Many of us have probably experienced this: feeling embarrassed and unconfident at social events, speaking in public, or even being nervous on a date with someone, having a heartbeat and shaky hands. These anxiety reactions are temporary and will soon disappear, and will not affect your normal life and studies. However, if these anxiety reactions affect your normal life and study, and become a serious problem – social phobia, it is necessary to pay sufficient attention to you. So what is social phobia? Social phobia is a type of psychological disorder that is characterized by a fear of contact with unfamiliar people in social or performance situations or a fear of possible scrutiny by others. People with social phobia are excessively afraid that others will criticize their social performance. They fear that they will appear inarticulate or silly, or display embarrassing expressions of anxiety or weakness. Their concern is about not being validated by others rather than about having an anxious reaction. Most people think of the word “performance” as implying some form of formal demonstration of our skills and knowledge. Socially fearful people are the kind of people who see even the simplest social interactions as performance. Even shaking hands with people in general can lead to performance anxiety and too much critical analysis afterwards. Their anxiety causes them to forget their train of thought, stutter in their speech, answer questions with one word, or start laughing at inappropriate times. They may also experience symptoms that frustrate them such as rapid heartbeat, trembling voice, shaking hands, sweating and shyness. One person with social phobia described herself this way: I rarely go out and interact with friends online. I get nervous when I go out and always worry about how I will look when I see people. I am afraid of seeing people, and when I walk my attention will always be focused on the body around me, desperately not wanting to look at people, focusing on walking, and as a result my own pupils will dilate, my heart will beat faster, and sometimes I will sweat. This has been going on for three years. I’ve been staying at home and haven’t gone out in over six months, and I don’t know what will happen if I do. Social phobia, known as “neglected anxiety disorder,” has received increasing attention in recent years. It is a common, chronic disorder that impairs social functioning and affects a significant number of people. According to the American Social Phobia Association, social phobia is now the third most common mental health problem in the world after major depression and alcohol dependence. About 7 percent of the world’s population suffers from the disorder, and an average of 13 out of every 100 people have a lifetime chance of developing it. Compared to the general population, people with social phobia are more likely to live alone or isolated, have more difficulties with the learning process, and miss more opportunities for advancement at work. The age of onset is mostly in adolescence. Because of the early onset of social phobia, many patients develop other psychiatric disorders on top of their social phobia. A study by the World Health Organization found that social phobia rarely exists alone and is often accompanied by other psychiatric disorders. Approximately 70-80% of patients have at least one other psychiatric disorder in addition to their social phobia. Patients with social phobia are more likely than the general population to develop other psychiatric disorders. Some common ones are place phobia, simple phobia, major depression, substance abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic disorder. The treatment of social phobia needs to be timely and professional. Currently, the main focus is on medication and psychotherapy. Research has confirmed that there are four classes of medications effective in the treatment of social phobia: monoamine oxidase inhibitors and 5-hydroxytryptamine reuptake inhibitors, benzodiazepines, and beta-blockers. Psychotherapy includes conscious social skills enhancement, exposure therapy, cognitive therapy, and Morita therapy. The average duration of social phobia is about 20 years, and spontaneous remission is unlikely. Epidemiological studies have found that only 1/4 of patients recover, and those who do tend to have the following characteristics: higher education level, older age of onset, and no other psychiatric co-morbidities. However, if more patients were to receive regular treatment, their prognosis would be much improved.