Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, describes the fear, nervousness and apprehension in the relationships you have with other people. Having social anxiety disorder means that the individual gets anxious at the thought of doing something humiliating. The individual constantly thinks that others are judging them in a negative way. Having social anxiety disorder makes the person more self aware and more alert in certain situations.
However, this fear makes the individual avoid any social encounters and will hurt the individual’s possibility to make new friends. Anxiety disorder treatment cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year, almost one-third of the country's $148 billion total mental health bill. Because of this, doctors
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However, medication may be very helpful and useful for the treatment of social anxiety disorder, therapy proves to be just as effective. The purpose therapy is to reduce anxiety by disrupting and eradicating beliefs or behaviors that kept maintaining the anxiety disorder. Therapy has two balances . The balance helps people change thinking patterns that prevent them from conquering` their …show more content…
Social anxiety disorder can be treated with medication, psychotherapy, or both. A number of medications originally prescribed for the treatment of depression are now being used to treat anxiety disorders. They are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors act on the brain on a chemical messenger called serotonin; they tend to have fewer side effects than older antidepressants. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors are the oldest of the antidepressant medications; phenelzine, the most commonly prescribed MAOI, is helpful for people with panic disorder and social anxiety disorder. Meanwhile, high potency benzodiazepines and beta-blockers are specifically used as anti-anxiety medications. High potency benzodiazepines are used to relieve the symptoms caused by anxiety. They have few side effects but can be addictive. They are prescribed for short periods of time. Beta-blockers, often used to treat heart conditions, have been found to be useful for patients suffering from social anxiety disorder. They may be prescribed in advance of a situation that would produce anxiety like an oral presentation in order to keep anxiety related symptoms such as heart pounding, shaking hands, and other physical symptoms from developing ("National Institute for Mental