Social Anxiety Treatment
Social Anxiety Treatment: Self Administered Or Medically Induced?
For cases of social anxiety, treatment is often not as invasive or intense as in those cases where anxiety and depression are intruding on every part of a person’s life. Social anxiety seems to take hold a bit more slowly than destructive disorders, but do need to be monitored and controlled so that they do not begin to encompass other areas of your life. If the things that you used to do on a normal basis, such as meeting friends at the bar for drinks or at the mall for shopping, have begun to cause you stress, worry, fear, or feelings of self consciousness, you may be stepping into the early stages of social anxiety. Therapy may not be necessary at this point, as there are many things that you can do to help alleviate your symptoms.
It is important to remember, first off, that many of the things that we think have a calming and soothing effect on us are actually stimulants which can hinder our mental abilities to cope with fear and stress. Alcohol, for instance, is commonly thought to relax and numb the senses, making social situations much easier and lighter to bear. Fact of the matter: alcohol increases your chances of severe anxiety disorder symptoms, such as panic attacks, by as much as 60 percent. Smoking cigarettes does not decrease stress either, but rather raises edginess and susceptibility to aggravated anxiety symptoms. In other words, to encourage the success of your self administered social anxiety treatment, discontinue the use of these stimulant substances.
Caffeine of course, and the overindulgence of it, is a dead ringer for causing jitters, nervous energy, jumbled brain function, and tension in the muscles and joints. For those who are fighting against social anxiety, caffeine should be avoided at all costs. Caffeine withdrawal, however, can cause severe headaches and muscle spasms which are extremely painful. If you need to quit caffeine, try to do it gradually over one month’s time, as the sudden deprivation of it can be more painful than the anxiety symptoms you are up against.
One of the most basic social anxiety treatment tips is to get plenty of rest. When fatigue becomes a factor, your body and mind are highly susceptible to deviations in natural function. This particular tip can be a catch twenty-two, however, as the more stressed we become the harder it can be to find good rest, and the less rest we receive the more difficult it can be to overcome stress. If at any time you feel that you may benefit from the advice of a qualified medical professional, you should no hesitate to consult with one. Your health, as always, is of the utmost importance.