TREATMENT FOR SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER
Courtesy of Provisions Consulting Inc.
Hearing how disabling social anxiety disorder is, you can understand the critical importance of finding an appropriate treatment. Getting help as early as possible can lessen the emotional damage social anxiety disorder causes, stop harmful coping tactics from forming (like alcohol or drug.abuse) and prevent the development of other conditions often seen with social anxiety disorder (like depression). The right treatment can free you to pursue the social activities you've always wanted to be involved with and help you feel more comfortable at work and in relationships.
Fortunately, therapies already exist for social anxiety disorder, and there are more on the way. Effective treatments consist of medication, "talk" therapy or a combination of both.
What are some types of talk therapy?
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of "talk" therapy that may be helpful in the treatment of social anxiety disorder. It teaches people with social anxiety disorder to react differently to the situations that trigger their anxiety symptoms.
Social skills training is a component of "talk" therapy. Not to be confused with "etiquette" (teaching people to act and behave properly), social skills training involves meeting with a professional therapist to discuss and rehearse problematic social situations. Patients are shown how to make eye contact, talk louder and slower, greet people and say good-bye, ask for favors, respond to requests and criticism. They monitor themselves with diaries and practice the new skills with the therapist and then in real life. The hope is that knowing exactly what to say and do in social situations will ease the patient's anxiety.
What about medications?
There are several types of medication used for social anxiety disorder, including monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), benzodiazepines, beta-blockers, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Although all of these medications can help social anxiety disorder, certain ones are better for certain people. MAOIs and benzodiazepines may require more monitoring than other medications. Beta-blockers control only specific symptoms of anxiety, like heart pounding, during performance situations.
Doctors are starting to use SSRIs more often because, for most patients, they have fewer side effects compared to other medications. Although SSRIs are still being studied in social anxiety disorder, they seem to be a very promising treatment.
