Living with any kind of mental disorder is difficult. You seem good from the outside but your mental peace is butchered. One of the most common types of mental disorders is social phobia. Having anxiety while encountering a situation for the first time is common. But when you have a social phobia, the situation seems difficult every time. Talking in a room full of strangers can become thrilling. A situation that seems normal can be stressful to a socially phobic person. Social phobia can become a lifetime problem if not treated. More than 5 million people are facing social anxiety disorder.
What can cause social phobia?
Any type of mental condition does not have any certain cause. Like other mental issues, social phobia can occur due to some biological and environmental factors.
Brain chemistry
A brain structure known as the amygdala controls our fear response. The response to any situation depends on the activated amygdala. If a person has an overactive amygdala, he might grow social anxiety or height of water phobia.
Genetics
Social or any kind of anxiety can run in families. But this theory isn’t clear as the phobia may develop due to the behavior the kids learn at home.
Environment
The environment can play a big role in developing social anxiety. People often get anxious when they encounter any unpleasant or embarrassing social situation. That situation can trigger phobia in people. Kids can also get socially anxious when their parents are overprotective or controlling.
Risk factors for social phobia
Certain factors can increase the risk of developing social anxiety.
Negative experiences
Any kind of negative experience like rejection, bullying, humiliation, etc can trigger the social phobia. Some other types of bad events like family conflict, trauma, and abuse can cause social anxiety.
Family history
If any person has social anxiety at home, other members can also develop the same condition.
Change on lifestyle
People can also grow social phobia when they face huge changes in their lifestyle. When a teenager moves to a new city for higher studies, he meets new people and may face lots of challenges. A sudden change in life can develop anxiety.
Having any attention-drawing condition
Any kind of facial disfigurement, Parkinson’s disease, stuttering, or any condition that can draw attention can cause a social phobia. People with any kind of attention-drawing condition often become self-conscious and trigger social anxiety.
Complications due to social anxiety
When a person has social phobia, he has to deal with lots of complications as the lifestyle seems out of control. Social phobia can create complications in school, work, and relationships. A few common complications due to social anxiety are:
- Poor self-esteem
- Poor social skills
- Unable to start a conversation
- Low academic
- Poor employment achievements
- Engage in alcohol or substance abuse
- Stress and depression
Symptoms of social phobia
Shyness is common in kids. Being shy isn’t always a sign of social phobia. But when a person gets social phobia, he starts getting various other symptoms that can interfere with the daily routine, work, school, etc.
Physical symptoms of social phobia
- Blushing
- Sweating
- Increased heartbeat
- Upset stomach
- Dizziness
- Muscle tension
- Trouble in catching breath
Emotional and behavioral symptoms
- Fear of being judges
- Unable to take with strangers
- Worry about being humiliating
- Avoid a situation where they might become the center of attention
- Always think about the negative social experience
- Start remembering their flaws
- Fear that people might notice their social anxiety symptoms
People with social phobia try to avoid all social situations that can trigger any symptoms like attending parties, making eye contact, dating, returning items in a store, eating in public, using public restrooms, etc.
Treatment for social phobia
Different types of treatments are available for special phobia. The results of these treatments depend on person to person. A treatment that works on one person may not show any positive results on another one. Your doctor may suggest some medication and therapy to treat social phobia.
Medications
Your doctor may prescribe certain medications to treat social phobia. These medicines help by reducing the symptoms of social phobia. Some common drugs for social phobia are Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor, Luvox, etc. People may get some side effects from these medications. These drugs reduce the social phobia symptoms or can even eliminate them. But these medications won’t cure your social phobia.
Natural medications
Certain types of natural medications are available to treat social phobia. Naturopathic doctors in New Jersey will prescribe medications that can help in preventing the symptoms of social phobia. These medications may take more time but are fully safe. You can take these medications for a long time without facing any side effects.
Behavioral therapy
In behavioral therapy, a trained therapist helps the person in identifying the causes and triggers of social phobia. He helps to change the way of thinking about the situation. Your therapist will expose you to the social situation until you get over it. The therapist starts with small exposure like eating in public or making an order at a restaurant. Once the person starts learning about those situations, the therapist will start exposing the person to bigger situations. Behavioral therapy can fully cure your social phobia.