The Best Treatment For Social Anxiety

What is the best possible treatment for social anxiety? The answer lays mostly on the person himself or herself. The fact is: social anxiety or social phobia cannot be cured through self medication. It would take the counsel, recommendations and prescriptions of a qualified psychiatrist to cure this medical condition and not just the symptoms of this psychological problem. The very first step to recovery for any illness is accepting the fact that there is something off, and seeking medical advice for it. As of late, there are actually two accepted treatments for both social anxiety and social phobia. These are through pharmacological or drug intervention and through psychotherapy.

Pharmacological Treatments For Social Anxiety

Again, it should be stressed that these drugs should only be given upon the recommendations of the psychiatrist since the cases for social anxiety or social phobia are different from one individual to the other. Existing medical conditions should also be taken account especially those that may have prior prescriptions that may have adverse effects when combined with these drugs. Dosages and frequency of ingestion is also something that the psychiatrist must decide.

• However, here is a rundown of the more popularly used drugs for social anxiety and social phobia.
  
• SSRI or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors like Paxil and Seroxat. These are antidepressants that are proving to be beneficial to those who suffer from generalized social phobia.
  
• MAOI or monoamine oxidase are also anti depressants and are used only if the SSRI are not working as it should.
  
• RIMA or reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase subtype A. This provides temporary relief.
  
• Benzodiazepines like alprazolam and clonazepam are also anti-depressants. Although quite potent, they too offer temporary relief.
  
• Beta-blockers for high blood pressure can be taken in low doses. These have been proven to react well with some people.

Psychotherapeutic Treatments For Social Anxiety

Psychotherapy is a slow, gradual process of finding out where the fear comes from, teaching the person that these fears are unfounded, and slowly rehabilitating the person to function “normally” in gatherings or any social setup. Some people prefer this kind of treatment to avoid the possible dependence of the aforementioned drugs.

The most commonly used psychotherapy for social anxiety and social phobia is the cognitive behavioral therapy or the CBT.

Here, the person is allowed to be gradually rehabilitated into society through repetitive but supervised exposures. The 4 main focal points of this venture are: duration, focused, frequency and graded. Duration refers to the time that the person is “exposed” to the setup. As time passes, the duration is slowly increased. Focused refers to how much the person keeps his or her anxiety in check. Frequency refers to the number of times the person is allowed into social setups per day, per week or per month during the therapy. Lastly, graded refers to the actual number of people or participants within the exposure period. Participants are also gradually increased as time passes.

CBT also includes exercises like deep breathing or muscle relaxation as a part of the treatment for social anxiety.

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