The psychology of social phobia
When it comes to understanding the psychological processes involved in producing and maintaining the disorder, however, the picture is much clearer.
The most influential model of these processes was developed in the 1990s by the UK clinical psychologists David Clark and Adrian Wells. We’ll illustrate it using a fictional case study.
Alice is a thirty-year-old copywriter in an advertising agency. She is required to give regular presentations of her work to colleagues and clients. Alice has never enjoyed this aspect of her role, but over the last couple of years her anxiety has increased to such an intensity that she wonders whether she may have to switch careers. Sure that she is going to make a fool of herself, she can’t sleep the night before a presentation. Alice is tempted to avoid the situation entirely by phoning in sick. During the presentation itself, all she can think about is how awful she feels, and how ridiculous she must look to her audience. If anyone compliments her on the presentation, she presumes their praise is motivated by irony or, even worse, pity.
Let’s explore Alice’s social phobia using the Clark and Wells model. Although she is unaware of them, Alice has carried with her since adolescence a number of unhelpful assumptions about herself and other people. These assumptions developed after Alice had moved to a new school where she found it difficult to make friends. She desperately wants to create a good impression, but deep down — and despite all evidence to the contrary — believes she is unattractive and inarticulate.
Not only does Alice underrate her own qualities, she exaggerates those of the people she meets, presuming that they possess all the confidence and ability she feels she lacks. And she expects other people to notice — and remember — even the smallest problem in her performance. Only perfection will do.
Almost everyone experiences a degree of nervousness when giving a presentation, but Alice’s unconscious assumptions mean that the situation seems much more threatening to her than it really is. She has been worrying about the presentation for days. Now the moment has arrived, the danger of making a fool of herself seems greater than ever. Negative automatic thoughts flood her mind: ’I can’t do this. I have to get out of here. I feel sick. Everyone knows I’m a fraud.’ Predictably, her anxiety skyrockets.
This anxiety manifests itself in three ways.
First are physiological symptoms: sweating, blushing, trembling, difficulty concentrating. Alice is quick to notice these bodily changes. Rather than accepting them as normal in stressful situations, she worries that her anxiety is spiralling out of control and that it will be evident to her audience — which only increases her anxiety.
Alice’s worry about the physical signs of anxiety, and her acute sensitivity to them, is typical of people with social phobia. In fact, researchers have found that merely telling someone that they are undergoing an intense physiological reaction — even if it is untrue — can have a profound effect on the person’s thinking. In one study, students were asked to have a conversation with a stranger. Those who were led to believe that a sensor had detected blushing, trembling, sweating, and an increase in their heart rate reported feeling more anxious, claimed to have experienced more physical signs of that anxiety, and believed that they’d made a worse impression than those who hadn’t been given such information. They behaved, in other words, like people with social phobia.
Next, and crucially, Alice finds herself imagining how she must look to her audience. She sees a babbling, trembling, incoherent wreck. Not only does the image bear no relation to reality, it’s so vivid that she doesn’t check to see how her audience is actually responding. Instead she looks inwards for an indication of how things are going.
People with social phobia are much more likely than other people to experience images in social situations, and those images are both more negative and more likely to be from an observer’s viewpoint. Research has shown that simply asking people to think of a negative rather than positive self-image leads to greater anxiety — both felt by the individual and evident to an observer. It also causes people to believe they’ve performed poorly in a social situation.
Finally, Alice adopts a number of safety behaviours — actions she believes will help her get through her ordeal (see p. 26). She overlearns her speech; quickens her presentation of it; avoids looking at her audience; and tries to think of happy times, such as her recent holiday.
But, in fact, these strategies don’t help Alice. Like all safety behaviours, they prevent her from discovering that her anxiety is excessive: when she successfully makes it through to the end of the presentation, Alice credits her safety behaviours rather than her own ability to tackle a stressful task. Moreover, these behaviours — just like the self-images and physical symptoms of anxiety — pull her attention inwards and away from the task in hand, potentially hampering her performance. And they can be noticed by her audience. For all her distraction, Alice’s ability to spot a quizzical look or wandering attention is razor-sharp. And when she does, her anxiety ratchets up yet another notch.
(Interestingly, the idea that people with social phobia are hypersensitive to criticism has been confirmed by neurological studies. When researchers ask individuals to read negative remarks about themselves, those with social phobia — but not those without — show significantly increased levels of activity in the amygdala, the brain’s ’emotional computer’ (see p. 30), and in the medial prefrontal cortex, which plays a crucial role in thinking about the self.)
Alice’s anxiety doesn’t diminish much at the end of her presentation. Because, just like so many people with social phobia, she endlessly mulls over her performance (Clark and Wells call this a ’postmortem’). And the more she dwells on the presentation, the worse she feels it was — and the more intensely she fears the next one.
