Being anxious sometimes is natural. Countering any situation for the first time can make you nervous. Giving a presentation, moving to a new school, going on a date, or any of these situations can make you anxious. Getting nervous in these situations is common. Once you get used to it, you won’t feel uncomfortable. But a social phobia is different. A person with social phobia feels the same nervousness in every social situation.
Living with social phobia is difficult as the person starts avoiding all social situations. Thinking about any social gathering feels like butterflies in my stomach. Any social situation that seems normal to others feels different to a person with social phobia. The person feels fear of being judged all the time. In children, social phobia is often misjudged as shyness. But shyness is a short-term condition whereas social phobia can haunt a person for a lifetime.
Common causes behind the social phobia
Social phobia is a mental disorder and the exact cause behind this condition is unknown. But few pieces of research show that social phobia can be caused due to some genetic and environmental factors. Some negative life experiences can also cause a social phobia.
Genetics
Social phobia can run in families. However, the genetic factor is still not clear as the phobia may occur due to the behavior they witness at the home.
Brain structure
Amygdala is a part of the brain that controls the fear response. If a person has an overactive amygdala, he may have felt extreme fear of heights, water, or social phobia.
Environment
Social phobia may appear due to learned behavior. People can grow social anxiety when they face any unpleasant or embarrassing situation.
Risk Factor
Some factors can increase the risk of getting social phobia.
Any negative experience: Any kind of negative experience especially in childhood can cause a social phobia. Physical abuse, mental abuse, or mental abuse can trigger social phobia.
Family: If any of the parents have social phobia; their children may develop the same mental disorder.
Change in the environment: A person can trigger social anxiety when he faces sudden changes in his surroundings. This can occur when he moves to a new city and starts living with unknown faces.
Appearance issues: A person can often get phobia when he is self-conscious about his/her appearance. Any type of facial disfigurement, skin tone, marks, etc can cause social anxiety.
Common symptoms of social anxiety
Physical symptoms
- Blushing
- Rapid heart rate
- Trembling
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Sweaty hands
Psychological symptoms
- Fear that people will judge them and think negative about them
- Feel embarrassing or humiliating
- Start to avoid speaking or answering
- Fear that people will find about their social anxiety
- Avoid all social gatherings like school annual events, family gatherings, etc
- Any physical symptom of social phobia makes them more anxious
When a person has social phobia he starts avoiding situations that can trigger any symptoms. But this can worsen the condition. Social phobia can be hard to endure as the person feel anxious in normal situations like:
- Attending social gatherings
- Starting conversations
- Going to school
- Having a job interview
- Dating
- Using public restroom
- Making eye contact
- Returning items from the store
- Ordering at the restaurant
- Eating in public
The symptoms of social phobia can change with time.
Treatment options for social phobia
You can treat social phobia disorder with therapies. Some doctors also prescribe medication for social phobia. But these medications can help in reducing the anxiety symptoms only. You can take these medications before facing any condition that can trigger the social phobia.
Medications
In some people, medications can be very effective. Certain medications can help in treating social phobia disorder. Your doctor will prescribe the medicines depending on your condition. These drugs reduce the anxiousness and symptoms of social phobia. In some people, these medicines show excellent results in reducing or even eliminating the symptoms. Your doctor will prescribe the medicine and monitor the results as you can’t predict which medication will provide better help.
Some common drugs for social anxiety are Zoloft, Luvox, Paxil, etc. Remember these medicines will treat your symptoms only. Some anxiety medicines can cause side effects like headache, nausea, sleep difficulties, etc.
Natural Medication
To prevent any harmful side effects, you can switch to natural medication. You can get a social phobia treatment Pennsylvania and reduce the symptoms. These natural medicines are fully safe and provide long-term relief. When you consult with the doctor, he will ask several questions regarding your phobia and trigger. Your doctor will prescribe medicines depending on your social phobia condition.
Behavioral therapy
This is one of the best treatments for social phobia or any kind of mental disorder. In social phobia, one of the main difficulties is asking for help. But if you want to treat your condition then ask your therapist for help. These are the trained therapists who can help you to identify your triggers and teach you how to deal with them. It is a type of exposure therapy where the therapist will expose you to certain conditions. He will expose you to the condition again and again until you start feeling comfortable. Your therapist will start with small exposure like eating in public or ordering at a restaurant. Once you start feeling comfortable in those situations, your therapist will move to bigger situations. This therapy needs a good time to complete. Even if you start feeling comfortable with the situation, work with the therapist until the phobia vanishes completely. Otherwise, any situation may trigger your phobia.
Breathing exercises and meditation
Your therapist will ask you to learn some breathing exercises. These exercises reduce anxiety when you encounter any situation. These exercises manage your breathing and help in preventing symptoms. You have to do these breathing exercises daily to get better results. Also, doing these exercises before facing the situation will help to manage the anxiety. Meditation can also help to treat mental disorders. It maintains the emotions and helps the person to keep calm in any situation.