Disorder • main • personality • social
Filed under: Social Phobia
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I guess there are a few.
1) Social Phobics don’t necessarily lack self-esteem, but I think that’s kind of a major characteristic of avoidant personality disorder.
2) As you pointed out, personality disorders are often focused on maladaptive behaviours, if i’m not mistaken, whereas mental disorders (like social anxiety) do not – so someone w/ social phobia can feel extreme anxiety in a social situation while maintaining social contact. Someone with APD would avoid the situation all together.
APD may also be more pervasive across all social situations, where SAD may be more likely in new social situations or in situations where they expect judgment, but in more comfortable situations, with people they know, they may feel OK.
social anxiety/social phobia is when a person fears being in a social situation–conversing with someone, being at a party, standing in line in the supermarket and etc and tries to avoid these situations. Avoidant personality disorder is when a person fears that others will reject it and therefore, avoids forming relationships because of this.
I agree with Sourpatchkid completely.
People with AVPD specifically have this really strong sense of self-hate and intensely fear not just the social situation itself, but that people will actually hate them, be disgusted with them, think they are stupid/crazy.
I believe a person with AVPD can force themselves to interact just as people with SAD do; they would, however, constantly be scanning peoples’ faces that they interact with for any sign of rejection; it’s an automatic response for them. That type of reaction is, to me, the true maladaptive behavior: the stuff they really can’t help doing. It seems directly linked to their learned survival instincts, acquired in early childhood. (Keep in mind…psychology isn’t my discipline, this is all based on personal experience. All personal opinion.)