Social phobia is the third most common psychiatric disorder besides depression and
alcoholism. Several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy in
the treatment of social phobia. Nevertheless, there is no effect in a third of the people at
the existing treatment methods. Pharmacological therapies have similar effects, but there is
a high rate of relapse after discontinuation of medication.
Social phobia is characterized by fear of performance or interaction situations. The strong
fear of negative evaluation by others is usually accompanied by a marked avoidance behavior
and increased physical symptoms such as blushing, sweating, palpitations, or tremors. The
confrontation with a phobic stimulus leads to a retrieval of stimulus-associated aversive
memories, resulting in an immediate anxiety response. Several studies had already shown that
elevated glucocorticoids impair retrieval of declarative memory contents in healthy subjects.
The investigators demonstrated an anxiety-reducing effect after the administration of
cortisone before the confrontation with a phobic stimulus in patients with social and spider
phobia.