Social anxiety disorder is a condition that occurs as a result of excessive fear of social involvement. It is also known as social phobia. The fear arises from the suspension of being closely watched, and receiving criticism from peers and other members of the society (Mayo-Wilson et al., 2014). A person experiencing social phobia is scared of making mistakes, being humiliated, and getting embarrassed. The individuals have distorted thinking of receiving negative comments from the peers and also have false beliefs. Social phobia needs treatment to avoid interference with the person’s daily duties and social engagement. It is evident that people with social phobia fear to speak in public or to get engaged in social parties (Iverach & Rapee, 2014). Other activities that get associated with social phobia are difficulties of eating in public, talking on the telephone, and giving reports in groups. Social anxiety symptoms get linked to mental illness, which requires DSM-IV diagnosis and cognitive behavioral therapy (Mayo-Wilson et al., 2014).
DSM-IV intervention helps in tackling the persistent fear of humiliation in performance situations, exposure to unrelated social activities, exposure to unreasonable fear, and avoidance of stressful situations (Morrison & Heimberg, 2013). The diagnostic criteria also address the specifiers of personality disorder and mechanisms of handling causes of anxiety. The intervention criteria expose the symptoms of fear that results in humiliation or embarrassment and offer applicable solutions. Moreover, DSM-IV intervention addresses the mechanisms of handling anxiety symptoms such as palpitations, tremors, sweating, gastrointestinal discomfort, muscle tension, confusion, and blushing (Morrison & Heimberg, 2013). In some situations, a panic attack may occur and get associated with features such as shaky voice, tremors, and cold, clammy hands (Mayo-Wilson et al., 2014). In addition, a person with a social anxiety disorder has an overlap of the anxiety symptoms, low self-esteem, hypersensitivity to criticism, and feeling of inferiority. The DSM-IV integrates diagnosis of social anxiety disorder involved in children, adolescents, and adults (Morrison & Heimberg, 2013).
The reduction of social anxiety symptoms and their impact is essential in the reduction of future complications. People experiencing social anxiety disorder need early intervention with the assistance of a therapist (Mayo-Wilson et al., 2014). In addition, a person needs to keep track of personal life and mental health with the aim of identifying the causes of stress and therapies that makes one feel better. Time and energy management is also useful for anxiety reduction. Individuals should avoid the use of alcohol and stimulant drugs, considering they can proliferate anxiety and social phobia. Children should receive adequate care in their daily activities at home, at school, and also in their behavioral changes to prevent impaired functioning of their chores (Iverach & Rapee, 2014).
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) involves psychotherapeutic intervention, and its mainly among the adults (Bögels et al., 2010). The technique involves the systematic and repeated practice of a stipulated set of behaviors as predefined by the therapist during the treatment session. The treatment interventions include exposure, relaxation, and social skills training. Exposure is a key component in CBT treatment. Individuals that undergo exposure must have experienced a feared situation, and the aim is to replace the original fear response. The mechanism generates new and ambiguous learning that reduces anxiety in a similar situation (Iverach & Rapee, 2014). Clients with social anxiety disorder focus on themselves rather than the situation. Applied relaxation is effective in the management of the physiological arousal that often accompanies anxiety. Muscle relaxation therapy has minimal effects if used alone and offers insufficient treatment for social anxiety disorder. The clients learn the progressive muscle relaxation mechanism and use the mechanism in their daily activities, especially when confronting feared situations. The social skill training gets accomplished with the combination of other behavioral models that positively reinforce the social interaction skills (Bögels et al., 2010).
Annotated bibliography
Morrison, A. S., & Heimberg, R. G. (2013). Social anxiety and social anxiety disorder. Annual review of clinical psychology, 9, 249-274.
The paper gives a review on diffrences between social anxiety and social anxiety disorder. Additionally, the paper discusses the management of social anxiety disorder using DSM-IV. The DSM-IV protocol involves identification of risks and traits that provoke anxiety with the aim of providing a reversible diagnosis. The DSM-IV expands its diagnosis to management of symptoms such as sweating, tremors, and panic attacks that occur as a result of anxiety. Moreover, the paper discusses the preventive measures to the build-up of anxiety symptoms. The authors advocate early help considering the disorder is a mental illness that may lead to complications in future. Additionally, a client needs to keep a record of events that cause stress and also a record of mechanisms involved to feel better.
Iverach, L., & Rapee, R. M. (2014). Social anxiety disorder and stuttering: Current status and future directions. Journal of fluency disorders, 40, 69-82.
The paper analyzes the meaning of social anxiety disorder and describes the symptoms of social anxiety disorder. A distorted thinking is the major symptom of social anxiety disorder which negatively interferes with home, school, and peer activities. The person expresses fear of speaking, drinking or eating in public. The authors also provide guidance on the management of social phobia. A therapist plays a major role in the elimination of anxiety reactions through exposing the client to different social settings. Moreover, research is ongoing on the effective drug medication of social phobia that may be combined with the existing behavioral therapy.
Mayo-Wilson, E., Dias, S., Mavranezouli, I., Kew, K., Clark, D. M., Ades, A. E., & Pilling, S. (2014). Psychological and pharmacological interventions for social anxiety disorder in adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1(5), 368-376.
The paper examines the etiology of social anxiety disorder and the remedy for its prevention. The authors consider the disease being chronic with multiple causes of its proliferation. Some of the complications as a result of social anxiety disorder can be treated with pharmacological intervention especially among the adults. The paper has noted that the most effective methods of managing social anxiety disorder is through self-help and psychological interventions. CBT has been the most recommended method of psychological intervention, which has resulted to reduction of the social anxiety disorder cases.
Bögels, S. M., Alden, L., Beidel, D. C., Clark, L. A., Pine, D. S., Stein, M. B., & Voncken, M. (2010). Social anxiety disorder: questions and answers for the DSM‐V. Depression and anxiety, 27(2), 168-189.
The paper provides a review of psychotherapeutic interventions for a social anxiety disorder for adults. The focus is mainly on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) that provides categories of behavioral practices with the aim of treating social anxiety disorder. CBT integrates repetitive behavioral tendencies with purposeful modifications on exposure, social skills training, and applied relaxation. Exposure involves engaging the client in a fearful situation despite the distress with the aim of generating new and more ambiguous concepts for managing original fearful responses. Social skills training is a logical treatment that reinforces the positive reasoning as a result of anxiety or negative behavioral beliefs.