Can you have Both Social phobia And Aspergers?

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I have Already Been Diagnosed With PDD-NOS But The doctors say its just the same as aspergers today i was told i probebly have
social phoboa, i have tried to look online to see if it is possible to have both but it keeps coming up as EIther aspergers OR social phobia
does anyone here know anything about this?is it possible to have both or only one?

Although I am undiagnosed, I believe I have AS which causes my social anxiety problems. For me it all ties in together as what would be the characteristics of a Highly Sensitive Person

I've not been officially diagnosed with either one; however, I do know that my social ineptitude is at the root of my social anxiety. If I could effectively interact with others, there would be no reason for me to get nervous and anxious in social situations. Also, like BillyTheKid mentioned, I am highly sensitive to noise and other stimuli, so being around a lot of people causes sensory overload which then leads to stress and anxiety.

Yes I have always had social phobia and Aspergers. I think it's likely you'll have social phobia if social situations are always going wrong. For me it's also about the sensory issues, loud social situations always seem very intimidating, like the other people are trying to compete to make the most noise.

I found Overcoming Social Anxiety by Thomas A Richards to be excellent for social anxiety, I can go into situations and cope now not that I really enjoy them but it's a start. You can download it if you know where to look.

I have both social phobia and AS. I've researched social phobia on google and have ticked every box on the checklist for social phobia, and every symptom described me well.

This is EXACTLY me. The words in bold describe me the very most.


This is the only reason why I can't speak up in groups. It's not that I don't know what to say. It's just that I'm so afraid of doing or saying something wrong. It's just matters a lot to me.


Yes - it is not something that can be self cured overnight. It doesn't go away by trying not to be bothered by other people's judgements, because there will always be a part of me what is bothered, and it won't go away.


The parts in bold here are exactly what I fear. I worry about my neck because I think it's too long and is holding my head up wrong, and everybody is noticing and this is what is making other girls look and smirk at me. (I know it's because of this because otherwise I'm attractive, slim, hygienic, and wear fashionable clothes).


This is exactly the way I feel. It fits cosily like a puzzle. I try to tell myself people aren't staring, but nothing stops me from thinking that everybody's head turns towards me as they walk past me. Actually noticing staring before from other people makes me feel even more upset and phobic.

I'm confused now, because all of this describes me SO well - more so than when I read the symptoms of AS (the social difficulties of the typical Aspie). But I do have AS because I have sensory issues, unadaptable to change, have outbursts, and have obsessions.
I am so confused with what I've got. I think I ought to go back up the doctors and get re-assessed. I am waiting for counselling, but they're taking their time. (Living in England with a bastard of the government cutting all our services is mighty hard when you're mentally insecure like I am).

It sure is possible, asperger's might even create social anxiety so they're very common together.(don't forget that you can overcome any anxiety)

I'm pretty sure I have a social phobia.

Social anxiety is actually a really common co-morbid of AS. I've been diagnosed with both AS and social anxiety (though the AS is far dominant in my case).

I think where the challenge comes in is that its hard to diagnose someone with AS when they have social anxiety masking it, because you don't know whether the AS traits come from the anxiety unless you can get enough information about when they were young.

I've previously been told by a therapist that I have SA long before Aspergers and have been on a forum for years. It makes sense that you would feel anxious if you know you have some difficulties socially. I'm fairly sure I have SA and have an AS diagnosis.

Anxiety disorders can definitely be co-morbid conditions. My Therapist said that Aspie's (and anyone on the spectrum, really) can be more prone to anxiety issues.

Yes that is the problem. Some of the traits do interchange. It's a pity I didn't find this thread before I made my post but this has helped me a lot because I am having the exact same doubt as the OP. Thank you.

Yeah, I believe I'm one of those people with A.S and Anxiety it fits together, I was a really outgoing child, weird but I was doing fine until public school whittled away any self confidence I had, family problems and an abusive relationship that lasted for 4 years, I eventually had a nervous breakdown but I'm getting over the anxiety part slowly.

