Essay on Social Anxiety and Cognitive Behavioral Treatments

In another study by Habby, Connelly, Corry & Vos (2005) they looked at a range of disorders including: GED (generalized anxiety disorder), panic disorder and depression in order to investigate which factors other than diagnosis would influence the effectiveness of CBT. They used the technique of meta-analysis to determine an overall effect size and meta-regression to determine the factors that impact on this effect size. Including randomized controlled trials, pill placebo or

Some people say that because CBT doesn’t always cure depression or because it doesn’t make an, “unpleasant situation go away” that CBT isn’t effective to recovering from depression (Mayo Clinic Staff 6). While this is true, The Mayo Clinic Staff continues on and says, “But it can give you the power to cope with your situation in a healthy way and to feel better about yourself and your life” (6). Not one treatment can get rid of someone’s depression completely, all it can do is help by reducing depressive symptoms.

The DSM-5 (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) defines social anxiety as, “A persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by

Having a fear of people and their personal judgments against oneself is the worry of social scenarios in which the communication with other individuals could immediately bring on feelings of intense self-scrutiny where person feel that others are watching their every move. It is also where a person may feel like they are constantly being evaluated as well as examined adversely others which can bring about feelings of inadequacy, shame, and embarrassment. One should note that if a person only feels like they are sitting on pins and needles in social circumstances, and not when no one else is around, social anxiety should be taken into consideration.

Social anxiety disorder, which is also called social phobia involves overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about everyday social situations. The worry often centers on a fear of being judged by others, or behaving in a way that might cause embarrassment or lead to ridicule. The fear may be made worse by a lack of social skills or experience in social situations. The anxiety can build into a panic attack. As a result of the fear, the person endures certain social situations in extreme distress or may avoid them altogether. In addition, people with social anxiety disorder often suffer anticipatory anxiety, the fear of a situation before it even happens, for days or weeks before the event. In many cases, the person is aware that the fear is unreasonable, yet is unable to overcome it. (Goldberg)

Social anxiety is the third largest physiological sickness in America, behind depression and Alcoholism. A website dedicated wholly to social anxiety claims that: “Social anxiety is the fear of being judged and evaluated negatively by other people, leading to feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, embarrassment, humiliation, and depression” (Social anxiety Institute). Social anxiety is common in our society currently. Many say it’s because of social media. The pressure of coming out of your own shell of strangers behind a screen and having to go out in the real world. Social anxiety is mostly shown at school, for adolescents, and the adolescent having to see other children all day, and almost every day. Having a social anxiety disorder can usually lead to having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Having O.C.D, in some cases, means there is no control in life, and the diagnosed patient must keep

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 is the fear of social situations and the interaction with other people that can automatically bring on feelings of self-consciousness, judgement, evaluation, and inferiority. Put differently social anxiety is the fear and anxiety of being judged and evaluated negatively by other people, leading to feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment, humiliation, and depression. If a person usually becomes anxious in social situations, but seems fine when they are by them selves, then social anxiety may be the problem.

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

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

There is various ways SAD can be treated. SAD is a common disorder that makes researchers believe that there is no set treatment established for it. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is known to be very successful when treating SAD (Richards, 2017). CBT is a type of psychotherapy where negative patterns of thoughts about the self and the world are challenged in order to change the unwanted behavior patterns. Thousands of research studies have indicated that after the completion of CBT, people with SAD are changed (Richards, 2017). This therapy is very successful in changing one’s thought process, beliefs, feelings, and behavior. It is important that people with SAD are compliant and do what is necessary to overcome their disorder.

(Clark & Beck,2010) There is a “marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur” DSM-IV-TR; APA, 2000, p.450) Social Phobics seem unable to assess friendly facial expressions. (Ballenger,2009) They have an enhanced vigilance to angry faces relative to happy and neutral faces. (Mogg,2004) This affects interpersonal functioning. (Joorman, 2006)

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 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.