Social anxiety disorder or SAD involves extreme fear of particular social situations – mainly situations that are different in which you’ll be observed or assessed by others. However, social anxiety disorder treatment has been made available today.
Social anxiety disorder treatment includes medications, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and some other alternative managements for the reduction of anxiety and depression felt by an individual.
I. MEDICATIONS
Medications are believed to be the most excellent form to treat social anxiety disorder.
- Benzodiazepines: These refer to the mild sedative/tranquilizers that work to reduce or prevent any recurring anxiety attacks. Even though these drugs are very well tolerated and fast-acting, they can be addictive and mostly not prescribed for people with substance abuse disorders.
- Beta Blockers: Since they don’t have any adverse effects, these are mostly used as an alternative medicines for benzodiazepines.
- Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors or MAOIs: These were the most helpful family of medicinal treatment for SAD. However, potential adverse reactions may occur in using these drugs.
- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRIs: SSRIs have turn out to be the preferred kind of medicines for social anxiety disorder. Usually, SSRIs are given because its prescription is easy to monitor and at the same time the effects are well-tolerated by the individual.
II. COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
This is a type of psychotherapy intended to alter your behaviors and thoughts in order to certainly influence your emotions.
- Exposure: This can occur either through visualizing the particular social situation or performance. The fundamental principle of exposure psychotherapy is that during experience and practice, you would become more at ease in events that you will otherwise keep away from.
- Training on Social Skills: This therapy would involves different forms of activities like modeling, exercising, and role-playing used to help the person to learn how to behave and lessen his symptoms of anxiety in several social situations.
- Cognitive Restructuring: These manage the cognitive symptoms of SAD such as poor self-concept, negative judgment on self, fear of negative evaluation of others. This is considered to be important social anxiety disorder treatment due to the strong cognitive feature of the disorder as well as the usual lifetime course.
III. ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS
Aromatherapy, dietary supplements, and hypnotherapy are just among the alternative social anxiety disorder treatment today. It is very imperative to know that these alternative managements have not yet been proven clinically as social anxiety disorder treatment.
