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Social Anxiety Disorder vs Anxiety Disorder NOS

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brandonb1312
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Age: 33
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23 Aug 2015, 5:35 am

So I have been diagnosed with OCD and Anxiety Disorder NOS. But I have been reading about Social Anxiety Disorder and I identify with a lot of the symptoms and think that SAD may be more appropriate than Anxiety NOS. But I was reading through the dsm v diagnosis of SAD and I noticed this:
"D:The feared situations are avoided or else are endured with intense anxiety and distress."
While I do constantly avoid situations because of Anxiety I don't have "intense anxiety and distress" in every social situation. I do become comfortable in social situations sometimes so does that mean I don't meet the criteria for Social Anxiety Disorder? I know it does not really matter but my OCD is making me have to know what exactly what I have.


_________________
Diagnosed with ASD and Depression.
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 127 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 82 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)


Myriad
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23 Aug 2015, 9:39 am

Basically, SAD is pretty much limited to fears of certain social situations and the worry that others are judging you negatively (or that you'll embarrass yourself in front of people). With more generalised anxiety, you tend to be anxious about other things too, or maybe for no apparent reason at times.

You don't have to be afraid of every social situation to fit the diagnosis, as far as I know. For example, you might fear going to a party at first, but once you get there and become accustomed to the environment, you may feel that you're no longer in a position where you might make a fool of yourself. Thus, the situation would no longer worry you.

I have SAD and not every social situation worries me. Either way, I would discuss your concerns with a professional if a definitive diagnosis is what you're after. Try to find out why you were diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder NOS as opposed to just SAD.


_________________
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 129 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 100 of 200
You seem to have both neurodiverse and neurotypical traits
AQ: 39 / 50


brandonb1312
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Joined: 23 Jul 2015
Age: 33
Posts: 215
Location: Texas

23 Aug 2015, 11:35 am

Myriad wrote:
Basically, SAD is pretty much limited to fears of certain social situations and the worry that others are judging you negatively (or that you'll embarrass yourself in front of people). With more generalised anxiety, you tend to be anxious about other things too, or maybe for no apparent reason at times.

You don't have to be afraid of every social situation to fit the diagnosis, as far as I know. For example, you might fear going to a party at first, but once you get there and become accustomed to the environment, you may feel that you're no longer in a position where you might make a fool of yourself. Thus, the situation would no longer worry you.

I have SAD and not every social situation worries me. Either way, I would discuss your concerns with a professional if a definitive diagnosis is what you're after. Try to find out why you were diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder NOS as opposed to just SAD.

Well wouldn't "the feared situations are avoided or else endured with intense distress" mean you wouldn't get accustomed to the feared situation? Like I was anxious about going to my friends house but once I got comfortable I was pretty much fine. I mean I got a little anxious during some parts but to say "endured with intense anxiety" would be inaccurate.


_________________
Diagnosed with ASD and Depression.
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 127 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 82 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)


Myriad
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Joined: 11 Jun 2015
Age: 29
Posts: 315

23 Aug 2015, 7:38 pm

brandonb1312 wrote:
Myriad wrote:
Basically, SAD is pretty much limited to fears of certain social situations and the worry that others are judging you negatively (or that you'll embarrass yourself in front of people). With more generalised anxiety, you tend to be anxious about other things too, or maybe for no apparent reason at times.

You don't have to be afraid of every social situation to fit the diagnosis, as far as I know. For example, you might fear going to a party at first, but once you get there and become accustomed to the environment, you may feel that you're no longer in a position where you might make a fool of yourself. Thus, the situation would no longer worry you.

I have SAD and not every social situation worries me. Either way, I would discuss your concerns with a professional if a definitive diagnosis is what you're after. Try to find out why you were diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder NOS as opposed to just SAD.

Well wouldn't "the feared situations are avoided or else endured with intense distress" mean you wouldn't get accustomed to the feared situation? Like I was anxious about going to my friends house but once I got comfortable I was pretty much fine. I mean I got a little anxious during some parts but to say "endured with intense anxiety" would be inaccurate.

Keep in mind that the severity of the anxiety is different for everyone; yours may only be mild. Some situations might only elicit discomfort as opposed to intense distress. It might only be specific situations that make you anxious too, or may only be anticipatory anxiety before the event. But basically, if what you're fearing is the social situation itself, or worrying that you'll do something wrong or embarrassing in front of people, then it is social anxiety to some degree.

It's normal to feel a little bit apprehensive before a social situation you're unsure about, but the fact that you constantly avoid social situations is what makes me think that you probably do have social anxiety. As to whether it's just a part of a more generalised anxiety disorder for you, I'm not sure.


_________________
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 129 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 100 of 200
You seem to have both neurodiverse and neurotypical traits
AQ: 39 / 50


brandonb1312
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

Joined: 23 Jul 2015
Age: 33
Posts: 215
Location: Texas

23 Aug 2015, 7:47 pm

Myriad wrote:
brandonb1312 wrote:
Myriad wrote:
Basically, SAD is pretty much limited to fears of certain social situations and the worry that others are judging you negatively (or that you'll embarrass yourself in front of people). With more generalised anxiety, you tend to be anxious about other things too, or maybe for no apparent reason at times.

