Sociophobia is an intense disorder that people suffer from when they find themselves in socially significant situations. They are afraid to take actions that require them to make a decision.
Fear of getting into a stupid situation, fear of condemnation of others and simply that they can become the object of everyone's attention, gives rise to panic fear in sociophobes, which is constantly progressing. Constant worries about a phobia lead to the fact that it becomes an integral part of life, and sometimes begins to take up all your free time, thereby further excluding a person from public life. Therefore, urgent treatment of social phobias sometimes becomes necessary.
Social phobia: symptoms
The main symptom of this psychological illness is the fear that other people will negatively evaluate or treat a person. Most often, this leads to a reclusive lifestyle and complete isolation from society. Even relatives and friends become one of those who are afraid of the sociophobe.
If a person with social phobia appears in your environment, his symptoms may be as follows:
- Increased feelings of anxiety in standard behavioral situations.
- Fear of being judged by others.
- Fear long before a real, difficult or hopeless situation arises.
- Fear that others might notice your fear.
- Increased heartbeat.
- Rapid breathing and constant shortness of breath for no apparent reason.
- Trembling limbs.
- Crackling voice.
- Feeling sick.
- Redness of the skin.
- Excessive sweating.
- Dizziness.
What are people suffering from social phobia afraid of
This disease leads to the fact that people begin to be afraid of the most ordinary things that each of us faces daily. For example, it could be:
- Job interview.
- Date.
- Business meeting with business partners.
- Telephoning.
- Talking to a leader or teacher (that is, a more authoritative person).
- Wedding, birthday and other parties.
- Going to a public toilet.
- Public speaking in front of a large audience.
Besides this, a sociophobe can muster up the courage for weeks just to go to the grocery store. Any crowded places terrify him.
Fear of judgment can eventually lead to deeper phobias. Obsessive thoughts gradually begin to take on a brighter color and can literally drive a person crazy.
How to helpa person suffering from social phobia
If one of your loved ones has begun to show these symptoms in their behavior, you should be patient and act gradually, deciding how to get rid of social phobia. First of all, such people need not to stop being afraid, but to start feeling more confident. To do this, you can artificially create a situation in which you will find yourself in an uncomfortable position. Seeing your calm reaction, the social phobe will gradually begin to realize that if you feel uncomfortable, this is absolutely normal.
How to deal with social phobia on your own
American psychologists have developed six basic ways that can help you overcome this disease on your own. So, social phobia: self-treatment. Where to start?
- Start reading books that offer a series of exercises to overcome social fear.
- Learn to properly rest not only the body, but also the brain. Breathing exercises can help with this. However, it is worth remembering that too frequent inhalation-exhalation workouts can disrupt the work of the heart, so you should not do them more than a few times a day.
- Write a list of 15 situations you are most afraid of getting into. Moreover, when making a list, assign each individual item a score from 0 to 10 - depending on how scary it is for you.
- Try to play each of the situations written in your head and find a logical explanation that will not make you look stupid or ridiculous. Imagine that one of your friends got into a similar problem andthink about how you yourself would react to this, would you condemn him or laugh.
- If none of the methods help, you can make an appointment with a specialist who will develop a number of special exercises based on your characteristics and behavioral signs.
Treatment of social phobias
Psychotherapy is by far the most effective method of treatment. However, one should not expect a quick result, as the specialist needs to consider all aspects and possible causes of the disease.
In rare cases, when visits to a psychotherapist do not help, you can try more serious medical treatment for social phobias. There are now many drugs available to help fight many of the more serious phobias. The problem is that if you stop taking the pills, the symptoms will come back. Therefore, it is important to understand the causes of social phobia and get rid of it once and for all.
Social phobia test
In order to identify problems with society, it is worth taking a test compiled by psychotherapists. The standard version contains a description of 24 different social situations. After studying each of them, you give it a score from one to four. The higher the final result, the deeper the disease sits and the sooner it is necessary to begin treatment of social phobias. During the test, it is important to be rational and answer sincerely.
In closing
Sometimes psychological illnesses are more contrived thanreal, so before you get rid of social phobia, first determine that you really have it. If you are afraid to go to a party or answer a rude salesman in a store, this does not mean that you have some kind of psychological deviation, rather, this is a sign of modesty, not serious problems.
Be that as it may, social phobia is a disease that comes from the head, from thoughts and fears, so it can be cured in the same way. It is important to remember that it is normal to be afraid, as it is a completely natural human feeling. Everyone is terrified of something: someone is afraid of sharks, someone is afraid of spiders, some are afraid of heights or confined spaces. Stop focusing on what you fear and focus on what you enjoy or are good at. A growing sense of confidence, support from family and close friends will help you get through any challenge.
