Whats the diffrence among SAD, Avoidant Personality Disorder & Agoraphobia?
- Thread starter hangbi92
- Start date
Please help me. Im not sure I have which one of them. Or maybe I have all three of them(
From what I've read I would describe Social Phobia and Avoidant Personality Disorder as essentially the same thing. If you read the description on Wiki of Avoidant Personality Disorder it sounds very much the same.
Avoidant personality disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SP and SAD I think are classified as mental illnesses. Avoidant Personality Disorder as a personality disorder.
Agoraphobia I don't know much about but I think it differs from the previous two is that it's just a general anxiety of enclosed spaces with lots of people. Something like that.
Iseesky
Well-known member
As far as I know (from my psychology class)...Avoidant personality disorder and social anxiety disorder are the same thing. I would guess that social anxiety disorder is classified as avoidant personality disorder by doctors and psychologists to avoid confusion with SAD (seasonal affective disorder) which is a completely different thing.
EDIT: Probably should have read your comment before answering! SAD is basically an intense fear of being embarrassed/judged/humiliated in public. You may be very uncomfortable eating in a restaurant or in front of people, dislike having to socialize with strangers or people you're not comfortable with, try to avoid social situations...etc. If I'm correct, avoidant personality disorder is the same thing as SAD. Agoraphobia is described (according to psychologist David G. Myers) as a fear or avoidance of situations in which escape might be difficult or help unavailable when panic strikes.
EDIT: Probably should have read your comment before answering! SAD is basically an intense fear of being embarrassed/judged/humiliated in public. You may be very uncomfortable eating in a restaurant or in front of people, dislike having to socialize with strangers or people you're not comfortable with, try to avoid social situations...etc. If I'm correct, avoidant personality disorder is the same thing as SAD. Agoraphobia is described (according to psychologist David G. Myers) as a fear or avoidance of situations in which escape might be difficult or help unavailable when panic strikes.
Last edited:
dooby-duck
Well-known member
These are the best sites I've found that describe the differences between SA and AvPD.
The Anxiety Community - Avoidant Personality Disorder vs. Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder
&
Avoidant Personality Disorder and Social Phobia - Information on Anxiety and Other Anxiety Related Mental Health Disorders
I didn't realise that agoraphobia was also about not being able to escape from situations. This is a very big problem of mine. I thought it was a fear of leaving your home.
The Anxiety Community - Avoidant Personality Disorder vs. Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder
&
Avoidant Personality Disorder and Social Phobia - Information on Anxiety and Other Anxiety Related Mental Health Disorders
I didn't realise that agoraphobia was also about not being able to escape from situations. This is a very big problem of mine. I thought it was a fear of leaving your home.
Last edited:
SA and AvPD seem to be very similar, just a matter of severity and how extensive it's affect... but I thought I'd read somewhere that SA is more about situations while AvPD is more about your ability to form relationships. In that regard, I think my SA is mild (I can perform reasonably well in most situations, or tolerate them at least), but, although I can talk to people in most situations, knowing how to make friends and have anything but casual conversations is a mystery to me.