According to The Social Anxiety Association, social anxiety disorder (SAD) is defined as having a fear of social situations that involve interaction(s) with other people. People with social anxiety fear being negatively judged and evaluated by other people. They often have a misperception of themselves, including their appearance and self-worth (Richards 2013). Social anxiety is the third largest mental health care problem in the world, effecting about 7% of the population (Richards 2013). Triggering symptoms of social anxiety includes but is not limited to being introduced to new people, being the center of attention, being criticized/ridiculed, and having to speak in a public setting. The most common emotional symptoms are high
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Studies have shown that the combination of anti-anxiety medication, in some cases anti-depressants, with cognitive behavioral therapy is the most effective way to treat social anxiety (Richards 2013). The use of medication without therapy does not produce any long-term effects, and only about 15% of socially anxious people respond to anti-depressants (Richards 2013). The President of the Social Anxiety Association, Thomas Richards Ph.D., explains that the use of positive statements and thinking is nothing but ineffective. The specific solutions to overcoming social anxiety that he lays out are to first, allow the person to begin catching their own automatic negative thinking. Then, find distractions to use while in therapy, and begin to gradually alter the automatic negative thinking. At first, this would have to be a conscious process, but becomes automatic over time, and eventually permanently changes the way the brain works (Richards …show more content…
in the measures. The DCS groups show that a behavioral measure can capture important clinical change, and serves as an indicator of DCS improvement (Sheerin et al., 2016). The primary hypothesis, that the treatment response during exposure would be enhanced by DCS, and the administration of DCS combined with a behavioral measure of anxiety would give utility in assessing outcomes (Sheerin et al., 2016), was generally supported by the conclusion of the first study. The researchers say that because of the small sample size and variability in responses should warrant caution (Sheerin et al., 2016). For Study 2, they used The Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation scale, a 12-item measure to determine the degree of anxiety or fear while being negatively evaluated, on a scale from 1 to 3, 1 being not characteristic of the participant and 3 being extremely characteristic (Sheerin et al., 2016). This was used in combination with LSAS, which was completed at the start of each session. The same BAT from Study 1 was performed at the end of each session. Participants were involved in a maximum of ten (individual) sessions a
Studies have shown that the combination of anti-anxiety medication, in some cases anti-depressants, with cognitive behavioral therapy is the most effective way to treat social anxiety (Richards 2013). The use of medication without therapy does not produce any long-term effects, and only about 15% of socially anxious people respond to anti-depressants (Richards 2013). The President of the Social Anxiety Association, Thomas Richards Ph.D., explains that the use of positive statements and thinking is nothing but ineffective. The specific solutions to overcoming social anxiety that he lays out are to first, allow the person to begin catching their own automatic negative thinking. Then, find distractions to use while in therapy, and begin to gradually alter the automatic negative thinking. At first, this would have to be a conscious process, but becomes automatic over time, and eventually permanently changes the way the brain works (Richards …show more content…
in the measures. The DCS groups show that a behavioral measure can capture important clinical change, and serves as an indicator of DCS improvement (Sheerin et al., 2016). The primary hypothesis, that the treatment response during exposure would be enhanced by DCS, and the administration of DCS combined with a behavioral measure of anxiety would give utility in assessing outcomes (Sheerin et al., 2016), was generally supported by the conclusion of the first study. The researchers say that because of the small sample size and variability in responses should warrant caution (Sheerin et al., 2016). For Study 2, they used The Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation scale, a 12-item measure to determine the degree of anxiety or fear while being negatively evaluated, on a scale from 1 to 3, 1 being not characteristic of the participant and 3 being extremely characteristic (Sheerin et al., 2016). This was used in combination with LSAS, which was completed at the start of each session. The same BAT from Study 1 was performed at the end of each session. Participants were involved in a maximum of ten (individual) sessions a