I guess there are degrees of SA, but i really do wonder about the degree of this of some people on here. Say sby has "SA" and in in a "relationship"; am i wrong to think that they haven't really got "SA proper". DO people have SA if they are able to have a relationship???. I haven't ever had a SINGLE relationship - so is what i have sth DIFFERENT than SA???
I would definitely consider myself to have SA and I am in a relationship. I have also had relationships in my past partially due to my SA. For example, if I was not so freaked out about what my now ex-husband thought, I would have told him to shove it when he asked me out.
Besides, I've heard that some people may be able to function fine in some areas of life, but have SA in certain situations, so they could have a relationship and freak out when triggered by something.
However, I understand your skepticism. I, too, wonder about the degree or conditions surrounding other people's SA sometimes. For me, anyone who can finish a degree (that is, go to class consistently without having a panic attack) or work in certain scenarios would clearly not suffer from SA the way I do.