Social Phobia and Anxiety: Is This Survey Accurate?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a survey designed to assess social phobia and social anxiety disorder. Participants share their scores from the survey and express curiosity about its accuracy and validity, questioning whether it may be considered pseudoscience. The conversation touches on personal experiences with social anxiety, its impact on daily life, and varying interpretations of the survey's questions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants report their scores, with one scoring 99 and another 116, indicating severe anxiety, while others score much lower, suggesting varying levels of social anxiety.
  • Several participants describe personal experiences with social anxiety, including difficulties in social situations like ordering food or public speaking.
  • One participant notes that their anxiety has decreased with age and practice, suggesting that exposure to challenging situations can help reduce anxiety over time.
  • Concerns are raised about the phrasing of the survey questions, with some participants feeling that the questions do not accurately reflect the complexities of their anxiety.
  • There is a discussion about the role of self-image in social anxiety, with some attributing their anxiety to past experiences and perceptions of themselves.
  • One participant mentions the idea of challenging oneself to confront anxiety-inducing situations as a form of personal development.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of scores and experiences, indicating that there is no consensus on the accuracy of the survey or the nature of social anxiety. Some agree on the challenges posed by social situations, while others question the survey's validity and the interpretation of its results.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight limitations in the survey's questions, suggesting that they may not capture the nuances of individual experiences with anxiety. There is also a recognition that anxiety can vary significantly based on context and personal history.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in social anxiety, mental health discussions, or those seeking to understand the variability of personal experiences with anxiety may find this discussion relevant.

Degree of social anxiety

  • None. <55

    Votes: 16 42.1%

  • Moderate. 55-65

    Votes: 7 18.4%

  • Marked. 65-80

    Votes: 6 15.8%

  • Severe. 80-95

    Votes: 3 7.9%

  • Very Severe. >99

    Votes: 6 15.8%
  • Total voters
    38
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I came across this:

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/disorder/liebowitz/

A simple test that tries to identify social phobia or social anxiety disorder. I am curious to know what fellow forumers are scoring on it and whether you think it is accurate. Is this pseudoscience?

I scored 99, placing me into the "very severe" category, which to me sounds about right. Other members of my family who are mildly to highly extroverted are scoring below 56, which also sounds reasonable if you allow for a small error margin.

Thoughts on this?

Edit: Whoops, sorry I meant to post this in the General forum. Please move accordingly.
 
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60(fear) + 56(avoidance) = 116
Although it isn't surprising to me as far as empirical evidence goes; I have had extremely high social anxiety ever since I was a kid. Exactly why I do is beyond my deduction and frankly I doubt I would even care to know why I have such extreme social anxiety. It is definitely quite obstructive though e.g. I can't order pizza via phone or call up customer service associated with various stores because I'm just too scared to talk to people. Heck I still avoid going to fast food restaurants on my own because I'm too scared to talk to the counter people and tell them what I want to eat :p
 
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Well, I scored an 81, which places me in the severe category. Sounds about right.
 
I never actively avoid any of those things, so I guess I get a 0. If I want or need to do something, I do it. I don't see any reason to avoid it. I don't quite understand the last one though. Do I "never avoid resisting..."? Not sure how to answer that.
 
WannabeNewton said:
60(fear) + 56(avoidance) = 116
Although it isn't surprising to me as far as empirical evidence goes; I have had extremely high social anxiety ever since I was a kid. Exactly why I do is beyond my deduction and frankly I doubt I would even care to know why I have such extreme social anxiety. It is definitely quite obstructive though e.g. I can't order pizza via phone or call up customer service associated with various stores because I'm just too scared to talk to people. Heck I still avoid going to fast food restaurants on my own because I'm too scared to talk to the counter people and tell them what I want to eat :p

Same, though it has tapered off a little for me with age. I've worked retail and dealt with people on a regular basis in the past and it helped slightly, but I would feel extremely tired after I got home even if the shift didn't involve much physical activity. As I got older I found ways of "tricking myself" into not feeling embarrassed all the way up until right before a stressful social event. However when I get there I still become a nervous wreck after a few seconds, my senior thesis talk (20-minutes) went down like this and the grading panel called it to my attention later.

