Hypnotherapy And Social Anxiety

Social anxiety, also known as social phobia, is a feeling of fear and discomfort of being judged badly by other people. Anyone can experience this at work, school, special events, and even at doing everyday things. Many people have experienced a feeling like this and that is normal. But having a social anxiety disorder can have a huge affect in someone’s life style. The effects of having disorder can lead to bad results in life.

This essay will briefly research evidence on the four conditions and demonstrate the impact that stress has on our everyday lives whilst showing how it is linked to the other conditions of anxiety, phobias and habits. It will then explore how hypnotherapy can be an effective treatment for anxiety, taking into account current ethical issues involved in treatment.

Social anxiety is “a fear of humiliation or of being judged by others, and an avoidance of social situations where attention centers on the individual” (Martis). According to the Social Anxiety Institute, social anxiety has become the third largest psychological disorder, following depression and alcoholism (Richards). Commonly, victims of this social phobia have problems pursuing social environments, interactions, and relationships (“Social Anxiety Disorder”). The failure to fulfill daily requirements in jobs, social settings, and relationships often leaves them feeling “powerless, alone, or even ashamed” (“Social Anxiety Disorder”). Today in America,“15 million [people] suffer[from] the disorder” (“Social Anxiety Disorder”). Of the 15 million American adults affected, women and men are equally prone to develop the phobia (“Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder)”). Currently, the prevalence rate for acquiring social anxiety disorder is “13-14% of all Americans” and continues to rise (Richards). As the number of people affected by social anxiety continues to rise, the understanding of social anxiety’s causes, effects, and treatments is crucial.

A couple of researchers at the Anxiety Disorders Research Center in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) examined weaknesses of CBT (Craske et al., 2014). Although CBT has been known for the most effective treatment for social phobia, not all patients show improvements after the treatment. Patients easily drop out during, or at the early stage of the treatment. Even patients who successfully finished the entire session tend to have a hard time continuing to use methods they learned and to maintain low level of anxiety, so the likelihood of reoccurrence exists. Therefore, alternative ways to solve these weaknesses are needed in order to develop the treatment itself and to provide the most matchable treatment method for each patient, according to the article by Craske et al. (2014).

Social anxiety is a prevalent and common disorder amongst society. Social anxiety disorder is expressed as a fear in public and social situations for an individual (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf 2013). A person with social anxiety fears that a social appearance, outcome, or situation will lead a to negative response to their surrounding audience (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf 2013). However there are numerous treatments for social anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most efficacious treatments that a patient may receive (Hambrick, Weeks, Harb, & Heimberg, 2003. Cognitive behavioral therapy has numerous techniques that can be used on patients. The result of using cognitive

The concept of fear dated back as far as 400 BC. During this time, Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician described the overly shy person as “someone who loves darkness as life and thinks every man observes him”. When fear is persistent and exaggerated, it results to tension and stress and consequently, anxiety.

Social Phobia, also called social anxiety disorder (SAD), is one of the most common, but misconstrued mental health problems in society. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), over 15 million adults suffer from the disorder. First appearing in the DSM-III as Social Phobia, and later in the DSM-IV as Social Anxiety Disorder, this newly established disorder denotes afflicting stress and anxiety associated with social situations (Zakri 677). According to James W. Jefferson, two forms of Social phobia exist: specific and generalized. Specific social phobia indicates anxiety limited to few performance situations, while generalized indicates anxiety in all social situations (Jefferson). Many people often interchangeably link this disorder to shyness––a personality trait. However, although they have striking similarities, the two are divergent. To begin with, SAD has an extensive etiology ranging from multiple factors. Furthermore, symptoms of various aspects accompany SAD. Moreover, SAD has detrimental impacts affecting quality of life. Lastly, SAD has numerous methods of treatment. Social Phobia is prevalent in both women and men beginning at the onset of puberty (ADAA).

     Social anxiety disorder or social phobia is a much more common problem then psychologists originally thought. Millions of people al over the world

This literature review is conducted to explore the social anxiety disorder, its Etiology, prevalence and finally putting focus on the need of a special treatment for adolescent with social anxiety disorder. Anxiety problems are the most common and widespread mental issues and are an area of interest for the medical as well as psychology researchers. These disorders are related to excess fear and anxiety and associated behavioural problems, where an

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a technique in which the individual with social anxiety changes their beliefs that influence their perception of their environment. People with social anxiety typically have more negative thoughts that don’t align with reality. They might think about something simple and then over think it and make it a much bigger deal in their head. The goal of cognitive-behavioral therapy is to replace those over dramatic thoughts with more realistic ones (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). The behavioral part of cognitive-behavioral therapy is exposure training. Many people with social anxiety have probably been told to just go out and face their fears, but this will not work. The exposure training has to be very gradual and is a step-by-step process. The process is very slow, and if it moves to fast it will backfire (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). Once those two steps, cognitive and behavioral, have been taken and are headed towards improvement, one will be well on their way to overcoming their social

Social Anxiety Disorder or social phobia, is the third largest mental health care problem in the world. (Stein, 2010) National statistical surveys carried out in 2002 in the United Kingdom suggest that the prevalence rates for social phobias among young people in the UK were around 4%. (National Statistics, 2002)

The Social anxiety Association classifies social anxiety as the fear of interacting with other and social situations. Social anxiety causes fear and anxiety in most if not all aspects of ones lives. Social anxiety is the fear of being negatively judge or evaluated by others. It is a chronic disease that it does not go away on its own, only direct cognitive-behavioral therapy can help people overcome their social anxiety. There are a few situations that can trigger social anxiety such as being introduced to

Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) can be described as an extreme, persistent fear of being scrutinized or judged by others in social situations. This fear may lead to feelings of embarrassment, humiliation and self-consciousness. People who suffer from this condition may “feel powerless against their anxiety” (ADAA). These emotions often interfere with daily activities, such as school, work and personal relationships. The person might begin to withdraw socially or avoid situations in which he or she is afraid. Millions of Americans endure this devastating condition every day of their lives. There are several causes, symptoms and treatments.

Social anxiety is a disorder in which individuals assume that they will be negatively evaluated. This results in an extreme fear of social situations or performance-based situations (Iverach, Rapee, Wong, & Lowe, 2017, p. 542) for a period of time lasting longer than six months (Brundage et al., p. 498). Those with social anxiety fear negative judgement during

Social anxiety is “a feeling of discomfort, fear, or worry that is centered on our interactions with other people and involves a concern with being judged negatively, evaluated, or looked down upon by others” (Social Anxiety Support, 2014). Social anxiety can affect anyone. Individuals with social anxiety tend to prefer to keep to themselves because they are afraid others will judge them negatively and have a hard time interacting socially.