Social Anxiety and CBT

Everyone experiences some social anxiety depending on certain situations, but when we find that this anxiety affects our ability to function in many daily activities, then it may be time to seek solutions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) .

Social anxiety is a general or specific fear of social situations. Almost everyone has some sort of social anxiety throughout his life. Maybe some just get anxious before giving a public speech or act big in front of an audience, while others may get anxious for a little social interaction, such as going to school every day or go shopping at the supermarket.

Recent cross-cultural research has shown that between 5-7% of the population suffers from social anxiety disorder (SAD). SAD is a clinical condition that includes excessive social anxiety, often defined as causing distress and / or impaired ability to function at least in some parts of everyday life.

SAD is clinically defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV). The main criteria to be diagnosed include:

Persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur.
Exposure to social or performance situation provokes an immediate anxiety response.
The person recognizes the fear as excessive or unreasonable.
The social or performance situation is often avoided or endured with fear.
The avoidance, fear or anxious anticipation of encountering the social or performance situation interferes significantly with the individual's daily routine, work or social life, or if the person is markedly distressed about having the phobia.
In individual years younger than 18 years of age, symptoms must have persisted for at least 6 months before the social phobia is diagnosed.
The fear or avoidance is not attributed to the direct physiological effects of substance abuse.

If you think that these symptoms may apply to you then you may have a type of seasonal affective disorder.

However, if you really want to get a correct diagnosis, you need to see a licensed psychologist. You can not diagnose a psychiatric disorder.

Other signs of social anxiety include biological responses, such as:

Rapid breathing
Palpitations
Tremors
Perspiration
Muscle tension
Blush
Gastrointestinal complaints
Diarrhea
Cold wet hands, as well as other behavioral characteristics:
Shakily
Eye Contact
Poor posture
Restlessness
Repetitive behaviors such as tapping feet or fingers rapidly.

As you can see, social anxiety is a complex psycho-physiological state that can manifest in several ways. When we find that anxiety inhibits our being and performance at work, school, home or in our social life, then it may be time to start looking for ways to improve management.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the talking therapies more common in modern clinical psychology, and has been effective in treating various mood and anxiety disorders. As its name suggests, this therapy involves the use of cognitive and behavioral strategies.

Cognitive strategies are based on the discovery of patterns of thought that can be attributed to our emotions and behavior. Often, we find that we operate in irrational beliefs or assumptions that have no relation to the real world. When we realize our mental state based on these assumptions is irrational, we can try to replace them with more useful beliefs that motivate us to think, feel and act more effectively.

One of the most common cognitive strategies is cognitive restructuring. This can be done in 1-on-one counseling, group therapy, or self-talk.



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