Managing Social Anxiety? Or Is Staying Home your solution.

According the article 13 Useful, Expert-Backed Tips for Dealing with Social Anxiety 15 million people are affected by the disorder.  As revealed in the article the Social Anxiety Association reports “the fear of social situations that involve interaction with other people” is also the third largest mental health care problem in the world today.  With such anxiety in our culture should there be more discussion social anxiety? And should there be more thoughts about managing it?

The value of this article is that it gives clear manageable tools for working with social stressors that can be applied universally for any individual with social unease.  Such examples include Bill Koch, clinical therapist, who advocated for immediately seeking out ...

an area of comfort at the event. If you feel overwhelmed or anxious use that space (such as a patio) to avoid the large crowd.

Annie Wright, Berkeley based psychotherapist, endorses my favorite anxiety tool that included having an exit plan. She states, “As dramatic as it may seem, many of my clients benefit from knowing they can leave a social commitment when and if they need to at any time.” Knowing that you give yourself permission to leave allows for control of your situation. Choosing to drive and meet others at the venue or having the option of Uber/Lyft gives you control as well.

So, if you do have anxiety in public settings you should first recognize that you are not alone.  Many people have this concern. If you need for support there are many social anxiety therapist in the Los Angeles area that can offer support.  As a depth psychologist and marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles, I work with understanding the root of the problem.

Thus, I work behaviorally by managing the solutions for social stressors and anxieties.  However, I combine behavioral work and tool for the day to day while returning to the beginning to understand or unravel the why? Was this happening in high school? Or Did it start in your first job or college?  Did this happen in your childhood after your parents divorced?

If we unravel the why we begin to uncover root of the problem allowing us to move into the future. With less anxiety and more happy living. So, we can say that opening doors usually lead to somewhere.

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