Social phobia: relevance and perspectives

Background Epidemiological studies indicate that social anxiety disorder is one of the mostcommon mental health disorders. However, despite the prevalence of social anxiety disorder, alarge amount of information, the possibilities of psychotherapy and medical treatment, manypatients for various reasons do not receive or do not seek help. Aim Generalization of actual knowledge and research on the aetiology and pathogeneticmechanisms of social phobias and coverage of the actual issues of low referral of peoplesuffering from social phobia Methods For review, the following databases, such as ScienceDirect, ResearchGate, PubMed andGoogle Scholar, were used. The search was performed using the keywords: social anxiety disorder,sociophobia, social anxiety, cognitive-behavioral model, neurobiology, mental health. Results The general information about social anxiety disorder, its prevalence and itsconsequences were covered. The main etiological mechanisms, modern views on the neurobiologicaland psychological basis of the disorder are considered. In addition, the peculiarities of theclinical picture and its influence on the social functioning of the individual, including thereferral of help, were analyzed. The aspects that are useful to consider during the developmentof recommendations for specialists in general medical practice and centers of public mentalhealth were suggested. Conclusion A social anxiety disorder should be considered as a complex mental health disorder.Recognition of signs of social anxiety disorder in their component often leads to a falseinterpretation of clinical signs as manifestations of depression or other neurotic disordersamong primary care professionals. Informing general practitioners and specialists of publicmental health centers about the traits of the clinical picture and the social functioning ofpatients with this disorder can help to overcome the stigma and improve the referral ofqualified assistance.