Social anxiety disorder is a commonly diagnosed type of anxiety disorder that negatively affects how a person experiences social situations. People living with social anxiety may experience severe symptoms of anxiety in social settings and situations. These symptoms of severe anxiety can negatively affect a person’s life, impacting relationships, careers, lifestyle, and more. If you’re experiencing anxiety in social situations, you may be living with social anxiety disorder. Learning more about what social anxiety disorder is, the symptoms of this condition, and available treatments can help you determine what to do next to manage this condition as it affects your life.
Social anxiety disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that is characterized by experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety when engaged with others or being in a social setting. While it’s normal to feel shy around others or be more introverted, social anxiety disorder is more extreme. Symptoms of social anxiety disorder keep a person from doing everyday tasks and activities due to the severe level of stress and anxiety that comes with interacting with others in person or over the phone, going to the grocery store to get food, meeting friends and family for dinner, and other social activities or situations. If you find that anxiety is keeping you from doing anything social and this is negatively impacting your life, you may be living with social anxiety disorder.
There are three different types of symptoms of social anxiety disorder: mental, behavioral, and physical. These symptoms will come about when engaging in social activities or being in social settings.
Mental symptoms may include:
Behavioral symptoms may include:
Physical symptoms that may be present during interactions with others may include:
Since social anxiety disorder can be debilitating to daily life, it’s important for people living with this condition to get help. Professional treatment can help provide people diagnosed with this disorder with coping skills to learn and approaches to treatment that can reduce symptoms of anxiety. Some available treatments for people living with social anxiety disorder include:
Medications: Prescription medications can help to regulate brain functioning that may be responsible for higher stress levels in people with social anxiety disorder:
Individualized Therapy: One-on-one behavioral therapies can help provide people with social anxiety disorder with the knowledge and practice they need to utilize helpful coping skills to use in social situations.
Holistic Techniques: During treatment, individuals who are living with anxiety disorders can learn how to use holistic exercises like breathing techniques, mindfulness meditation, and more to manage symptoms of stress and anxiety.
If you’re struggling with overwhelming anxiety when faced with social settings, Delray Center for Healing is here to help. We provide outpatient programs for anxiety disorders to help people living with anxiety take back their lives and manage symptoms of anxiety. Learn more about how we can help you with anxiety today on our website.
Dr. Rodriguez founded the Delray Center in 2003 and built it on a foundation of core clinical, professional, and ethical principles that are adhered to still to this day. Dr. Rodriguez founded the Delray Center in 2003 and built it on a foundation of core clinical, professional, and ethical principles that are adhered to still to this day.