Social anxiety disorder, a common chronic psychiatric disorder that impairs social functioning and affects a significant number of people, is centrally characterized by a significant and persistent fear of social situations that may appear humiliating or embarrassing in public. Patients with social anxiety suffer from a pronounced and persistent fear of social or expressive activities thereby causing social dysfunction and affecting the patient’s daily life. Research indicates that adolescence is often a critical period for the development of social anxiety and that social anxiety symptoms, if not corrected or improved, may develop into severe social anxiety disorder and continue to affect mental health into adulthood, causing academic, occupational, and social disruptions, with severe cases of withdrawal from home, fear of meeting people, and difficulty participating in social work. The U.S. National Co-morbidity Study reported that the lifetime prevalence of social phobia is 13.3%, the third most common mental disorder after major depression (17.4%) and alcohol dependence (14.1%), and some scholars predict that it will be the most common mental or psychological disorder of the 21st century. The inherent reticence and shyness of socially anxious patients will prevent them from seeking help, so they are often overlooked by the public, even as shyness or personality problems, and there is insufficient awareness of the functional disabilities they cause, making it impossible to get timely treatment. Studies have shown that the average duration of social anxiety is about 20 years and that spontaneous remission is unlikely. Epidemiological data have found that only 1/4 of patients return to normal and 1/3 of social phobics have a significant impact on social functioning. Initial episodes in patients with social anxiety occur mainly in adolescence and early adulthood, and the course of the disorder is very chronic, with an average age of initial onset around 19 years. The onset of symptoms is sometimes acute after a humiliating social experience, but often worsens unknowingly over months or years, without a clear threshold for sudden onset, and those whose illness has lasted more than a year do not change much over the next five years without treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy is considered an effective treatment for social anxiety disorder, and antidepressants are the most commonly used medication for social anxiety disorder.