Party-Phobia? The Best Way to Get Rid of Social Anxiety
Beyond Shyness – Do You Have Social Anxiety?
You see your friends get out there and meet potential mates, go to parties and mingle, pair up. You sit at home, gripped by anxiety. You fear being judged by others, being humiliated in public, or maybe even walking in front of people you don’t know.
You know what you are doing, and you feel competent and respected in your job. But take off the “work mask,” and uncomfortable things happen.
Social Situations Can Be Unbearable.
You are trapped in a relationship wasteland because you are more than shy. You are experiencing the pain of social anxiety.
The key difference between shyness and social anxiety (an official diagnosis recognized by health insurance companies) is how much this trait interferes with “normal” functioning, including developing and having relationships.
If you feel that social anxiety is preventing you from having the connections with other people that you want, there is hope.
What Can You Do about Social Anxiety?
In the past and even today, antianxiety drugs and antidepressants have been considered the first line of treatment by many medical professionals. But a newly released study in Lancet Psychiatry, a well-respected medical journal, showed that a specific type of treatment for social anxiety–Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)–is more effective than medications or even other types of therapy in decreasing social anxiety.
CBT—Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Feelings, Develop Relationships.
CBT is a structured therapy in which a counselor teaches you to change your thought patterns. When you practice CBT techniques and you change your thoughts, what follows is sometimes almost miraculous. With time, different thoughts create different feelings and emotions, reducing anxiety so that you are able to take new chances and experience people and social situations in a better, more normal way.
Your nervous system relaxes. You are able to put yourself in new situations without debilitating fear. You are no longer in the emotional wasteland caused by social anxiety.