I still feel extremely uncomfortable eating in public too, to the point I'd rather skip lunch sometimes if I can't find some amount of privacy.
 
Yeah I hear you and it really sucks. I think, in my case, much of it has to do with my self-image. I'm extremely skinny and rather tall and people have made notice of it throughout my life, everyone from relatives to friends to strangers, and it stings every time they bring it up. After a while I just got too embarrassed to interact much socially because of my self-image and the damage is done at this point so I just stuck with it.
 
You might be one of the very few blessed with fast metabolism, this is a good foundation to get on a healthy high calorie diet and a 5x5 strength training program!
 
65

it's got better as I age.
Those public speaking courses in my forties were life-changing, I was way severe fearful in my younger days .

We'll live up to our self image.
Self help programs that work on self image are in my opinion on the right track, sort of "Portrait of Dorian Gray" in reverse. As an old timer in my Carnegie class said: "Where the conscious goes the subconscious must follow".

old jim
 
I discovered that I have extreme anxiety while in the middle of giving a presentation in my 7th grade english class. I had a severe panic attack and actually had to leave the classroom so that I could breathe; Scarred ever since. Not to mention I have speech class next semester. Yay.
 
  • #10
Who could have imagined that, I come out as normal :biggrin:
Total score of 40.
 
  • #11
Monique said:
Who could have imagined that, I come out as normal :biggrin:
Total score of 40.

I can't look at your avatar. :rolleyes:
 
  • #12
Lavabug said:
You might be one of the very few blessed with fast metabolism, this is a good foundation to get on a healthy high calorie diet and a 5x5 strength training program!
I should also mention that I'm extremely lazy.
 
  • #13
I got a 39 but I have to tell you that it comes from practice. I would've scored much higher 5+ years ago but practice has caused me to lose my anxiety. Many of those situations I would be terrified of but after making a, rather sizable, effort to stop being a pansy I'm no longer scared of many of those situations and do not avoid them. Its kind of funny but I actually take many of those situations as a challenge and will seek them out on purpose just to make my life harder. Like the high pressure salesman or oral presentation. I'm not exactly comfortable with those situations but I do consciously try and challenge myself with them.

I should also say that I'm the kind of guy who once tried to talk an Army recruiter into letting me just do the basic training and then leave. I didn't want to spend years and years in the Army, but I've always wondered if I have the mental toughness it takes to make it through basic training in the armed forces. I've also always wanted to know if I could make it through some of the ascetic practices of Buddhism (like vow of silence or something like that).

Suffice it to say, I believe every person needs to step out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves with things that are extremely unnatural to them. My wife calls it masochism, I call it personal development.
 
  • #14
110 :(
It sucks... but do we have to live with it? Is there something we can do about it?
 
  • #15
Urinating in a public bathroom
Fear = None Avoidance = Never

Urinating in a public bathroom filled with bikers
fear = Severe Avoidance=Always

I got 15 which seems much too low.

The questions aren't phrased well enough to reflect what does actually causes anxiety
 
  • #16
I got 110. I'm not surprised; I've had many traumatic social experiences (primarily rejection) since childhood which I think have partially led to this problem.
 
  • #17
256bits said:
The questions aren't phrased well enough to reflect what does actually causes anxiety
I had the same reaction to them. None of the situations they mention was intimidating in principle, but all could be intimidating under certain circumstances.
 
  • #18
zoobyshoe said:
I had the same reaction to them. None of the situations they mention was intimidating in principle, but all could be intimidating under certain circumstances.

I think the questions are intended to be holistic. Are they uncomfortable for you in most everyday situations? That is the real question, not the specific hypothetical example of urinating in a public bathroom occupied by a biker gang.
 
  • #19
Scored high
 
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  • #20
29. I used to become nervous fairly easily a few years ago, but I suppose that I've matured out of it and have become more confident in myself.
 
  • #21
0(fear) + 23(avoidance) = 23


AnTiFreeze3 said:
29. I used to become nervous fairly easily a few years ago, but I suppose that I've matured out of it and have become more confident in myself.

