Social Anxiety Disorder and Treatment Options
social anxiety disorder (SAD) treatments often depend on emotional and physical symptom severity and how well you function in life. The treatment span also varies. Some sufferers react well to initial treatments and do not need further care, while others frequently require support throughout their life. Therapy and medicine have proven effective in the treatment of social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety present in every circumstance often reacts best to a medley of therapy and medication, while people experiencing anxiety specific to one kind of social situation or routine usually respond to therapy independently.
It is crucial to know you can overcome SAD if you have been diagnosed with it. There are many options in psychological therapies whose methods help sufferers transform troubling behaviors into more desirable ones. Millions of individuals choose psychotherapy and profit from it, though a widespread stigma is associated with it. Please remember, there is nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. If you feel you require a mental health professional for anxiety therapy, Dr. Phillips can help. You can also ask your doctor for a professional referral. Many websites match you with a therapist based on your health insurance, symptoms, and schedule.
Once you have an appointment with a psychotherapist, taking notes on your feelings and thoughts is essential to have an appropriate starting point to discuss on your first visit. Though sharing your emotions with a therapist is challenging, the more genuine and honest you are with them, the more progress you'll make with managing your uneasy feelings.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
CBT is the premiere psychotherapeutic therapy alternative for SAD. This therapy involves modifying your behaviors and thoughts to influence your emotions positively. There are three strategies used in CBT, including:
- Social skills training.
- Cognitive restructuring.
- Exposure.
Exposure involves encountering or imagining specific routines or social situations in real life. A therapist usually begins with imagined exposure and later progresses to true-life exposures when you have severe SAD. Exposure therapy's underlying focus is that through experience and training, sufferers become more comfortable in situations they generally try to avoid.
The cognitive signs of SAD are the focus during cognitive restructuring. SAD cognitive symptoms include the fear of judgment from others, inadequate self-esteem and concept, and attributing favorable outcomes in life to chance but negative life outcomes to individual weaknesses. Cognitive restructuring uses distinct exercises developed to recognize adverse thought patterns, assess their truth, and create alternative thought patterns that contest the original thoughts. This therapy is an integral part of treating SAD because of the substantial cognitive factors of the disorder and the long-term connection with these underlying thoughts and beliefs.
Exposure includes modeling, role-playing, and rehearsal exercises designed to help sufferers acquire better behaviors and lower their stress during social situations. Not all patients need this training for their therapy. These exercises are intended for sufferers with social deficits above and beyond simple social anxiety. Social skills exercises target assertiveness, conversation, eye contact, phone calls, and other areas.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
This SAD therapy was developed after CBT and is founded on Buddhist principles. Sufferers learn to accept their negative thoughts and anxiety rather than eradicate them through CBT. Therapists anticipate that sufferers' symptoms lessen naturally by separating themselves from social anxiety. This therapy incorporates many experiential exercises, mindfulness exercises, and value-guided interventions.
