Job interviews are stressful for most, but the process can be unbearable for people with social anxiety. As a result, social anxiety sufferers often wind up unemployed or in jobs below their training level. Ethan Moitra, a clinical psychologist at Brown University, decided to quantify this problem by comparing unemployment rates across similar disorders. His results were surprising: individuals with social anxiety were more than twice as likely to be unemployed as those with depression and generalized anxiety, which had minimal effects on employment. Psychotherapy can help reduce social anxiety, Moitra says, but early detection is key.
This article was originally published with the title Occupational Hazard.
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3 Comments
Add CommentAs a clinical hypnotherapist I see a lot of Social anxiety which stops people from going to work. Usually by the time they see me they have been off for the maximum length of time and they are getting desperate. There needs to be more information to let this condition to be treated much earlier, I would usually see someone for 3 months, if they were signed off work and the NHS could suggest seeing a therapist right from the start, it would not only shorten their time off but also their anxiety. I find it much more common and quicker to deal with with this than depression.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI had a very mild case of social anxiety for years and thus was able to get decent job. Then something weird kicked in and I was quickly diagnosed with depression, social anxiety disorder and heart disease within a year or two. Now I'm terrified of losing my job or trying to move up to a better one because I just can't take the interviews that would be needed
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's not surprising at all because people with a social anxiety disorder have an aversion to being judged by others, which is exactly what happens in the workplace.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisD J Wray
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