Social Anxiety Disorder 

Social Anxiety Disorder is defined as an intense fear or dread of social situations which can happen before during and/or after the event.  Sometimes incorrectly attributed as just ‘shyness’, it   Social Anxiety Disorder can have a significant impact on the daily life, education, career and relationship of a sufferer. Individuals often report worrying that they will embarrass themselves, that they will sweat or blush which others will notice and subsequently judge negatively.  This can lead to an individual completely avoiding social situations and becoming isolated, making them vulnerable to developing further issues such as co-morbid depression.  Despite some clients acknowledging that their anxiety is disproportionate or excessive they can find it extremely difficult to control, and will lead them to develop alternative safety behaviours to avoidance which will only help manage anxiety in the short term.

Who is impacted and why?

Social anxiety disorder will often start during adolescence, although it is possible for people of any age t to suffer from this disorder.

Like most mental health conditions it is believed that it is the combination of personality, genetics and environmental factors that lead to difficulties.

Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder is proven to be extremely effective in helping sufferers understand their condition and to identify negative thought processes and behavioural patterns.  This enables them to break maintaining cycles and to get to a point during their treatment where they are able to engage and enjoy social activities and their interests and hobbies.

Treatment can also be tailored to include people close or important to you, so that they are also able to understand the disorder and provide support in between sessions if required. This could be an individual’s parents, partner, sibling or even a close friend.

Asking for help can be difficult enough for anyone, however individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder can find this task even more challenging due to the nature and process of doing so. Due to this, we are able to offer initial appointments either online or over the phone so as to reduce the pressure upon the individual.