Social anxiety can be intense enough to make you feel genuinely ill with fear. You don’t want to go anywhere or do anything because of the risk of being judged, laughed at, or humiliated in front of others. For some people, it’s the number one reason they don’t enjoy life to its fullest. Luckily, there are treatments available that can help you overcome your social anxiety and get back in the game!
There are a variety of different social anxiety treatment options available to you. Depending on how serious your social anxiety is and how much it interferes with your life, it can take anywhere from several weeks to several months to overcome. Take the time to consider which treatment would be best for you, whether it’s medication, therapy, or both.
Social anxiety medications are the most common treatment for social anxiety disorder (SAD). They usually work by increasing the serotonin and norepinephrine in your brain. This reduces the level of “excitement” in your brain so that you aren’t as nervous or anxious about what people think of you and can be more comfortable in social situations.
Social anxiety therapy, or CBT, can successfully treat social anxiety. You will learn to face your fears and confront those that make you anxious. Over time, you will learn new ways of handling fear by actively combating it with specific therapeutic techniques and activities.
Therapy is sometimes used alone but is most effective when combined with medication. There are many different types of therapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), psychodynamic therapy and hypnotherapy.
If you think that you might have social anxiety, start by taking a self-test. These are generally available on the internet and designed to help you assess how much your social anxiety affects your life. Then, you can seek out different treatments to suit your needs. It’s up to you to decide what is best for you and how long you want it to take!
One of the key factors in treating social anxiety is finding a way of countering it in small steps so that it doesn’t overwhelm or intimidate you too much.
