Social Anxiety: Treatment And Intervention Proposal

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.

For those suffering from anxiety and depression, life can be very lonely. Finding help for them become a necessity to living a normal and healthy life again. Help can come in many ways; it can be ways to relieve stress, ways to relieve anxiety, and information on how to get rid of social anxiety disorder. Strategies for reduction are very important to obtain and refine, but all of this requires a little help from specialists who know what a sufferer is going through.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a better way to assist people who suffer from social anxiety disorder. I will propose a better way I will treat those who suffer with social anxiety disorder. I will explain some realistic actions I will take to help move my proposals in a positive direction. Further, I will discuss the steps I will take to avoid being a “pawn” in the current system. Lastly, I will demonstrate how I am going to really help my clients that are suffering with social anxiety disorder without jeopardizing my career.

Social anxiety is a debilitating disorder that often leads to significant social impairment, but impairment can transfer over to other domains of a person’s life (Ranta et al., 2007). That is, social anxiety to can lead to being socially incompetent and this can affect a persons work, education, and quality of relationships as well. Adolescents are especially susceptible to social anxiety because it is a developmental time when peer evaluation and social acceptance is very important; putting too much

E2. There were many challenges I undertook when researching. One was when I was undertaking surveys. I decided to email psychologists and therapists and survey them about what they have discovered when talking to social anxiety victims, I had discovered that there were in fact many professional and relevant therapists on the internet and

The feeling of anxiety is familiar to all of us and we all experienced some anxiety and fear at least once in our life. Whether that was the first day in a new workplace, the first day in college, or before an important meeting, we felt that we were really anxious and nervous. From the evolutionary perspective, the conservation of fear and anxiety among some species is a good indication that those emotions are highly important for survival. Some people, however, experience an excessive and unreasonable amount of anxiety, which may be the result of social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a psychological disorder during which people experience enormous social phobia and are irrationally afraid of being judged by others in social settings (Lima Osório, 2013).Although it is considered as a common anxiety disorder, I do believe that with appropriate treatments and therapies, individual approach to each patient and willingness to help them, many people can overcome the social phobia, can make stronger interpersonal relationships with their friends and relatives, and can integrate into their social community with no or at least less fear of communicating with others.

Social anxiety is actually more common than people believe it to be. There are millions of people who suffer hardships because of this mental disorder and can affect both children and adults. According to the “Anxiety and Depression Association of America”, there are 15 million people who

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is defined as a chronic and often disabling condition that is associated with uncontrollable worry and tension with symptoms that include restlessness, fatigue, irritability, muscle tension, and/or sleep disturbance. People with social anxiety disorder also experience an intense, persistent fear of drawing attention to themselves in social situations, believing that their flaws will be exposed and that they will be negatively evaluated and rejected. It’s a terrible and vicious cycle of anxiety and worry that interferes with careers, everyday life, and relationships, and often causes the individual to develop depression. This disorder is much more than the normal anxiety that everyone experiences from time to

About 12.1 percent of the general population has social anxiety (SAD) disorder during their lives (Kessler, Berglund, et al., 2005). SAD is the second most common form of anxiety disorder and affects 35 million people in the United States alone (Hofmann et al., 2009, Magee et al., 1996). People diagnosed with SAD have a lower quality of life, higher chance of substance abuse and greater risk of suicide (Baldwin and Buis 2004). The best and most common form of treatment for SAD is cognitive-behavioral therapy (Stangier, Schramm, Heidenreich, Berger, & Clark, 2011).[b1] Social anxiety disorder is defined as an “extreme, enduring, irrational fear and avoidance of social or performance situations.” [b1] Some of the symptoms of social anxiety disorder are fear that an individual will show anxiousness in social scenarios, an immense amount of fear that causes clinical impairment or social distress and symptoms have lasted for at least 6 months. [b2] Cognitive therapy is defined as a “group of treatment procedures aimed at identifying and modifying faulty thought processes, attitudes and attributions and problem behaviors.[b3] ” Clark and colleagues [b4] (2006) reviewed a cognitive therapy program that had real-world social scenarios included in the study. Their reasoning for doing this was to challenge patients’ negative self-concepts and thoughts in social scenarios. This style of program benefited 84% of individuals who participated[b5] . [b6] The three articles discussed in

Phil Topham and Gram Russell once asked whether social anxiety disorder constitutes a hidden disability. In an article [Social Anxiety in Higher Education], they have said “although anxiety is accepted as part of the learning process, there is little thought given to the impact of social anxiety.” It is understandable to that many people have many different kinds of fears, but with those with social anxiety disorder (or social phobia), that fear is intensified (Harvard Mental Health Letter, 1994). Numerous of people still do not fully understand when someone has social anxiety disorder, but then again it is not easy to identify it or many mistaken them being shy rather than someone with an actually disorder (Topham & Russell, 2008; Anderson,

About 15 million adults in America have been diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorders ("Social Anxiety Disorder"). Social anxiety has been defined as a remarkable amount of fear, embarrassment, or humiliation a person feels when presented with social situations. Commonly, the person will purposely avoid the situation or face it with excessive amounts of agony ("Shyness... Or Social Anxiety Disorder?"). Studies have shown that social anxiety is linked with panic attacks. Not only will a person suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder feel anxious during social functions, but the bare thought will also cause anxiety. In addition, a person who suffers from social anxiety will struggle with negative thoughts, shame, and depression as a result of any perceived mistake ("What is the Difference Between Shyness and Social Anxiety?"). Fortunately, anti-anxiety medication can be prescribed through a physician (Doctor, Kahn, Adamec xvii).

Imagine being 17 and the whole school administration thinking that you are a drug addict because of some ridiculous dark-humored tweets you posted on Twitter. Well, that is exactly what happened to my good friend, Josh. He has always had a dry sense of humor about things, meaning, he said or found things funny that were not funny to most people. Basically he tweeted about selling his medications, Klonopin and Topamax, because they were not working; I replied and said something about Xanax, I believe (we both take medication to help our depression so we just laugh about all the drugs that are prescribed to keep us somewhat sane). The next day, he was called in to the office to discuss these tweets. Soon enough, everyone thought he was a drug

Among all anxiety problems, social anxiety disorder is most common anxiety issue and third most common problem in all mental complications (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Hofmann & Bogels, 2006). SAD is a mental disorder which has a tendency to become chronic and badly disturbs normal functions of life if not diagnosed and treated in time (Beesdo-Baum, et al., 2012; Garcia-Lopez, Piqueras, Diaz-Castela, & Ingles, 2008). It is also among the most prevailing mental disorders and is described in Criterion A of DSM-V as “Marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others. Examples include social interactions (e.g., having a conversation, meeting unfamiliar people), being observed (e.g., eating or drinking), and performing in front of others (e.g., giving a speech)” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). A specific amount of anxiety is always anticipated socially and helps an individual managing future threats (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). But having social anxiety means that anxiety is too much for normal functioning during social situations and often interferes with

It seems clear to me that social anxiety disorder (SAD) has a huge negative impact on the lives of the individuals diagnosed with it – to the point where they are struggling to just get through the day. Those diagnosed with SAD feel an intense amount of fear and distress during everyday interactions with other people (or even just the thought of having to interact with others may provoke anxiety), and those emotions are so extreme to the point where normal, daily activities pose as a huge challenge for them. For instance, according to the video, James could not go grocery shopping without feeling anxious and overly self-conscious. Home was his ultimate comfort zone, and just being outside of home for more than an hour was unbearable for him at times. Pam was also another individual who absolutely dreaded being in environments outside her home. Her condition had a strong, negative impact on work, where every moment at work would be torturous for her.

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