Social Anxiety Disorder In Herman Koch's The Dinner

Social Anxiety Disorder in Herman Koch’s The Dinner “A fixed appointment for the immediate future is the gates of hell; the actual evening is hell itself” (Koch 6). The Dinner is a story about two brothers and their wives meeting for dinner at a fancy, five course restaurant to discuss the illegal actions of their sons.The narrator, Paul Lohman, mentions over and over throughout the story that he doesn’t want to go out to dinner, and that his night out was doing nothing but causing him grief. Because Paul Lohman spent the whole night over analyzing the words and actions of himself and the people around him, he expected that the dinner would have the worst possible outcome, and he spent the whole night worrying that he would be judged, he suffered

People suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder feel anxious and overwhelmed in social situations. There are emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder, and the symptoms vary from person to person with the disorder. Emotional symptoms include fear of being judged in certain situations, worry of offending someone, anxiety in anticipation of an event, an intense fear of talking and interacting with other people in a social manner, and concern that words or actions will cause humiliation. Behavioral symptoms include avoiding speaking in social settings, spending time during a social event over analyzing words and actions and finding flaws in interactions with other people, and expecting the worst outcome of an event to the point where it is impossible to enjoy it. The physical symptoms include fast heartbeat, an upset stomach, confusion, trouble catching breath, and dizziness. There are a number of common behaviors that people suffering with Social Anxiety Disorder have been known to carry out. These behaviors include refusing to initiate conversation, having trouble entering a room in which people are already seated, leaving a social event and “hiding out” in another area such as a public bathroom, and making excuses for reasons not to attend a social gathering. Although Social Anxiety Disorder is a chronic mental health disorder, there are ways for physiological counselors to help relieve the patient of their symptoms. The idea of social fear has been around since 400 B.C., but Isaac Marks first introduced Social Phobia as a specific physiological disorder in the 1960s. In 1968, the American Psychiatric Association began diagnosing patients with the disorder. Since the 1960s, treatment has become more advanced and controlling the symptoms in social settings has become more manageable for most patients. Today, 15