WHAT IS SOCIAL ANXIETY?

“In the age of the digital hermit, a psychologist explains what it means to avoid other people – and what to do about it”

By: Olga Khazan

Published: The Atlantic, Oct 22, 2015 http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/10/what-is-social-anxiety/411556/

Level of difficulty: **

NOW WATCH THE FOLLOWING:

·          Social Anxiety Disorder: A Devastating Look inside the Minds of Social Anxiety Disorder Sufferers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgo6kwaAXSc

·         Social Anxiety Disorder: How the brain works on anxiety and stress

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uWIKl00JSI

 

DOCUMENTARY

·         Social anxiety disorder: afraid of people https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=438AeHsvrGk

QUESTIONS

1.       We can draw the conclusion from paragraph one that people have become more…………

2.       Both the need for acceptance and the…………………………………trigger social anxiety

3.       We understand from the text that a moderate amount of social anxiety is……………….(Your own words)

4.       The three most prevalent anxiety disorders are: ……………………………………

5.       What causes problems in terms diagnosis is the fact that…………………………………..

6.       The key to determining whether your social anxiety is a problem is whether the said anxiety leads ……………………………………………….

7.       Isolation is not the answer in the case of social anxiety because such people………….

8.       Western cultures report higher instances of social anxiety whereas countries like Japan and China report less because while the former is ……………………..,the latter is………………………

9.       Read Hofmann’s description of how people with social anxiety feel and circle the adjective that does not describe the sufferer’s mood: pessimistic, fatalistic, unrealistic, accident prone, out of control.

10.   Why is rumination so detrimental?

11.   The cognitive behavioral therapy that is used to treat social anxiety involves a two step process: ………………………………………..and……………………………………………..

12.   The purpose of both social mishap exercises and inconveniencing people is to encourage sufferers of social anxiety to

·         Face their worst fears

·         Become freaks

·         Alter their mindset

·         Become more engaging

·         Become more shocking

WRITING TASK

Use all the information you have gathered to write an essay where you discuss social anxiety disorder. Remember to discuss what the disease entails and how to deal with it.

WHAT IS SOCIAL ANXIETY? KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

This text focuses on a very common problem: social anxiety. It is very well organized despite being in the form of an interview: the disorder is discussed and then the solutions are presented. This should also guide the students in their writing.

1. Reclusive
2. The possibility that we will not be accepted by our peers
3. Normal
4. Depression, substance abuse and social anxiety disorder
5. Almost all anxiety disorders are highly overlapping with each other
6. You to want to get help OR to significant distress
7. Would like to be social / are not loners
8. An individualistic culture; a collectivist culture
9. Accident prone
10. Because it establishes a cycle (and the next time…)
11. Identifying what drives the anxiety and exposure practices (or challenging these …)
12. Alter their mindset