According to the DSM-5 criteria, Social anxiety disorder includes: Persistent, intense fear or anxiety about specific social situations because you believe you may be judged negatively, embarrassed, or humiliated.
The essential feature of Social Anxiety Disorder is a marked or intense fear or anxiety of social situations in which others may scrutinize the person. If you are suffering from Social anxiety, you might probably have many concerns about being negatively evaluated by others. To avoid being anxious around others, you might avoid engaging in the activity that provokes anxiety and subsequently increasing your anxiety in the long term.
What can cause Social Anxiety?
You’re more likely to develop social anxiety disorder if your biological parents or siblings have the condition. Another factor is negative experiences. People who have experienced teasing, bullying, rejection, or humiliation may be more prone to social anxiety disorder.
Having social Anxiety can be very isolating, with a constant fear of what others might think of you. On many occasions, this can limit you from achieving the many things you want to accomplish, and subsequently, you don’t live at your fullest potential.
Managing and Treating Social Anxiety
In therapy, you will identify the root of your social anxiety.
Some questions you can ask yourself are: Did you have moments in your life when you felt rejected, ashamed, or criticized that made you think you were not good enough?
Some of these experiences stay in our subconscious minds, and isolation can be a way to cope with them.
In therapy, you will process those distressful events. I will always provide you with a safe space and free of judgment. I had some difficulties in school with some of my peers that I didn’t realize were haunting me in adulthood. So, I understand what a person with social anxiety can have. You don’t need to hide anymore; you can start living a life where you embrace yourself regardless of what others think of you because you are enough.
My approaches to treating Social Anxiety include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.
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*NOTE: All counseling clients must be physically located in Florida.
