Causes and treatment of social phobia. Strategy of competent treatment of social phobia

Sociopathy (from English - "fear of society") - one of the most common psychological disorders, lies in the agonizing fear of a person in front of the society. It is recognized as a disease of youth: most often it affects people from 15 to 30 years.

The discomfort experienced by social phobias can be of varying degrees, from slight timidity to a large-scale phobia.

This mental illness is safe for physical health, but very much reduces the quality of life of an individual. A person experiences a range of unpleasant sensations when he is in crowded places, at public appearances, with increased attention to his person.

The first step towards a harmonious and fulfilling life is overcoming social phobia. To implement this is quite real, 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 attitudes toward new ones. But when the first results are achieved, the person wakes up self-esteem. This quality promotes the development of communication skills, inherent only in a strong personality.

We will consider the causes, manifestation and treatment of social phobia Various methods.

History of social phobia

In the 60-ies of the twentieth century, the first patients appeared with blurred complaints about the fear of society. Symptoms in people were significantly different (from fear of publicly disgraced to the impossibility of being in public). But in general, they were united by one: they began with a large crowd of people. Then psychotherapists first became interested in social phobia. The treatment was conducted by the method of psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud.

Psychologists relied on his theory, according to which childhood plays a crucial 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 the parent with a small child is of great importance.

The mother must give the child enough attention, talk with him, smile. Thanks to the manifestation of caring and affection, the child begins to subconsciously feel needed. With a lack of care, the kid feels unnecessary: it grows capricious and irritable. The child experiences great stress at an early visit to a nursery or a kindergarten. He begins to emotionally miss his parents, there is a fear of the unknown, which causes social phobia in the future.

Sociopathy: Causes

Treatment of social phobia directly depends on the causes that caused it in a particular individual. For example, if a person has a marked imbalance of neurotransmitters, then he is prescribed a treatment with pills. If the difficulties in communication arise because of children's complexes, then sotsifobu shows cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy.

What are the causes of social phobia?

• Hereditary factors (if one of the parents experiences social anxiety, the child will also grow restless).
• Imbalance of neurotransmitters. Our endocrine system produces certain hormones responsible for fear, happiness, euphoria, sadness, etc. When its work is disrupted, the correct ratio of hormones is also violated. This leads to a mood disorder and increased anxiety).
• Introversion (most sociophobic introverts with a weak type of nervous system).
• Children's insults.

The most common social phobia is caused by a combination of factors. The disturbing character of a person is imposed either by stress, or resentment, or by an existential crisis. The psyche does not stand, and the next person replenishes the ranks of sociophobes.

Distinctive features of the social phobia

Classical sociophobes can be seen from afar: they are slender young people with headphones looking younger than their years. They are characterized by an absent look and a strange appearance.

The first sociophobes, openly declaring themselves, were young Japanese. In the late twentieth century, they formed a movement hikikomori - young people who chose the path of voluntary seclusion. Their distinctive feature is the minimization of communication with the society. Lifestyle hikikomori liked a certain layer of Western youth. Soon this movement gained popularity in the West and in Russia.

However, the reluctance 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. This socialophob suffers from the fact that it can not 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, a person realizes that something is wrong with him. He wants to change the situation, but he can not.

Symptoms of social phobia

A person with severe social phobia is seriously limited. Three spheres are affected:

• Behavioral;
• Physiological;
• Emotional.

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 autonomic symptoms:

• Tachycardia;
• Tremor;
• Redness of the skin;
• A lump in the throat;
• Increased sweating.

Emotionally, social phobia is manifested as an irrational and panic fear of people. The person understands the head of the absurdity of the situation, but can not influence the situation.

Diagnosis of social phobia

The treatment of social phobia is dealt with by psychoanalysts, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists. Do not go to a psychiatrist, because this doctor heals the mentally ill, not the neurotics. An illiterate psychiatrist will prescribe a serious drug to the social phobes, which will reduce anxiety, but they will 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.

Reception at the doctor-psychotherapist begins with the patient's story about his problems. Next, the doctor will offer special tests:

• Lusher's test (on the general psychological state of a person).
• Spielberger-Khanin test (to determine the level of anxiety).
• Test for social phobia.

Based on the results of tests and complaints of a person, a diagnosis is made and treatment is prescribed.

Treatment of social phobia

In the remarkable work of Robert Kiyosaki "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" describes situations where intelligent and educated people remained literally with nothing because of their indecisiveness and shyness. While the less educated, but more determined and arrogant individuals succeeded. The author shows that one should not allow situations in which fear suppresses the will. Because of it, your inner abilities and aspirations begin to fade, and you stop reaching your goals.

The cause of a person's poor health in the public is social phobia. Treatment will be effective if you find a suitable method of treatment. To help her find a psychotherapist is called: for good reason 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 by cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. There are other methods by which social phobia is corrected, treatment is carried out:

• Tablets and other medicines.
• Treatment with meditation.
• Treatment of social phobia by hypnosis.

Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy

The treatment of social phobia by cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy occurs in the form of meetings of a person with a psychologist (sessions).

The specialist teaches the social phobia to recognize thoughts that cause increased anxiety. Surprisingly, it turns out that "bad thoughts" revolve around the same thing. Next, people need to analyze their thoughts and try to replace them with more rational ones. At the end of psychotherapy sessions a person becomes himself a psychologist, he learns to reason logically and replace categorical settings with more flexible ones.

Signs that psychotherapy has a positive effect:

• Decreased anxiety;
• New behavior skills in social situations (when in the center of attention, when speaking before a large number of people);
• Less categorical view of many things.

Sociopathy: treatment, tablets

And, of course, pharmacotherapy can not be ruled out. Treatment of social phobia by drug method Consists in prescribing to a person drugs that reduce the level of anxiety. To the person appoint:

• Antidepressants;
• Beta-blockers.

The first are effective both in social phobia and at a high level of anxiety. The latter relieve physical manifestations of anxiety - tremor, tachycardia, sweating. Many politicians and activists accept beta-blockers before a long public appearance.

But it is worth remembering: the pills treat the investigation, and not the cause. They are addictive and have many unpleasant side effects. The real disposal of the problem is a serious personal growth, not a short-term effect from medical drugs that depress the nervous system. Therefore, resort to pharmacotherapy is the last resort.

Treatment of social phobia by hypnosis

Hypnosis is the second most effective method of treating social phobia. It consists in changing 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 hypnosis sessions, a person has a panic fear of the society, he is calm at the attention of society to his person.

But hypnosis has one nuance: not all people are affected. Also, this method is not universally acceptable: a person can simply not want someone outside to dig into his mind.

Meditation

A great way to relax the body and remove the internal blocks. Meditation has been known since time immemorial: it is the basis of many spiritual practices (yoga). In the Old Testament, the Latin word meditatio is mentioned-meditate, concentrate, inhale.

Meditation is a spiritual exercise of meditation or inner discourse. There are different ways of meditation. To remove anxiety and soothe the mind, there is a technique called "meditation on breathing." She teaches correctly and breathes normally. In practice, a person calms down, reflects, learns to focus on positive emotions.

The meditating person is calm, he does not have anxiety. A positive attitude helps improve communication skills.

The 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 installations with more flexible and adaptive ones. A great addition to working on your thoughts is breathing meditation: relaxing, removing inner blocks and giving a positive attitude.

All social phobes should be remembered: under a recumbent stone water does not flow. You need to look for that treatment technique that will help you. At first you will be wrong and move slowly. But gradually, step by step, you will gain invaluable experience and find something that will help return to a happy life.