Social Phobia Treatments

Cognitive-behavioral Therapy

With this type of therapy, a therapist may:

• Help you change phobic and other negative thought patterns and behaviors
• Teach you to control anxiety symptoms by methods such as:
  • Deep breathing
  • Visualization
  • Meditation
• Suggest changes of your social environment to minimize perceived stress:
  • May be helpful in the short term
• Gradually expose you to feared situations in a controlled environment

A peer support group may also be helpful.

Medication

• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)—relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression ***
• Benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants ( gabapentin , pregabalin ), and monoamine oxidase inhibitors—relieve anxiety and depression
• Beta-blockers—stop the physical symptoms of panic and anxiety (used to relieve the performance anxiety that often occurs with social anxiety disorder)

***Please note FDA Public Health Advisory for Antidepressants:

The FDA advises that people taking antidepressants should be closely observed. For some, the medications have been linked to worsening symptoms and suicidal thoughts. These adverse effects are most common in young adults. The effects tend to occur at the beginning of treatment or when there is an increase or decrease in the dose. Although the warning is for all antidepressants, of most concern are the SSRI class such as:

• Prozac ( fluoxetine ), Zoloft ( sertraline ), Paxil ( paroxetine ), Luvox ( fluvoxamine ), Celexa ( citalopram ), Lexapro( escitalopram )