What is Social Anxiety and How is it Treated

Social anxiety is a real mental health condition that affects millions of people all over the world. The treatment options vary from medication to therapy and sometimes both. Social anxiety can keep a person from going out in public or to social events where there are people. If you have social anxiety disorder, there is help. Talk to your doctor and take back your life today.

What is Social Anxiety

Social anxiety is an intense fear of being judged by others and evaluated negatively, leading to feelings of inadequacy, irrational fear, low self-esteem, self-consciousness, embarrassment, humiliation, and depression. Especially in public and even social settings around a lot of people. In social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, daily interactions produce considerable anxiety, fear, self-consciousness, and embarrassment, as one fears being scrutinized or judged by others. Most cases of social anxiety require mental health treatment. Social anxiety is a mental health condition just like any other mental illness. Social anxiety is also worse than common anxiety.

For those who have social phobia, also sometimes called social anxiety disorder, performing in front of others and in social situations may trigger extreme anxiety and extreme fear. People who suffer from social phobia have extreme, ongoing anxiety related to social situations or performing. Social anxiety disorder, or social phobia, however, describes an overt, intense, persistent fear of social situations, which may be different from the more common fears associated with uncomfortable situations.

Many people with a social anxiety disorder also have severe physical symptoms, such as a fast heart rate, nausea, and sweating, and can have complete fits of panic when faced with a fearful situation. A person with a social anxiety disorder feels symptoms of anxiety or fear in some or all social situations, such as meeting new people, going on dates, being on an interview, answering a question in a classroom, or having to speak with the cashier at the store. People with the disorder experience difficulty talking to people, meeting new people, and participating in social events.

Some Signs of Social Anxiety

• Intense fear of interacting or talking with strangers

• Fear of physical symptoms that may cause you embarrassment, such as blushing, sweating, trembling 

• Fear of situations in which you may be judged negatively

• Intense fear or anxiety during social situations

• Fear of being around other people

• Fear of Having to talk to other people

• Fear of people looking at you and quietly judging you

• Fear that others will notice that you look anxious

• Intense pre-anxiety of an event that involves people

• Anxiety in anticipation of a feared activity or event

• Always expecting the worst to happen to you while around other people

• fear or anxiety during all social situations

These are just some of the signs and symptoms that a person goes through on a daily basis with social anxiety disorder. There are a lot of people who go through this on a daily basis and some don’t know how to deal with it, It can be a terrible experience to keep going through this while untreated.

How is Social Anxiety Treated

Treatment overview Therapy for social anxiety disorder involves psychological counseling (such as CBT) and sometimes medications such as anxiety and antidepressant medications to help alleviate the associated anxiety and depression. Although antidepressants are the most widely used treatment for social anxiety disorder, new studies show that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is more effective, and, unlike medications, may have lasting effects long after treatment is stopped. The most common treatments for social anxiety disorder include psychotherapy (also called psychological counseling or talk therapy) or medications, or both. Of all professional treatments available, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be the best at treating social anxiety disorder. The good news is there are treatment options and they seem to work. A more effective treatment seems to be a combination of anti-anxiety medications combined with antidepressants and therapy.

Anti-anxiety medications and SSRI antidepressants are usually the first types of drugs that are tried for ongoing symptoms of social anxiety. Medications like anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants have also been shown to work, and many people get both therapy and medications. MAOIs were once considered to be the most helpful treatments for social anxiety disorder; however, these medications carry with them a risk for severe side effects if diet and medication guidelines are not followed. Only through cognitive therapies and the proper medications have researchers managed to improve the recovery rates for patients with social anxiety disorders. Severe social anxiety disorder can keep people at home because of the fear that they have when in a social setting. The medications and therapy have helped them significantly.