AvPD vs social anxiety disorder?

Hello. I was wondering what the difference was between AvPD and social anxiety disorder. I am diagnosed with social anxiety, and every test I take for AvPD or personality disorders in general i score in range of AvPD or really high in AVPD. I can't be diagnosed with AVPD until I'm 18, but I'm curious on the difference of it. Thanks .

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Really they pretty much the same, APD symptoms are just wider and more severe. Ultimately depends on who is doing the diagnosis, but often people get diagnosed with both.

I display many symptoms of AvPD without having severe social anxiety (mine is probably mild, maybe even lesser) or being agoraphobic. I really believe I'd get diagnosed with both too, though. But I don't believe they are the same thing, at least that's not how I experience them. That's why I also made a thread about this a while ago, but it ended up being deleted.

AvPD affects your interpersonal relationships in a deeper level than SAD. Not everyone with SAD have problems making connections or getting close to people in a personal 1X1 level, for example. My SAD is triggered by specific events, while my AvPD symptons are constant and wide, like a chronic thinking. AvPD is mostly not only about feeling anxious towards people, but believing in things like being inadequate or subpar or being simply tolerated or really disliked by people. It also happens not only in one single aspect of your life, but life in an overall way.

On a sidenote, it's very likely something will come out of online tests specially if you're young AND already diagnosed! Don't get distressed by that!

I do have moderate to severe social anxiety.

My interpersonal skill suck really bad. When doing a screening for depression, this was my highest problem out of everything (interpersonal). I do have lots of problems getting close to people. I am triggered by all social situations, not just a few.

I also believe like everyone hates me, but apparently that isn't true. I always thought people always disliked me, but apparently it's a state of mind for me.

Thanks for the response .

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I was diagnosed as having social anxiety disorder but didn't know until a new psych dr mentioned it. I told him I disagreed with the diagnosis because I often feel no anxiety around people. I have not received an avoidant personality diagnosis but have not pursued diagnosis so I'm not sure. I've never met anyone in person diagnosed with it, not sure if that means it's rarer. I've also read that there's plenty of debate over whether it's an extreme form of social anxiety or separate diagnosis.

The reason I believe AvPD is more likely for me is because my social anxiety only kicks in when I fear someone is or could become closer than a stranger. I don't walk into a room and feel like everyone is looking at me or judging me but I avoid relationships with people. I also stay indoors alone almost to the point an agoraphobic would but it's my understanding agoraphobics often have co-occurring ocd (I could be wrong) and I'm not afraid of leaving my house I'm just tired of doing everything alone for so many years and sometimes feel overwhelmed by the thought of seeing the store clerk that now "knows" me.

IMHO, if you start treatment for symptoms like those in AvPD as a teen it's likely you'll never have the disorder. Personality disorders take time to form and I believe AvPD is one that might take longer than others.

Oh how I wish that were true. I started therapy when I was around 15 - didn't work.
(Then again, my first therapist didn't really give a crap because he was leaving that job soon and the next one wasn't much better. Maybe if I had had good treatment, things would have been different.)

I know there is a lot of debate about it. Especially generalized social anxiety and AvPD.

My social anxiety kicks in all the time, but I have a big fear people don't like me and I try to avoid many people until I am certain I am liked.

And agoraphobia co-occurs with panic disorder, not OCD. In the old DSM, panic disorder and agoraphobia were together so it said panic disorder w agoraphobia or panic disorder w/o agoraphobia.

And I am not diagnosed with AvPD. But I relate to it a lot.

Social anxiety disorder, GAD, OCD, and panic attacks

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