It has more to do with personal traits/interests/insecurity rather than self confidence.
 
  • #22
WannabeNewton said:
60(fear) + 56(avoidance) = 116
Although it isn't surprising to me as far as empirical evidence goes; I have had extremely high social anxiety ever since I was a kid. Exactly why I do is beyond my deduction and frankly I doubt I would even care to know why I have such extreme social anxiety. It is definitely quite obstructive though e.g. I can't order pizza via phone or call up customer service associated with various stores because I'm just too scared to talk to people. Heck I still avoid going to fast food restaurants on my own because I'm too scared to talk to the counter people and tell them what I want to eat :p

Are counter people the people from the counter culture? I've never met anyone from the counter culture personally, nor have I found the black market --despite repeatedly looking for it and asking for directions-- nor the underground. So your problem is only with a small,possibly imaginary ( call it, e.g., ipeople) group.
 
  • #23
Bacle2 said:
Are counter people the people from the counter culture? I've never met anyone from the counter culture personally, nor have I found the black market --despite repeatedly looking for it and asking for directions-- nor the underground. So your problem is only with a small,possibly imaginary ( call it, e.g., ipeople) group.
Haha. The search for the underground market goes on my friend. It goes on.
 
  • #24
103 :/

20. Giving a prepared oral talk to a group
21. Trying to make someone's acquaintance for the purpose of a romantic/sexual relationship
23. Giving a party

*feints*
 
  • #25
I guess I'm a strange guy , but I don't panic when I have to talk to a crowd.Yet if you tell me to go to a party it's 100% sure that I'm going to decline.I used to party a lot but it was all an illusion , I was just pretending and more often than not I preferred to be left alone which makes you look weird when you're in a party.

The difference is probably that when I have to talk in front of many people I normally know what I'm going to say and why I'm there to say it.So in a sense the "thing-to-do" is crystal clear.But when you're in a party , you can't count on the one or two person you feel comfortable with to stay with you all night long , so there's plenty of time when you'll be between 3 or 4 small group of people that forms during a party with no idea where to go to or who to talk to or which group to enter.I always end up finding the most quiet spot and stay there alone or with very few people that comes to see if I'm feeling okay.

With the years I just stopped going to parties because I understand myself much better.I learned to choose my spots.I'm still a loner , but a little meeting with one friend 2 times a week does a lot of good to your enthousiasm and general well-being.Of course this social "event" has to be in a comfortable situation for you.For me , groups are a big no-no.Groups tend to be stupid and unpredictable.This sort of ambiance disgust me.It can also be hard to leave without attracting attention , which isn't fun since I suck at saying hellos and good-byes to a group of people.
 
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  • #26
WannabeNewton said:
Haha. The search for the underground market goes on my friend. It goes on.

But I was trying to get to the fact that you , others here, come off as being outgoing in this forum. I know there is a difference between contacting people online and in person, but still, just curious about the difference. Is it maybe because you already know you have something in common with the other posters (an interest in science, learning)? Would you have the same trouble talking in person with someone you knew from PF?
 
  • #27
Two totally separate things, I'm afraid. I racked up a post count of 10k at another forum years ago, still fumbled when I met some of the forumers in person even when we had common interests.
 
  • #28
Bacle2 said:
But I was trying to get to the fact that you , others here, come off as being outgoing in this forum. I know there is a difference between contacting people online and in person, but still, just curious about the difference. Is it maybe because you already know you have something in common with the other posters (an interest in science, learning)? Would you have the same trouble talking in person with someone you knew from PF?
But nobody really has to fully see me physically on the forum so I don't have to worry about being self-conscious, which is where most of my problems lie. I am extremely self-conscious.
 
  • #29
WannabeNewton said:
But nobody really has to fully see me physically on the forum so I don't have to worry about being self-conscious, which is where most of my problems lie. I am extremely self-conscious.



I know how much you enjoy music like this :-p
 
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  • #30
AnTiFreeze3 said:
I know how much you enjoy music like this :-p

Ban activated.
 

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