The Clark and Wells model is often reproduced in textbooks as a sort of flow diagram. In fact, it might equally well be represented as a series of vicious circles, each of them both triggering and increasing the person’s anxiety. With therapy, the cycle of social phobia can be broken. Left untreated, it can feel like being trapped within the gears of an unrelenting and remorseless machine.
"Kama unavyofahamu, ""social phobia"" ni tatizo la kisaikolojia linalotokana na tabia ya mtu kuwa na wasiwasi wa kijamii, lakini kwa kweli tatizo hilo ni la kawaida." Mfano wa mchakato huu ulianzishwa na David Clark na Adrian Wells. Tutaonyesha kwa kutumia utafiti wa kesi ya uwongo. Alice ni mwandishi wa matangazo ya matangazo mwenye umri wa miaka thelathini katika shirika la matangazo. Anahitajika kutoa maonyesho ya mara kwa mara ya kazi yake kwa wenzake na wateja. Alice hajawahi kufurahia sehemu hii ya kazi yake, lakini katika miaka michache iliyopita wasiwasi wake umeongezeka kwa kiwango kwamba anajiuliza kama anaweza kuwa na kubadilisha kazi. Akiwa na uhakika kwamba atajifanya kuwa mpumbavu, hawezi kulala usiku kabla ya maonyesho. Alice anajaribiwa kuepuka hali hiyo kabisa kwa kupiga simu na kusema kwamba ni mgonjwa. Wakati wa maonyesho, anaweza tu kufikiria jinsi anavyojisikia vibaya, na jinsi anavyoonekana kuwa mwenye kuchekesha kwa wasikilizaji wake. Ikiwa mtu anamsifu kwa sababu ya jinsi alivyofanya kazi, yeye hufikiri kwamba sifa hiyo inatokana na ucheshi au, jambo baya zaidi, huruma. Hebu kuchunguza Alice ya kijamii phobia kutumia Clark na Wells mfano. Ingawa hajui kuhusu mambo hayo, Alice amekuwa na mawazo mengi yasiyofaa kumhusu yeye mwenyewe na watu wengine tangu alipokuwa kijana. Dhana hizo zilitokea baada ya Alice kuhamia shule mpya ambako ilikuwa vigumu kwake kupata marafiki. Yeye anataka sana kuunda hisia nzuri, lakini ndani ya moyo wake - na licha ya ushahidi wote kinyume chake - anaamini yeye ni unattractive na inarticulate. Alice haidharau tu sifa zake mwenyewe, lakini pia anaongeza sifa za watu anaokutana nao, akidhani kwamba wana imani na uwezo wote anaohisi anakosa. Na anatarajia watu wengine waone <unk> na kukumbuka <unk> hata tatizo dogo zaidi katika utendaji wake. Ukamilifu tu ndio utakaotumiwa. Karibu kila mtu hupata kiwango fulani cha wasiwasi wakati wa kutoa maonyesho, lakini dhana za Alice zisizo na fahamu zinamaanisha kwamba hali inaonekana kutisha zaidi kwake kuliko ilivyo kweli. Amekuwa akijali kuhusu maonyesho hayo kwa siku nyingi. Sasa wakati umefika, hatari ya kujifanya kuwa mpumbavu inaonekana kuwa kubwa kuliko wakati mwingine wowote. Mawazo mabaya ya moja kwa moja yanafurika akilini mwake: "Siwezi kufanya hivyo". Lazima niondoke hapa. Ninajisikia mgonjwa. Kila mtu anajua mimi ni udanganyifu. Kama inavyoweza kutabirika, wasiwasi wake unazidi kuongezeka. Wasiwasi huo huonekana katika njia tatu. Kwanza ni dalili za kisaikolojia: kuota jasho, kuchachua, kutetemeka, ugumu wa kukaza fikira. Alice anatambua haraka mabadiliko hayo ya mwili. Badala ya kukubaliwa kama kawaida katika hali za mkazo, ana wasiwasi kwamba wasiwasi wake unazidi kuongezeka na kwamba itakuwa dhahiri kwa watazamaji wake <unk> ambayo huongeza tu wasiwasi wake. Wasiwasi wa Alice kuhusu dalili za kimwili za wasiwasi, na unyeti wake mkubwa kwa ajili yao, ni ya kawaida kwa watu wenye woga wa kijamii. Kwa kweli, watafiti wamegundua kwamba kumwambia mtu tu kwamba anaathiriwa na hali fulani ya kiakili - hata ikiwa si kweli - kunaweza kuathiri sana kufikiri kwake. Katika