Do you experience intense anxiety or nervousness when faced with social situations?
Do you fear being judged or criticized by others?
Are you always worried about making mistakes, looking bad, or being embarrassed in front of others?
If you answered yes to any of the above, you may have a social anxiety disorder.
It is normal to feel nervous in some social situations. However, people who experience daily social anxiety tend to avoid everyday interactions. This is because they cause them significant fear, anxiety, self-consciousness, and perceived embarrassment. They fear being scrutinized or judged by others.
Social anxiety disorder is a chronic mental health condition in which social interactions cause irrational anxiety. It is also referred to as a social phobia. Learning coping skills in social anxiety disorder treatment helps you gain the confidence you need to improve your ability to interact with others.
Social Anxiety Disorder Symptoms
People with social anxiety disorder often experience significant distress in certain situations. Such as:
- Having someone tease or criticize you
- Meeting people in authority, such as important people or authority figures
- People watching or observing while completing a task
- Feeling insecure and out of place in social situations
- Embarrassing easily
- Having to say something in a formal, public setting
- Being the center of attention
- Meeting other people’s eyes
- Dating
- Eating in front of others
- Using a public restroom
- Feeling nervous to start a conversation
- Going to school or work
You might experience physical social anxiety disorder symptoms such as:
- Muscle tension
- Rapid heartbeat
- Sweating
- Crying
- Dizziness or feeling lightheaded
- Stomach problems
- Inability to catch your breath
Social anxiety can interfere with your life!
Social anxiety disorder can lead to someone having a negative perception of themselves. This is because they often assume that others are thinking the worst about them even though they truly have no idea what someone else may or may not be thinking. This is called mind reading and automatic negative thoughts. Due to the automatic negative assumption, people with Social Anxiety Disorder often have low self-esteem or negative self-concept. This might lead to isolating themselves from others, underachieving, avoiding important conversations, broken relationships, and difficulty finding meaningful relationships. When they do speak to others, they often struggle to be assertive. In more extreme cases, we see this start to affect performance academically and professionally, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse.
Our Approach as Orlando Therapists
At The Mindful Practice, we look to uncover the unique reasons you have developed Social Anxiety Disorder. Examples of this include a traumatic event that was generalized to social situations, bullying, or emotional abuse. Typically there are multiple reasons that come together to get you to where you are today. We help you develop insight into what is happening internally and what you can do about it. Our Jacksonville and Orlando therapists will teach you coping skills so that social anxiety is no longer in control. We believe that social connectivity is an important pillar of mental health and we will help you develop the tools to feel more socially connected. If Social Anxiety Disorder is getting in the way, we can help.
If you feel you may have a social anxiety disorder, we encourage you to contact us today for a free consultation and to learn more about our options for social anxiety disorder treatment in Jacksonville and Winter Park, FL.
Start Social Anxiety Disorder Treatment in Jacksonville or Orlando, FL
At The Mindful Practice, we understand how difficult it can be to fully enjoy life when dealing with social anxiety. You can overcome social anxiety disorder with the help of a caring therapist. Follow these three steps to begin social anxiety disorder treatment.
- Reach out to The Mindful Practice.
- Start meeting with one of our Jacksonville or Orlando therapists.
- Enjoy life without social anxiety disorder symptoms.
Other Counseling Services At The Mindful Practice in Jacksonville and Winter Park, FL
Our Jacksonville and Orlando therapists provide anxiety treatment and depression treatment. In addition to, bariatric surgery counseling, trauma therapy, and PTSD treatment. For additional support, we provide therapy for life transitions, grief, and teens. At our Jacksonville and Winter Park, FL-based therapy practice we utilize mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and EMDR therapy. Also if you are in Orlando, Miami, or somewhere in rural Florida we can with online therapy.