You don't have to be afraid of every social situation to fit the diagnosis, as far as I know. For example, you might fear going to a party at first, but once you get there and become accustomed to the environment, you may feel that you're no longer in a position where you might make a fool of yourself. Thus, the situation would no longer worry you.

I have SAD and not every social situation worries me. Either way, I would discuss your concerns with a professional if a definitive diagnosis is what you're after. Try to find out why you were diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder NOS as opposed to just SAD.

Well wouldn't "the feared situations are avoided or else endured with intense distress" mean you wouldn't get accustomed to the feared situation? Like I was anxious about going to my friends house but once I got comfortable I was pretty much fine. I mean I got a little anxious during some parts but to say "endured with intense anxiety" would be inaccurate.

Keep in mind that the severity of the anxiety is different for everyone; yours may only be mild. Some situations might only elicit discomfort as opposed to intense distress. It might only be specific situations that make you anxious too, or may only be anticipatory anxiety before the event. But basically, if what you're fearing is the social situation itself, or worrying that you'll do something wrong or embarrassing in front of people, then it is social anxiety to some degree.

It's normal to feel a little bit apprehensive before a social situation you're unsure about, but the fact that you constantly avoid social situations is what makes me think that you probably do have social anxiety. As to whether it's just a part of a more generalised anxiety disorder for you, I'm not sure.

I do have OCD so maybe it's more general anxiety (not to the point of GAD). Really now that I think about it while I do persistently have anxiety in social situations, my worst anxiety is by far anticipatory anxiety. From what it sounds like a person with SAD's anxiety does not really get better even after the anticipating is done. They are extremely anxious before and during the social situation. And again, I do get anxiety in social situations a lot but to say "extreme" would often be wrong, even if my anticipatory is extreme. Like I went to my friends house the other day, and I was extremely worried leading up to it, but after a hour or two of being there I was pretty alright, not perfect or at home, but I was not feeling even close to the same amount of anxiety I was before I got there.
A weird anxiety I have is when someone asks me about my interests, I also get anxiety and freeze up.


_________________
Diagnosed with ASD and Depression.
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 127 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 82 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)


Myriad
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

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Joined: 11 Jun 2015
Age: 29
Posts: 315

24 Aug 2015, 11:18 am

brandonb1312 wrote:
Myriad wrote:
brandonb1312 wrote:
Myriad wrote:
Basically, SAD is pretty much limited to fears of certain social situations and the worry that others are judging you negatively (or that you'll embarrass yourself in front of people). With more generalised anxiety, you tend to be anxious about other things too, or maybe for no apparent reason at times.

You don't have to be afraid of every social situation to fit the diagnosis, as far as I know. For example, you might fear going to a party at first, but once you get there and become accustomed to the environment, you may feel that you're no longer in a position where you might make a fool of yourself. Thus, the situation would no longer worry you.

I have SAD and not every social situation worries me. Either way, I would discuss your concerns with a professional if a definitive diagnosis is what you're after. Try to find out why you were diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder NOS as opposed to just SAD.

Well wouldn't "the feared situations are avoided or else endured with intense distress" mean you wouldn't get accustomed to the feared situation? Like I was anxious about going to my friends house but once I got comfortable I was pretty much fine. I mean I got a little anxious during some parts but to say "endured with intense anxiety" would be inaccurate.

Keep in mind that the severity of the anxiety is different for everyone; yours may only be mild. Some situations might only elicit discomfort as opposed to intense distress. It might only be specific situations that make you anxious too, or may only be anticipatory anxiety before the event. But basically, if what you're fearing is the social situation itself, or worrying that you'll do something wrong or embarrassing in front of people, then it is social anxiety to some degree.

It's normal to feel a little bit apprehensive before a social situation you're unsure about, but the fact that you constantly avoid social situations is what makes me think that you probably do have social anxiety. As to whether it's just a part of a more generalised anxiety disorder for you, I'm not sure.

I do have OCD so maybe it's more general anxiety (not to the point of GAD). Really now that I think about it while I do persistently have anxiety in social situations, my worst anxiety is by far anticipatory anxiety. From what it sounds like a person with SAD's anxiety does not really get better even after the anticipating is done. They are extremely anxious before and during the social situation. And again, I do get anxiety in social situations a lot but to say "extreme" would often be wrong, even if my anticipatory is extreme. Like I went to my friends house the other day, and I was extremely worried leading up to it, but after a hour or two of being there I was pretty alright, not perfect or at home, but I was not feeling even close to the same amount of anxiety I was before I got there.
A weird anxiety I have is when someone asks me about my interests, I also get anxiety and freeze up.


I remember that thread, and being able to relate to you. I think we agreed that SA was probably a main factor.

Either way, my opinion is that you probably do have SA to some degree based on what you've said. But I'm definitely no expert so I'd recommend you have a chat to a real professional. ;)


_________________
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 129 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 100 of 200
You seem to have both neurodiverse and neurotypical traits
AQ: 39 / 50