第五十篇 15 Million Americans Suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder（A级）
Social anxiety disorder prevents some 15 million Americans from leading normal social and romantic lives, a new survey finds.
The disorder leaves many isolated, ashamed and often misdiagnosed. Thirty-six percent of those with social anxiety disorder have symptoms for 10 years or more before seeking help, the Anxiety Disorders Association of America reports.
“Social anxiety disorder is when somebody has an intense, persistent and irrational fear of social or performance situations,” Jerilyn Ross, the association’s president and CEO, said during a teleconference Wednesday.
“The condition causes people to avoid common, everyday situations and even other people for fear of being judged or criticized or humiliated or embarrassing themselves,” Ross said.
Social anxiety disorder can interfere with daily routines and job performance, Ross noted. “It also makes it very difficult for people to develop friends and romantic partnerships,” she said.
People with this disorder recognize their fear is excessive and irrational, Ross noted. “But they feel powerless to do anything about it,” she said.
Social anxiety disorder can start in the early teens, Dr. Mark H. Pollack, director of the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders and a professor of psychiatry at HarvardMedicalSchool, said during the teleconference.
“This is a disorder that starts affecting people early on,” Pollack said. “The typical age of onset is early adolescence, age 12 or 13, and many individuals report a history of anxiety dating back to earlier childhood.”
The disorder also has physical symptoms, including heart palpitations, feelings that their throat will close up, sweating, blushing, faintness, trembling and stammering, Ross said.
Among people with the disorder, 75 percent said the condition affected their ability to do normal activities. In addition, 69 percent said they didn’t want want people to think they were crazy, and 58 percent said they were embarrassed by their condition, Ross said.
However, when the condition is diagnosed and treated, many reported improvement in their lives. In fact, 59 percent who were receiving treatment said treatment had a positive effect on their ability to have a romantic relationship. In addition, 39 percent who had received treatment said knowing that treatment can be successful aided their decision to get help, Ross noted.
练习：
- people with social anxiety disorder are known for their fear of
A being left alone.
B leading normal lives.
C embarrassing other people.
D facing social or performance situations.
- What do people with social anxiety disorder think of their fear?
A They think it’s beyond their control.
B They think it’s beneficial.
C They think it’s controllable.
D They think it’s justified.
- Which is NOT true of people with social anxiety disorder?
A They’re often isolated and ashamed.
B They find it difficult to get timely treatment.
C They often fail to get timely treatment.
D They tend to judge or criticize other people.
- The symptoms of social anxiety disorder include all the following EXCEPT
A. heart palpitations. B. sore throat.
C. sweating. D. blushing.
- It can be seen from the last paragraph that treatment of the disorder
A has no positive effect at all.
B is unavailable to most sufferers.
C tends to be refused by the sufferers.
D can lead to improvement in the sufferers’ lives.
答案： 1.D 2.A 3.D 4.B 5.D
第五十篇： 一千五百万美国人患有社交焦虑症
一项新的研究调查表明，有一千五百万美国人因患有社交焦虑症而无法进行正常的社交和爱情生活。
患有这种焦虑症的人大多感到孤独和羞愧，而且社交焦虑症被误诊。根据美国焦虑症协会的调查，有30%的社交焦虑症患者在寻求帮助之前，已经有了10年或超过10年的症状表现。
“社交焦虑症是指一个人对社交场合或社交后动有着强烈的，持久的和非理性的恐惧。” 美国焦虑症协会主席及总裁杰瑞恩.罗斯在星期三的电话会议上如此说道。
罗斯说：“这种状况使那些患有社交焦虑症的人逃避日常的交往甚而逃避与人接触，因为他们害怕被评论，被批判或者被羞辱，这会让他们非常尴尬。”
罗斯指出社交焦虑症还会影响日常生活和工作表现，她说：“它还对交友和恋爱造成很大的阻碍。”
罗斯还指出患有这种焦虑症的人能意识到他们的恐惧过头了并且很不理智，她说，“但是他们对此却无能为力。”
社交焦虑症可以在青少年早期发作，焦虑症和心灵创伤压力障碍中心主任及哈佛医学院精神病学教授马克H.波莱克在电话会议中如此说道。
波莱克说：“这是一种会在患者早年开始发生作用的焦虑症，这种疾病开始的典型年龄是青春期早期，大概12岁或13岁，而且许多人都表明自己焦虑的历史可以追溯到更早的童年时期。”
这种焦虑症还伴随一些生理症状，包括心悸，喉咙堵塞，多汗，脸红，昏厥，发抖和口吃。
在社交焦虑症患者中，有75%的人表示这种疾病影响了他们的正常行为能力。而且有69%的人表示他们不愿意人们认为自己是疯子，还有58%的人表示他们为此感到羞愧。
可是，只要这种疾病得到诊断和治疗，情况还是会有所好转的。罗斯指出，事实上，59%的接受治疗的焦虑症患者认为治疗对他们的恋爱有积极作用。而且还有39%的人表示了解焦虑症的治疗能有效帮助病人下决心接受帮助。