So what is the distinction we're making? How can we have a discussion before the new non-standard definitions are provided? So far nobody seems to have provided a definition of either, so we've got a bunch of people talking about whether they have two identical disorders which they have inaccessible distinct private definitions off which probably all disagree with each other from post to post.
In the world of psychology, I always figured Social Anxiety was how it was more commonly referred to in the States, and Social Phobia was the term they preferred in the UK. Either way, I personally have used them interchangeably for all as long as I have known of them.
I would say there is a bigger separation between
Social Anxiety Disorder (or social phobia) and
Avoidant Personality Disorder. If anyone is interested, there are a lot of old threads on the forum discussing the differences between the two and how people interpret and understand each disorder.
As for this thread, when I saw the title I really didn't think of SA and SP in terms of the disorders at all though. A person can have anxiety or fears without checking all the boxes of a specific list of symptoms. When I think of anxiety, I tend to think of all those physical symptoms. Restless, fast heartbeat, shortness of breath, sweating, loss of appetite, and things like that. When I think of fear, or phobia, I see anxiety as a possible result, but the fear itself being a more mental thing. If you have a fear of heights, you are thinking about falling and that makes you feel scared. And when you are forced to the top of the building, that may result in the anxiety.
When I think about
Social Anxiety Disorder I see it generally as a combination of both the fear and the anxiety. It's different for everyone, and I am also not a psychologist so everything I say should be taken with a grain of salt.
I do feel like for this thread everyone seems to be using their own interpretations, and that's ok. As long as we have a general idea of what we everyone else means, the particulars of semantics can be left by the wayside.