Sociophobia (from English - "fear of society") - one of the most common psychological disorders, is a person's excruciating fear of society. Recognized as a disease of youth: most often people from 15 to 30 years old suffer from it.
Discomfort experienced by social phobes can be of varying severity - from minor timidity to large-scale phobia.
This mental illness is safe for physical he alth, but greatly reduces the quality of life of the individual. A person experiences a range of unpleasant sensations when being in crowded places, during public speaking, with increased attention to his person.
The first step to a harmonious and fulfilling life is overcoming social phobia. To implement this is quite realistic, the most important thing is the desire and willingness to cope with difficulties. At first it will be difficult, because any personal growth is a change of established life attitudes to new ones. But when the first results are achieved in a personself-respect awakens. This quality contributes to the development of communication skills inherent only in a strong personality.
We will look at the causes, manifestation and treatment of social phobia by various methods.
History of social phobia
In the 60s of the twentieth century, the first patients appeared with vague complaints about the fear of society. Symptoms in people varied significantly (from the fear of public disgrace to the impossibility of being in public). But in general, they were united by one thing: they began with a large crowd of people. Then psychotherapists were first interested in social phobia. The treatment was carried out by the method of psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud.
Psychologists relied on his theory that childhood plays a decisive role in the formation of personality, and most phobias are laid at an early age. In the case of social phobia, the emotional closeness of a parent with a small child is of great importance.
Mother must pay enough attention to the child, talk to him, smile. Thanks to the manifestation of care and affection, the child begins to subconsciously feel needed. With a lack of care, the baby feels useless: he grows capricious and irritable. A child experiences a lot of stress when visiting a nursery or kindergarten early. He begins to emotionally miss his parents, there is a fear of the unknown, which causes social phobia in the future.
Sociophobia: Causes
The treatment of social phobia directly depends on the reasons that caused it in a particular individual. For example, if a person has a pronounced imbalanceneurotransmitters, then he is prescribed treatment with pills. If communication difficulties arise due to children's complexes, then cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy is indicated for social phobia.
What are the causes of social phobia?
- Hereditary factors (if either parent experiences social anxiety, the child will also grow up restless).
- Imbalance of neurotransmitters. Our endocrine system produces certain hormones responsible for fear, happiness, euphoria, sadness, etc. When it is disrupted, the correct balance of hormones is also disrupted. This leads to a mood disorder and increased anxiety).
- Introversion (most social phobes are introverts with a weak type of nervous system).
- Children's grievances.
Most often, social phobia is caused by a combination of factors. Either stress, or resentment, or an existential crisis is superimposed on the anxious nature of a person. The psyche can not stand it, and another person joins the ranks of social phobias.
Distinguishing signs of social phobia
Classic social phobes can be seen from afar: these are slender young people in headphones who look younger than their years. They are characterized by a missing look and a strange appearance.
The first social phobes to openly declare themselves were young Japanese. At the end of the 20th century, they formed the hikikomori movement - young people who chose the path of voluntary seclusion. Their distinguishing feature is the minimization of communication with society. Liked the hikikomori lifestylecertain segment of Western youth. Soon this movement gained popularity in the West and in Russia.
However, the unwillingness to be in society and the fear of society are fundamentally different things. The first is a manifestation of nihilism, and the second is a serious phobia that causes real discomfort to a person. A real sociophobe suffers from the fact that he cannot be among people: it is difficult for him to find an office job, he does not go to nightclubs and parties. At the same time, the person realizes that something is wrong with him. He wants to change the situation, but he can't.
Symptoms of social phobia
A person with severe social phobia is seriously limited. Three areas are affected:
- behavioral;
- physiological;
- emotional.
The behavioral sphere suffers most seriously: a person refuses to visit interesting events, avoids crowded places, does not know how to speak in public.
The physiological component is manifested by vegetative symptoms:
- tachycardia;
- tremor;
- redness of the skin;
- lump in throat;
- excessive sweating.
Emotionally, social phobia manifests itself as an irrational and panicky fear of people. A person with his head understands the absurdity of the situation, but is unable to influence the situation.
