What is Avoidant Personality Disorder?

5. AVPD and Social Anxiety

Although individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) or AVPD share common symptoms, they are not the same condition. The medical community once believed that an individual could not have AVPD unless he or she also had SAD. Findings now indicate that the symptoms of AVPD are more severe day-to-day than those associated with SAD. People experience anxiety with all areas of their lives, not just social situations, as commonly occurs with SAD. However, it is not unusual for individuals with AVPD to also have SAD, OCPD, depression, or other anxiety disorders.

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