It’s not uncommon to have a social anxiety disorder. It’s estimated that as many as 10% of the population suffer from this disorder at some point in their lives. Some suffer from the disorder when they experience any kind of social situations, while some only suffer from it during certain social situations, such as presenting at an event, speaking in public, or when performing in front of an audience. Sufferers are aware that these fears are unreasonable but that doesn’t stop them from being excessively anxious. Overcoming social anxiety is crucial because if unchecked and untreated, it could lead to a more severe social anxiety disorder which can even greatly interfere with your daily life and it may lead to needing professional psychiatric help.
There is no easy solution, but there are definite means of overcoming social anxiety disorder. Those suffering from social anxiety disorder deal with this problem every day. Feeling extreme fear or anxiety can be caused by simple things such as the ringing of the door bell, answering the phone or the idea or going to the mall with other people. Those who suffer badly from social anxiety disorder may do their best to avoid whatever social situations that they can. Skipping classes, meeting and parties is far from uncommon, and, as you can imagine, this makes it difficult to make progress and to achieve goals and objectives. They don’t show up at the events for fear that they will do something that will humiliate or embarrass them. If they do show up, they will not get involved.
No one knows the exact cause of social anxiety disorder. Children who are shy often suffer from the disorder as adults. A person’s upbringing can also be a factor that causes one to experience it – a person with overly critical or overly protective parents are more prone to suffer from social anxiety disorder. Some research has suggested that it could be due to imbalances in chemicals in the brain, but studies have not proved to be conclusive. Whilst the causes of the disorder have not yet been established, good progress has been made with the methods of treating it. The most successful technique that’s used is one called cognitive behavioral therapy, which is carried out by specially trained therapists. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps in overcoming social anxiety by replacing negative thoughts with more pragmatic ones.
Alternatives to cognitive behavioral therapy include relaxation therapy, exposure therapy and breathing techniques. You can do it as in group or individual sessions. There are also many available books and some self help audios and videos. You can choose from the many titles out there. For those who suffer really badly from social anxiety disorder, courses of medication may also be administered. The point of the medication is to address possible chemical imbalances in the body. There are various medications available, and which ones are used will be decided by a doctor after a thorough medical examination. Medications don’t fully treat social anxiety disorder. Psychological therapies like Cognitive behavioral therapy are more effective since they deal with the cause of fear and they also don’t have side effects.
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