APD and SA

nerdgirl178 · Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 8:42 pm Post subject: APD and SA

Hello I was wondering if anyone here has APD? They are kind of the same, I think. Anyone know the maojr difference between the two? Aviodants tend to not get close to people for fear of rejection and SA people are pretty much the same right?

Crimefish · Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 9:32 pm Post subject:

The only difference I can think of is that you have to be over 18 to be diagnosed with AvPD. And technically, personality disorders are supposed to be a lot harder to treat than anxiety disorders.
I think SA and AvPD are the same thing.

Ensamniak · Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 11:18 pm Post subject:

Far as I understand it, you will have SA first, which could eventually develop into AvPD. AvPD being a much more serious case of Social Phobia where avoidance becomes a way of life, and becomes your personality.

Ensamniak · Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 12:24 am Post subject:

I believe it's just a result of avoiding people for so long, due to social anxieties, that it becomes a permanent part of your personality. You become someone who avoids other people and difficult situations.

But ultimately they are all labels, and people aren't so cut and dry and easily definable as everyone is so unique. But the labels just give us a way of communicating our feelings and problems to others.

nerdgirl178 · Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 1:34 am Post subject:

Hey thanks for replying reason I ask is that I feel more like I have AvPD. Avioding people has become part of my life and I really hate at times. I didn't know AvPD was more serious than SAD, I thought it was the other way around.

Ensamniak · Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 2:54 am Post subject:

I don't want you to take my word for it, as i'm only making educated guesses. So I will list the "Diagnostic Criteria" of AvPD according to my DSM-IV-TR (slightly outdated manual but...) if that helps any.

A pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation , beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following.

(1) avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact, because of fears of criticicm, dissapproval, or rejection.

(2) is unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked.

(3) shows restraint within intimate relationships because of fear of being shamed or ridiculed.

(4) is preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations.

(5) is inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy.

(6) veiws self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others.

(7) is usually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities because they may prove embarrassing.

And as it is a "Personality Disorder" versus an "Anxiety Disorder" also see "General Diagnostic Criteria for a Personality Disorder"

A. An enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture. This deviation is manifested in two (or more) of the following areas.

(1) cognition (that is, ways of perceiving and interpreting self, other people, and events)

(2) affectivity (that is, the range, intensity, lability, and appropriateness of emotional response)

(3) interpersonal functioning

(4) impulse control

B. The enduring pattern is inflexible and pervasive across a broad range of personal and social situations.

C. The enduring pattern leads to clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

D. The pattern is stable and of long duration and its onset can be traced back at least to adolescence or early childhood.

(And Note E)
E. The enduring pattern is not better accounted for as a manifestation or consequence of another mental disorder.

F. The enduring pattern is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (for example, a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition (for example, a head trauma).

Other notes in the manual state that "Avoidant Personality Disorder is frequently present in individuals with Social Phobia, Generalized"

"Other disorders that are commonly diagnosed with Avoidant Personality Disorder include Mood and Anxiety Disorders (especially Social Phobia of the Generalized type)"

nicola_maire · Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:07 pm Post subject:

i had/have (bit of a, abit of b,lol) AvPD more than social phobia, social phobia has more physical sympstoms, where as AvPD is more promanent. i think people with AvPD social phobia's are abit more irational as well ie
social phobiac : 'man im an idiot"
Avpd person : 'ahhhh im suck a looser, no one likes me because i said the word 'it' rather than 'that'
n nah i aint takin the piss coz thats the sorta thing i used to come out with, thinking i had used the wrong slang word, n sounded like a ponce.
top tip: i think if you try and laugh about your phobia, n say it aloud as a joke, it gived you a differnt perspective on it, im not suggesting its funny, but anything to ease the pain right guys?

Yossarian · Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2005 1:37 am Post subject:

Yeah you gotta laugh. I think when I can't find humour in life anymore then that's it. That's just me though.

maggie · Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2005 2:22 am Post subject:

i agree with you Yoss...i laugh a lot, sometimes too long at my own stupid jokes Twisted Evil

nerdgirl178 · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 3:39 am Post subject:

Yeah I tend to laugh at myself. When I get really comfortable I tell stupid jokes, people just think I am wierd, but I guess who cares. Right!!!