Over Medicated Social Anxiety?

Social Phobia From a Harmful Dysfunction Perspective

With the series of articles I’m writing about social phobia not being a mental disorder but just a temperament condition, I want to show a different perspective on the matter and trying to explain my position towards it. I believe our society is over medicating certain conditions because of the need of pharmaceutical companies to create illnesses to make profit and our need of “fast solutions” to our problems.

I acknowledge there are different levels of social phobias of course and some can be really devastating but to call social anxiety a “mental disorder” implies an incapacitating condition in the mind of the person that is being diagnosed as such.

I think social anxiety should be approached in terms of functionality of the person with such condition, I mean how much is this condition an impediment to live a “normal life”: Establish relationships (family, friends, couple), to work, study, have kids, etc. Here is a part of a document I found, it’s really worth reading:

“Whether it is disordered depends on whether a dysfunction exists; that is, whether mechanisms that generate and regulate social anxiety fail to perform their function of minimizing risk while allowing social interaction. Such dysfunction involves greatly disproportionate anxiety intensity relative to the triggering situation: anxiety reaches debilitating levels in species-expectable tasks or remains intense when biologically plausible triggers are absent or minimal, for example, during interaction with family members or other nonthreatening familiars; or when engaging in basic functions, such as eating away from home; or in situations where there is no real social scrutiny or chance of losing status, such as sitting anonymously in a lecture hall. Anxiety must not just occur in culturally desirable but species-unexpectable tasks, such as speaking before audiences.”

Another interesting document from the review of the book of Allan V. Horwitz: "Creating Mental Illness":

"Allan V. Horwitz examines current conceptions of mental illness as a disease. He argues that this notion fits only a small number of serious psychological conditions, and that most conditions currently regarded as mental illness are cultural constructions, normal reactions to stressful social circumstances, or simply forms of deviant behavior. According to Horwitz, the formulation of mental illness as disease benefits various interest groups, including mental health researchers and clinicians, prescriptive drug manufacturers, and mental health advocacy groups, all of whom promote disease-based models. Presenting case studies in maladies such as hysteria, multiple personality disorder, and depression, he examines the major causes and treatments of mental illness, paying special attention to the use of pharmaceuticals. While biologically based causes and treatments fit some of the entities formulated, Horwitz finds that more often than not, social responses offer far more suitable remedies."

Interesting theory worth taking a look at. I just want to show a broaden social anxiety perspective, other than the regular Psychiatric one.

Here is question I would like to ask in terms of functionality of your own life: Do you feel your social anxiety is:

- Extremely disabling
- Mildly disabling
- Doesn’t interferes with your life
- Other

Go on to read the whole document if you are interested, I recommend it:

Are We Overpathologizing the Socially Anxious?