Re: Who here has Social Anxiety/Phobia or exhibit the symptms of it?
My perspective on things like this is very non-mainstream. There are psychologists who do hold similar perspectives but they are often marginalized by the status-quo.
Anyway . . .my perspective is that these things are not always "disorders." The very notion of that concept is based on the belief that there are singular ways in which human psychology functions. Yes, most people operate in certain generalized ways but that doesn't mean that those who don't are "dysfunctional." The standards and pull to fit in created around the most common behaviors are so strong that those who don't often cause themselves more trauma around the mere fact that they are different. What current psychology knows/accepts about the psyche is very basic and miniscule. And the emphasis on drugs? Yes they give people something that often manages to mask the symptoms but aspirin doesn't cure a headache - it just blocks the receptors.
The limits of current mainstream psychology are in part because of adherence to one of the koans of current mainstream science - that there is observable physical evidence for everything in existence. In fact, that koan is so firmly entrenched that to even question it is frowned upon, derided and otherwise dismissed.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.