I have both. Was diagnosed with social anxiety/panic-attacks about seven years ago and diagnosed with aspergers a little over a year ago (at 32 yrs old). I'm incredibly uncomfortable around people unless I know someone who I can hyper-focus on in conversation and avoid the overstimulation from so many other people and all the eye-contact. The anxiety even creeps up on me sometimes just making eye contact with one of my small children. It sucks!
The anxiety is worse in groups when
(1) I have mental fatigue and can't process everything very well, and klonopin only contributes to the anxiety when I'm fatigued because it exacerbates the mental fog
(2) I have lots of energy but insufficient klonopin in my system which allows significant anxiety around people to exhaust my mental resources to the point I'm overwhelmed and unable to think clearly.
I fit most of the aspie criteria except that I strongly enjoy thrill activities; and I keep doubting the aspergers diagnosis to the point that I've seen three different psychiatrists who each re-diagnosed me with aspergers. It bothers me because I feel normal surfing or flying--just have severe troubles and become exhausted when I have to interact with people.
My most successful (low anxiety) interactions with others are when I find we have a common interest and then data-download on the topic only to find out later they considered the interaction to annoying or that I was showing off. Sucks...

Being officially diagnosed with both AS (Asperger's) and Agoraphobia, I can say with ease that it is possible.

Quite honestly, one has nothing to do with the other so the mix of the two is just as random as someone with mono developing pnemonia (common, but not connected), people only put them together because the general idea with AS is that people want to be social but can't be, when the reality is the lack of recognizing social cues has nothing to do with wanting to be social at all, it just means that some things that people do aren't easily understood by those with AS.

It's like saying someone doesn't want to be social because person A didn't understand what person B was talking about.

So, yes, it happens.

Yes, absolutely possible. Common, in fact.

Unfortunately, that means that some Aspies with social phobia believe that the social phobia symptoms are part of their AS--the fear of others judging them, the fear of rejection, the social withdrawal despite loneliness, the constant checking and worry that they have committed a faux pas. In fact, these symptoms are not part of Asperger's; they are part of social phobia, learned traits that can be unlearned like any other phobia. It is very possible for an autistic person to make peace with the possibility of embarrassment, no longer to fear it. But many people with autism, especially mild autism, suffer from social phobia, not knowing that there is a solution, thinking that they must always be afraid, always lonely. It is my opinion that social phobia, along with sensory/cognitive overload and prejudice, accounts for practically all of the suffering attributed to autism.

Occasionally too, there are people who have social phobia who mistake it for Asperger's, or whose doctors misdiagnose them with Asperger's. I don't think this happens too often, but it does happen occasionally, and it's yet another reason why it's important to treat social phobia in those with Asperger's--because there are a few cases where social phobia is the only problem, and only treating it will reveal that.

I have to grant that treating social phobia in AS people is probably harder than social phobia in NTs. I'm not a clinical psychologist, but I've studied enough about how people learn to know that someone with AS would have a harder time with the usual course of treatment for social phobia. For someone who's NT, the fear of rejection, mistreatment, and embarrassment is not nearly as well-founded as it is for someone with AS. So part of the treatment for social phobia in AS will always have to be learning to live with the reality that you will be rejected, that you will make mistakes, that some people will be downright evil enough to take advantage of you. It means that you have to find a self-concept that doesn't depend, even in the least, on what other people think of you or on what skills you have. That's a big change to make and even after you've made it, all the old ideas are still going to come back to haunt you. But it can be done.

I think I do not have social phobia in common, as I cannot really feel "social".
So going into a supermarket for example overload does not come from what people think of me, as my Theory of mind is low and I do not know what people think of my and I do not care at all, but overload causing fear is sensory because of light, noise, magnitude of objects, colour of objects, shape of objects and humans moving.
Exception if I like a person and I try to make connection (does not happen often, but does rarely) , then fear comes of being rejected, but I have attachment disorder as well.