Hirschfeld R M
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555, USA.
J Clin Psychiatry. 1995;56 Suppl 5:13-7.
According to the National Comorbidity Survey, social phobia is the third most frequent psychiatric disorder in the United States. Its lifetime prevalence rate of 13.3% ranks behind only major depressive episode (17.1%) and alcohol dependence (14.1%). As was the case with depression 15 years ago, social phobia has often been trivialized and stigmatized. For example, some with social phobia may be dismissed as having mere "stage fright" or excessive shyness, while, in fact, social phobia is a serious mental illness associated with substantial psychosocial distress, comorbidity, and morbidity. Typical onset of social phobia is in the midteens and often continues throughout an individual's lifetime, leading to severe social and occupational impairment. Several excellent, efficacious treatments are available. Access to these treatments for social phobia may be more difficult in the future due to managed care initiatives and health care reform. Various proposals are now being considered as a part of health care reform that may have significant impact on the diagnosis and treatment of social phobia.
根据全国共病调查，社交恐惧症是美国第三常见的精神疾病。其终生患病率为13.3%，仅次于重度抑郁发作（17.1%）和酒精依赖（14.1%）。正如15年前抑郁症的情况一样，社交恐惧症常常被轻视和污名化。例如，一些患有社交恐惧症的人可能被认为只是有“怯场”或过度害羞，而实际上，社交恐惧症是一种严重的精神疾病，会导致严重的心理社会困扰、共病和发病。社交恐惧症的典型发病年龄在青少年中期，通常会持续一个人的一生，导致严重的社交和职业障碍。目前有几种出色且有效的治疗方法。由于管理式医疗举措和医疗改革，未来获得这些社交恐惧症治疗方法可能会更加困难。现在作为医疗改革的一部分正在考虑的各种提议，可能会对社交恐惧症的诊断和治疗产生重大影响。