utafiti mmoja, wanafunzi waliulizwa wazungumze na mtu fulani wasiyemjua. Wale ambao waliongozwa kuamini kwamba sensor ilikuwa imegundua kuchachua, kutetemeka, jasho, na ongezeko la msukumo wa moyo wao waliripoti kuhisi wasiwasi zaidi, walidai kuwa wamepata ishara zaidi za kimwili za wasiwasi huo, na waliamini kuwa walikuwa wamefanya hisia mbaya kuliko wale ambao hawakupewa habari kama hiyo. Kwa maneno mengine, walijiendesha kama watu wenye woga wa kijamii. Halafu, na muhimu zaidi, Alice anajikuta akifikiria jinsi anapaswa kuonekana kwa watazamaji wake. Anaona mabaki ya meli yakitikisika, yakitetemeka, na yasiyo na upatano. Si tu kwamba picha haina uhusiano wowote na ukweli, ni ya wazi sana kwamba yeye hachunguzi kuona jinsi watazamaji wake wanavyojibu. Badala yake yeye hutazama ndani ili kupata ishara ya jinsi mambo yanavyokwenda. Watu wenye social phobia wana uwezekano mkubwa zaidi kuliko watu wengine kupata picha katika hali za kijamii, na picha hizo ni hasi zaidi na zina uwezekano mkubwa zaidi kutoka kwa mtazamo wa mtazamaji. Utafiti umeonyesha kwamba kuwauliza watu wafikirie hisia mbaya badala ya nzuri huongoza kwenye wasiwasi mkubwa - wote unaohisiwa na mtu binafsi na unaoonekana kwa mtazamaji. Pia husababisha watu kuamini kwamba wamefanya vibaya katika hali ya kijamii. Mwishowe, Alice anachukua idadi ya tabia za usalama - hatua anaamini itamsaidia kupata kupitia jaribio lake (tazama ukurasa 26). Anajifunza maneno yake kwa bidii; anaongeza kasi ya uwasilishaji wake; anaepuka kutazama wasikilizaji wake; na anajaribu kufikiria nyakati zenye furaha, kama vile likizo yake ya hivi karibuni. Lakini, kwa kweli, mikakati hii si kusaidia Alice. Kama tabia zote za usalama, zinamzuia asigunde kwamba wasiwasi wake ni wa kupita kiasi: anapofanikiwa kufikia mwisho wa uwasilishaji, Alice anashukuru tabia zake za usalama badala ya uwezo wake mwenyewe wa kukabiliana na kazi ya mkazo. Zaidi ya hayo, tabia hizi - kama vile picha za kibinafsi na dalili za kimwili za wasiwasi - huvuta umakini wake ndani na mbali na kazi iliyo mkononi, ikizuia utendaji wake. Na watazamaji wake wanaweza kuwaona. Licha ya kuingiliwa kwake, uwezo wa Alice wa kuona sura ya kuhoji au uangalifu wa kutangatanga ni mkali kama msumari. Na anapofanya hivyo, wasiwasi wake huongezeka sana. (Inavutia kwamba wazo la kwamba watu wenye woga wa kijamii ni wenye kuathiriwa sana na uchambuzi limethibitishwa na uchunguzi wa neva. Wakati watafiti wanawauliza watu kusoma maoni hasi juu yao wenyewe, wale walio na woga wa kijamii - lakini sio wale wasio na - huonyesha viwango vya kuongezeka kwa shughuli katika amygdala, "kompyuta ya hisia" ya ubongo (tazama ukurasa wa 30), na katika cortex ya kati ya mbele, ambayo ina jukumu muhimu katika kufikiria juu ya nafsi. Wasiwasi wa Alice haupungukiwi sana mwishoni mwa hotuba yake. Kwa sababu, kama watu wengi wenye woga wa kijamii, yeye hufikiria bila kikomo juu ya utendaji wake (Clark na Wells wanaita hii <unk>postmortem<unk>). Na kadiri anavyofikiria zaidi juu ya maonyesho hayo, ndivyo anavyohisi kuwa mabaya zaidi <unk> na ndivyo anavyohofu zaidi maonyesho ya pili. Mfano wa Clark na Wells mara nyingi hutolewa katika vitabu vya masomo kama aina ya mchoro wa mtiririko. Kwa kweli, inaweza pia kuwakilishwa kama mfululizo wa duru mbaya, kila moja yao wote kuchochea na kuongeza wasiwasi wa mtu. Kwa kutumia tiba, mzunguko wa woga wa kijamii waweza kuvunjwa. Ikiwa haitashughulikiwa, inaweza kuhisi kana kwamba imekamatwa ndani ya mashine isiyo na huruma na isiyo na huruma.