Severe Social Anxiety: How Treatment Makes Social Situations Easier

Have you ever felt anxious before a social event? Perhaps you were meeting someone new or giving a big presentation. Anxiety is a normal human emotion. Everyone experiences it from time to time, but some people experience severe social anxiety that negatively impacts their everyday lives and interactions.

Social anxiety is a type of anxiety disorder. In 2021, there were 1,511 people diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in Delaware. If 7% of them had a social anxiety disorder, this would be approximately 105 Delawareans. At SUN Behavioral Health Delaware, we solve unmet needs by providing resources and guides that help people better understand these conditions. Today, we are going to discuss severe social anxiety.

What You Should Know About Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder is sometimes referred to as social phobia. This condition results in someone having an overwhelming fear and avoidance of social situations. People with this condition often feel judged or scrutinized by other people even in daily interactions that can range from speaking in public, meeting new people, talking to a cashier in the store, or being in a job interview.

Additionally, if you have this condition, you cannot control your fear, which makes it difficult to go to work or school or do anything that requires social interaction. Or you might be able to attend to social interactions, but you experience debilitating and difficult fear while attempting to. It is also possible that you will avoid social interactions to prevent these intense feelings from happening.

When Does Social Anxiety Become Severe Enough to Be a Concern?

Like many conditions, different people will experience varying degrees of severity when it comes to their social anxiety disorder. These range from mild to severe. For example, if you have mild anxiety you might have symptoms but you are still able to participate in social situations. You might even only experience social anxiety in certain situations, like only feeling anxious when meeting someone new, but being able to give a presentation to a group of people does not come with any anxiety symptoms.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you have severe social anxiety you might feel much more intense symptoms, including panic attacks. These symptoms are so uncomfortable you will avoid socializing altogether, no matter what. Most likely, you will avoid all types of social interactions. This leads to you being unable to function in your daily life.

You Aren’t Just Shy: Identifying the Most Common Symptoms of Severe Social Anxiety

Someone with severe social anxiety is not just shy. Shyness is a human emotion. Anyone can feel shy, and it is often, like many emotions, short-lived and does not cause harm to your day-to-day responsibilities. Social anxiety disorder impacts your life every day and can have lasting consequences on a person’s career, education, or relationships.

Psychological, behavioral, and physical signs that someone has a social anxiety disorder instead of experiencing shyness include:

Avoiding social situations is a common symptom you have of a severe social anxiety disorder. These situations could be anything and are not limited to the following:

Can You Diagnose Yourself With Severe Social Anxiety?

The short answer is no. Only a healthcare professional can diagnose you with severe social anxiety. Before your doctor does this, they will most likely perform exams, discuss symptoms, have you take a questionnaire, and discuss with you a list of situations that might result in feelings of anxiety for people with this condition. Your doctor will then compare your answers with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria. These include:

Treatment for Severe Social Anxiety: When Is It Beneficial?

If your social anxiety disorder is getting in the way of you being able to live your life, attend to your responsibilities, have the career you want, or even form meaningful and lasting relationships, treatment can help.

Severe Social Anxiety Treatment: What Can You Expect?

All anxiety treatments, including those for social anxiety, are treated in similar ways. Most commonly, treatment includes psychotherapy, medications, or a combination of both. What you receive will be a part of your treatment plan, depending on your specific needs.

During psychotherapy, you will learn and develop skills through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps people identify and change harmful thoughts into ones that are confident and beneficial to healing from anxiety symptoms. It also involves role-playing different social situations so you can practice these skills and gain confidence in using them when exposed to potential triggers outside of therapy.

Typically, the medications that are used to treat social anxiety include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Paxil or Zoloft and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as Effexor XR. These medications might take several weeks before they start to work, so it is important to remain patient and continue to attend treatment as you begin to notice improvement over time.

Mental Health Crisis Care for Severe Social Anxiety: Is It Ever Necessary?

Social anxiety is a type of anxiety disorder, and at times, it might lead to you feeling like you have lost control. Either in the moment or leading up to a social event, it leads to you having extremely intense levels of stress, fear, and worry. You might even feel like you are “stuck” or overwhelmed, unable to do anything at all. At this point, you might be unable to function or cope with your symptoms in any way, or it puts you in danger. In this case, mental health crisis care is necessary for someone to receive the proper tools that allow you to feel stable again.

The good news is that you don’t have to call our center beforehand. Just show up to the facility and a team of mental health professionals will provide you with what you need. If you have social anxiety, this can be beneficial as it removes one possible social interaction between your crisis symptoms and getting the help you need and deserve.

Find Treatment for Severe Social Anxiety in Georgetown, DE

Social anxiety can make the idea of getting treatment sound like your worst nightmare as it often seems like all of the attention will be on you in a social situation, especially if talking in groups or even one-on-one with someone causes you to feel extremely anxious. As a result, you might try to avoid treatment despite it causing concerns in your lives. Or you might even try it and then give up because it feels overwhelming and too much.

The reality is that while it can seem like a terrifying and daunting situation, it also helps many people with this condition finally find the freedom and confidence to interact and enjoy the company of others. Connection is a huge part of recovering from mental health conditions, and social anxiety disorders often get in the way of that. By attending treatment, you will not only learn the skills to manage your symptoms but also form lasting connections with people who have concerns similar to yours.

SUN Behavioral Health Delaware solves unmet needs in Georgetown. Through our no-cost care assessments, we work with you and your doctor to determine what treatment plan will best allow you to heal from your condition. To schedule a consultation or to learn more about our anxiety services, call us at 302-604-5600.