Diagnosis of social phobia
Sociophobia is treated by psychoanalysts, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists. You should not go to a psychiatrist, because this doctor treats the mentally ill, not neurotics. An illiterate psychiatrist will prescribe seriousdrugs that reduce anxiety, but do not eliminate the cause of the problem. The ideal option is to find a competent psychotherapist who will help a person get to the bottom of the problem.
An appointment with a psychotherapist begins with the patient telling about his problems. Next, the doctor will suggest passing special tests:
- Luscher test (on the general psychological state of a person).
- Spielberger-Khanin test (to determine the level of anxiety).
- Social phobia test.
Based on the test results and the person's complaints, a diagnosis is made and treatment is prescribed.
Treatment of social phobia
Robert Kiyosaki's wonderful work "Rich Dad Poor Dad" describes situations when smart and educated people were literally left with nothing because of their indecision and shyness. While less educated, but more determined and arrogant individuals were successful. The author shows that situations should not be allowed when fear suppresses the will. Because of it, your inner abilities and aspirations begin to fade, and you stop achieving your goals.
The cause of a person's poor he alth in public is social phobia. Treatment will be effective if you find the right treatment method. A psychotherapist is called to help find her: it was not in vain that he studied the books of famous predecessors and applied knowledge at seminars.
Social phobia can be treated in many ways. One of the most effective is the treatment of social phobia.cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. There are other methods by which social phobia is corrected, treatment is carried out:
- Pills and other medicines.
- Healing through meditation.
- Treatment of social phobia with hypnosis.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Treatment of social phobia by cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy takes place in the form of meetings of a person with a psychologist (sessions).
Specialist teaches a social phobe to recognize thoughts that cause increased anxiety. Surprisingly, it turns out that "bad thoughts" revolve around the same thing. Next, a person needs to analyze his thoughts and try to replace them with more rational ones. At the end of psychotherapy sessions, a person becomes his own psychologist, he learns to reason logically and replace categorical attitudes with more flexible ones.
Signs that psychotherapy is working:
- anxiety reduction;
- new skills of behavior in social situations (when being in the spotlight, when speaking in front of a large number of people);
- a less categorical view of many things.
Sociophobia: treatment, pills
And, of course, drug therapy cannot be ruled out. Treatment of social phobia with a medicinal method consists in prescribing drugs to a person that reduce the level of anxiety. The person is assigned:
- antidepressants;
- beta blockers.
The former are effective for both social phobia and high levels of anxiety. The second remove physical manifestationsanxiety - tremor, tachycardia, sweating. Many politicians and activists take beta-blockers before long public appearances.
But it's worth remembering: pills treat the effect, not the cause. They are addictive and have many unpleasant side effects. The real deliverance from the problem is serious personal growth, and not the short-term effect of medical drugs that depress the nervous system. Therefore, resorting to pharmacotherapy is the last resort.
Treatment of social phobia with hypnosis
Hypnosis is the second most effective treatment for social phobia. It consists in changing the destructive beliefs of a person by immersing consciousness in a state of trance. The hypnotist concentrates the person on the necessary information and inspires it. After several sessions of hypnosis, a person's panic fear of society disappears, he is calm when society pays attention to his person.
But hypnosis has one caveat: not all people are subject to it. Also, this method is not acceptable to everyone: a person may simply not want someone else to delve into his mind.
Meditation
A great way to relax the body and remove internal blocks. Meditation has been known since time immemorial: it underlies many spiritual practices (yoga). The Old Testament mentions the Latin word meditatio - to meditate, concentrate, inhale.
Meditation is a spiritual exercise of contemplation or inner conversation. There are different ways of meditation. To relieve anxiety and calm the mind, there is a technique called “breathing meditation”. She teaches to breathe correctly and calmly. During practice, a person calms down, reflects, learns to focus on positive emotions.
A meditating person is calm, he is not characterized by anxiety. A positive attitude improves communication skills.
Result
The complex of various social fears is united in the concept of social phobia. The strategy of competent treatment consists in replacing destructive categorical attitudes with more flexible and adaptive ones. An excellent addition to working on your thoughts is breathing meditation: relaxing, removing internal blocks and giving a positive attitude.
All social phobes should remember: water does not flow under a lying stone. You need to look for the method of treatment that will help you. At first you will make mistakes and move slowly. But gradually, step by step, you will gain invaluable experience and find something that will help you return to a happy life.
