How common are Social Phobias?

• About 3.7 percent of the U.S. population ages 18 to 54—approximately 5.3 million Americans—has social phobia in any given year.
• Social phobia occurs in women twice as often as in men, although a higher proportion of men seek help for this disorder.
• The disorder typically begins in childhood or early adolescence and rarely develops after age 25 .

While most people can attest to being nervous or shy in certain social situations (i.e., walking into a party, giving a presentation, or meeting someone for the first time), those who suffer from social anxiety are often completely unable to function in certain social settings. The onset for this disorder varies from person to person. Some people will report increasing shyness as they get older. Others will find their social anxiety brought on by a certain challenge or life change. The rate of recognition of social anxiety disorder is often extremely low. One reason may be that many people know very little about it -- which makes it difficult to discern where shyness ends and social anxiety begins.