Has anyone ever heard of this disorder? It's basically a disorder that makes people avoid social situations. This is what wiki has on it:

The American Psychiatric Association's DSM-IV-TR, a widely used manual for diagnosing mental disorders, defines avoidant personality disorder as a "pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:

Avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact, because of fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection

Is unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked

Shows restraint initiating intimate relationships because of the fear of being ashamed, ridiculed, or rejected due to severe low self-worth.

Is preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations

Is inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy

Views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others

Is unusually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities because they may prove embarrassing

Avoidant personality disorder is often confused with antisocial personality disorder; clinically, the term antisocial denotes a disregard for society's norms and rules, not social inhibitions.

If you haven't read about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoidant_p ... y_disorder


Are there any successful PUAs out there that think they defeated this disorder? Please write about it if you think you have. [/url]

Also - I read about exposure therapy, which reminds me of what the guys go through on the PUA show or just any AFC in general. Read about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposure_therapy

I think most people with social anxiety could qualify for this disorder. The distinction between the two seems to be quite a technical one for shrinks rather than a practical one for those suffering from such problems.

I have talked to many people with SA on other forums and many of them could probably qualify for AvPD on any given day. The unfortunate thing is that when you have SA and then find out you qualify for the above condition as well it can be quite depressing. I dismissed AvPD as not being worth looking into based on the symptoms being so similar to or more just a bit more severe than SA.