Social Anxiety Disorder Treatment: Which Treatment Is Right For You?
If you suffer from social anxiety disorder then you may be wondering what treatment is right for you. It is important that you understand your social anxiety disorder so that you can treat it and ultimately cure yourself of it.
Social anxiety is a psychological condition which causes overwhelming fear of situations or events that require social interaction or performance in front of other people.
The anxiety often activates physical symptoms such as blushing, rapid heart beat, sweating, difficulty concentrating, dizziness, and many others and that can interfere with daily activities and socializing. And if this condition worsens, like keeps on recurring for more than six months and in most days than not without any reasonable explanations, this can become an immobilizing disorder.
A person with this disorder may fear social events and may result to being home-bound. But, there is cure to this illness. Social anxiety disorder treatment includes professional counseling and anxiety medications.
Treatments such as psychological counseling and medications, such as antidepressants which help reduce associated anxiety and depression, are both effective to those with this condition. The initial treatment is based on the severity of your emotional and physical symptoms and your ability to function in daily life activities.
People with social anxiety condition usually also have depression. In, addition, they may have problems with alcohol and substance abuse, therefore, your health professional may ask certain questions to know whether how severe your drinking or drug abuse can be. Usually, it goes undetected for years before treatment is sought and by that time, you may have developed behaviors that give room for the fears.
Types of counseling of social anxiety disorder treatment may include:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy- helps sufferers identify their anxieties and the situations that provoke the anxiety. This may feel a little uneasy on your part, but this is an important part for a successful recovery.
Treatment may include several types of cognitive-behavioral therapy, like:
Exposure therapy- you will be guided by a professional counselor to imagine you are facing your feared situation until such time, you will no longer fear it, such as going to public places.
Cognitive restructuring- helps you learn to identify and improve thinking patterns in order for you to cope up with social events.
Symptom management skills- this teaches you how to minimize stress by using proper breathing techniques and other physical responses to anxiety.
Supportive therapy- this type of therapy may include education about the illness, family therapy- to support loved ones with this condition, and group therapy or support groups- to seek support from others who have the same condition.
Medications for social anxiety disorder include:
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are often the first type of medication;
Benzodiazepines are for relieving anxiety and not for those with drug problems;
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) for relieving depression and anxiety;
Beta-blockers are taken to reduce anxiety and seldom used to treat anxiety symptoms like rapid heart beat;
Venlafaxine helps relieve anxiety and depression;
Ongoing treatment usually includes continuous psychological counselling and regular checkups to monitor if medications must be added to your treatment. Regular and continuous treatments are the best approach to treat your anxiety. There are many ways to treat social anxiety disorder treatment, some of which may surprise you.