What is Social Phobia, also known as Social Anxiety Disorder?
Social Phobia, also known as Social Anxiety Disorder, involves heightened anxiety in situations where there is perceived negative evaluation by others.
The person fears acting in a way that may be embarrassing or humiliating.
The person may fear that others notice their anxiety. As a result, a person avoids many social situations (e.g., Public speaking, dating, eating or writing in front of others, or using public restrooms).
The person may use “safety behaviors” in social situations to help them to cope with their anxiety (e.g., reducing eye contact, holding a water bottle).
How is social anxiety treated?
The most effective treatment for social phobia is cognitive behavior therapy (CBT).
CBT is a collaborative, action-orientated, skills-based approach that targets the individual’s unhelpful beliefs and perceptions of others, and is also aimed at teaching new ways to behave in response to anxiety-triggering social situations.
Treatment involves learning to identify, examine, challenge and ultimately change one’s thought processes, so that thoughts are more fact-based than fear-based.
Relaxation or “grounding” work may also be added to the treatment protocol.
A core part of the treatment is the exposure work, in which individuals gradually confront increasingly anxiety-provoking social situations.
Treatment may also include a social skills component. Since individuals with social anxiety may have avoided given situations for so long, relearning the social “rules” for those settings may be helpful.