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As the COVID-19 pandemic and measures to curb its spread continue to evolve, social norms and responsibilities also remain in flux, which may place an additional burden on people with social anxiety disorder.
Research has begun to outline the effects of the pandemic on social anxiety generally and on those with social anxiety disorder. A study published in Psychiatry Research showed pre-pandemic social anxiety served as a statistically significant predictor of anxiety and depression during the lockdown orders, as well as a robust relationship between social anxiety and COVID-19-related worry and impairment. Authors of a paper published in Cognitive and Behavioral Practice noted that the combination of increased anxiety and diminished social opportunities have led to challenges for treating social anxiety among youths.
Healio Psychiatry spoke with Franklin Schneier, MD, co-director of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at New York State Psychiatric Institute, about the effects of the pandemic on those with social anxiety disorder, how doctors can better help these individuals and opportunities and challenges the pandemic has presented for this patient population and their doctors.
Healio: How is social anxiety manifesting during the pandemic?
Schneier: My impressions of this are based on a few research papers that have been published and on my personal interactions with patients in my practice and during my research. A few studies have looked at social anxiety as a predictor of how people have been doing during the pandemic. By and large, they tend to show that people with significant social anxiety or social anxiety disorder have not fared well during the pandemic. Among socially anxious university students, there are higher levels of persisting anxiety, which usually goes down over the course of a normal school year. Another study showed that pre-pandemic social anxiety predicted greater anxiety, depression and COVID-19-related worries during the pandemic.
These findings are not surprising because people with social anxiety tend to have smaller support networks. Even though you might think people with social anxiety would not mind being isolated, they still do want social contact and connection. The obstacles related to COVID-19 have made that more difficult for people who are starting out with social challenges. I have also seen exceptions to that, however, with some socially anxious people enjoying the great relief from social obligations that the pandemic has provided. This subset of people with social anxiety disorder are pleased to not have the same demands to be around people, to be speaking up in meetings, etc. Wearing masks can also temporarily reduce some anxiety for people who are concerned about how they might appear to other people.
The downside is that as restrictions …….