Everyone feels anxious from time to time; it is a perfectly normal reaction to certain things.

Job interviews, first dates and doing things that might scare you such as flying, are just a handful of examples of situations that can get your adrenalin pumping and your brain worrying.

For a lot of people these feelings of stress and anxiety dissipate after a while, usually when the stressful situation is over.

Many find that being around other people can help soothe fears and mediate anticipation. This balance of feelings is healthy and natural.

Some people have these feelings of stress and worry most or all the time. Any situation can leave those with anxiety disorders consumed with fear. Just popping to the local shops can be agony for many and for sufferers of social anxiety disorder other people, even friends and family can make symptoms worse instead of helping.

So how do you know if you are just a natural worrier or if you could benefit from social anxiety disorder help?

What exactly is social anxiety disorder?

The most commonly used diagnostic manual, the DSM, describes social anxiety disorder as a persistent and unreasonable or excessive fear of situations where the person might suffer embarrassment or scrutiny.

Many practitioners consider something to be a disorder when it severely affects the day to day life of the person. Social anxiety disorder can manifest in several ways including panic attacks and complete avoidance of social or performance situations.

The symptoms of social anxiety disorder can be grouped together under three headings: physical, cognitive and behavioral.

• Physical symptoms – Common externally perceivable symptoms such as blushing, sweating and a trembling voice can add to the feelings of ridicule and paranoia that define the disorder. Other physical problems including chest pain and nausea are less obvious to onlookers but equally upsetting to the sufferer.
• Cognitive symptoms – Social anxiety disorder creates negative thought patterns that can gradually erode a person’s self-esteem. This then makes it even harder to function effectively as the person’s brain reinforces the fear of going out and being around people.
• Behavioral symptoms – Social anxiety disorder controls the lives of its sufferers to such an extent that they tend to make important life choices with the sole aim of avoiding stressful situations. This self-imposed isolation can lead to issues such as alcohol and drug dependency and additional symptoms associated with depression.

Many sufferers seek an online therapist for anxiety help as social anxiety therapy online has been found to be highly effective in treating both cognitive and behavioral symptoms, which in turn lessens the physical symptoms.

 

Social anxiety treatment online

Social anxiety disorder affects 7% of Americans, around 15 million adults and as much as 15% of the UK. However, some organizations estimate that 36% of Americans wait up to 10 years before seeking treatment and only half of UK sufferers ever receive treatment, sometimes having waited up to 20 years.

One of the major problems when trying to treat social anxiety disorder is that by their nature sufferers are fearful of many of the aspects of getting traditional therapy. For many with this anxiety disorder just making a phone call to arrange an appointment can be overwhelming, let alone actually visiting a therapist’s office.

With social anxiety therapy online from psychologyhelp.com, anyone can simply click on a link and be talking to a trained online therapist for anxiety help within 24 hours. Our practitioners are experienced in administering social anxiety treatment online via whatever method you are most comfortable with, be it using Skype, phone or text.

But I don’t think I can afford help.

As mentioned, social anxiety disorder can lead to diminishing quality of life for many sufferers, including addiction and financial worries as it can be hard to hold down a job. In addition, several studies support the idea that social anxiety is more common among disadvantaged groups. Some even note the disparity in access to treatment between different ethnic groups.

A frequently cited benefit of accessing social anxiety disorder help online is that it is generally much cheaper than traditional face to face treatment. Not only do you save money by not having to travel to a therapist’s office, as well as the stress, but you are not paying for a therapist to travel, for example.

How does social anxiety treatment online actually work?

In pretty much the same way as offline treatment is the usual answer to this frequently asked question!

There are different options when it comes to tailoring individual social anxiety therapy online. For more information read on or contact psychologyhelp.com for more details.

• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – Widely accepted as the most effective treatment for anxiety disorders, CBT works by reprogramming negative thought patterns that are created gradually in people with social anxiety disorder. Although CBT for social anxiety disorder is different from CBT for other disorders and mental health issues, the basic format has been proven to work as well online as face to face.
• Mindfulness – A relatively new therapeutic practice that teaches us to be more aware of ourselves in our surroundings, mindfulness is loosely based on Buddhist traditions. Studies have shown that mindfulness-based interventions including Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) perform comparatively to CBT in anxiety treatment. Mindfulness-based therapies are also compatible with CBT, so it is possible and beneficial to use both methods simultaneously.
• Behavioural methods – Techniques such as systematic desensitization work by gradually exposing social anxiety sufferers to stressful situations. Over time the situations evoke less and less anxiety until the patient can move onto another problematic situation.

The good news is that social anxiety disorder can be treated; improving the lives of those who are plagued with fear. If you are looking for an online therapist for anxiety treatment get in touch with psychologyhelp.com today and you could soon be on a happier path.