Social anxiety disorder, better known as social phobia, involves overwhelming fear of social encounters, usually of public speech and eating at restaurants. You may feel nervous and depressed and have low self esteem if you’re cut off due to social anxiety. It’s usually a learned response to negative events in your life. If you’ve never had this disorder before, then you may think you’re prepared for it but the fact is that most of us are surprised by it once we experience it for the first time. In this article I’ll give you some basic tips on how to reduce social anxiety and get back the love of your life.
The first step in dealing with this disorder is to understand what causes it. There has been much research into this disorder but no one knows why some people develop social anxiety and others don’t. Stress, genetics, childhood traumas and early developmental experiences all put you at greater risk of developing social anxiety. People who suffer from other psychological disorders may also have higher levels of anxiety. And sufferers of this disorder may have no other psychological problems apart from this one. You should therefore talk to your doctor about getting help if these other conditions are present.
There are two main approaches to treating social anxiety. One is with a psychologist or psychotherapist. They will prescribe several different medications and therapies which may help you deal with your symptoms and develop more effective coping mechanisms for social encounters. Psychotherapy has been proven to be very effective in the treatment of social anxiety. Talking through this with your physician is a good way to start. Once you’ve got a treatment that works for you, your doctor may recommend further therapy either in-person or through the use of audio tapes and DVDs.
A person with social anxiety who chooses not to take the medication will usually go for a cognitive behavioral approach. This is based on the idea that our minds do actually control our physical bodies. By learning how to recognize when we begin to feel anxious and then taking steps to change those thoughts, we can learn to manage our anxiety well. It’s not as complicated as it sounds and social anxiety therapy using this method can often lead to marked improvements in symptoms.
Cognitive behavioral therapy often starts with a patient sitting in a therapy room where he or she will be asked to describe their daily lives using various statements. As they are developing positive thoughts and replacing those thoughts with more balanced and realistic ones, the therapist will slowly help the patient to realize that his or her negative thoughts are the result of distorted perceptions. It may be that the patient sees things in a negative way, totally unrealistic and unreasonable, and it will be helpful to gradually help them to realize that those things are just that… hypothetical. And that if they’d only try to see things in the proper perspective, things would be much more realistic and beneficial to their social anxiety.
Once a patient has gotten a handle on these ideas, the next step in social anxiety therapy is for him or her to talk to a trusted friend or relative about their social anxiety problems. Often, talking about such issues in front of another human being helps patients to realize that they aren’t alone, that there are others going through the same thing. This realization alone usually makes a huge difference in the effectiveness of social anxiety therapy. And it doesn’t even have to be a qualified professional; simply reaching out to someone who can sympathize with your plight can have a tremendous impact on reducing your symptoms dramatically.
When I was treating patients with social anxiety disorders, my social anxiety therapy consisted mainly of one-on-one counseling sessions. During these sessions, the therapist would provide information on the social behaviors that lead to their development and how they can be changed. The goal of the social anxiety therapy sessions was to teach the patient coping skills so that they could begin to put their mind at ease and stop the fears that were driving them crazy. I would also teach the social anxiety patients how to create a more positive self-image by maintaining a healthy self-image.
It’s important to point out that social anxiety therapy isn’t all about curing the patient. Although therapists will try to help you change your behaviors and thought patterns, it’s ultimately up to you to find a way to deal with your current situation. This is why it’s important to go to an actual source of social anxiety information when you need help coping with social anxiety. By learning everything you can about social anxiety and developing your own strategies for coping with social situations and fears, you can get the social anxiety therapy that you need to start feeling confident again.
