| According to medical professionals, the best strategies | | | | other important strategies for overcoming social phobia |
| for overcoming social phobia include varied treatments. | | | | that group therapy undertakes. These include: - Group |
| These treatments include cognitive behavioral therapy, | | | | discussions of each individuals symptoms, perceptions, |
| cognitive group behavioral therapy and medication. A | | | | experiences and traumas - The use of the group to |
| doctor, specifically a psychologist or psychiatrist will | | | | show their support for individual social phobia attacks |
| determine which strategy is best suited to each | | | | by encouraging the changes in thought patterns and |
| individual patient in order to help the patient overcome | | | | perceptions. -The use of the group on outings to |
| their type of social phobia. This is done by assessing | | | | overcome social phobia attacks with people that each |
| the severity of the symptoms that the patient is | | | | member feels can be trusted to not judge them or |
| experiencing, the level of affect that social phobia is | | | | ridicule them. The group helps each member to avoid |
| having on the patient and the ability of the patient to | | | | perceived embarrassment and the need to become |
| recover from their disorder. Cognitive behavioral | | | | isolated. - The group outings help individual sufferers |
| treatment or CBT is one of the first treatments that | | | | realize that social interaction with new people does not |
| will be tried to resolve social phobia. It is a form of | | | | have to be fearful or even judgmental or |
| psychotherapy that has been in use for varied mental | | | | embarrassing. - The use of the group in varied |
| illnesses and disorders for many years. It works by | | | | situations in helping each individual social phobia |
| analyzing the roots of all the emotions experienced by | | | | sufferer to no longer having the need to put on |
| someone with social phobia. The first step in cognitive | | | | appearances in how they look, behave, talk or in |
| behavioral treatment for social phobia strategies is to | | | | regards to their abilities to lessen the likelihood of |
| determine the negative thoughts that are causing the | | | | misinterpreted judgments by others. - The use of the |
| patient's anxiousness. These are then put into different | | | | group in varied situations to support individual sufferers |
| categories and help the therapist to teach the patient | | | | in learning that they no longer need to feel |
| ways of controlling these thoughts, correcting the | | | | embarrassment or guilt in social situations. - Group |
| patient's perceptions which result in these thoughts and | | | | discussions to help each individual sufferer in |
| then help them to restructure their thought patterns to | | | | overcoming anger resulting from previous situations or |
| avoid these unreasonable thoughts. The strategies for | | | | traumas. - Group discussions to assist each individual |
| treating social phobia with CBT involve varied methods | | | | sufferer in overcoming the need to please everyone, |
| such as attribution, teaching the patient the difference | | | | be a perfectionist, procrastinate, avoid social |
| between irrational and rational thoughts, and helping the | | | | interactions and in becoming a realistic individual with |
| patient to overcome any past experiences that may | | | | self-confidence and self-esteem. - Group discussions |
| have contributed to their irrational thoughts. In the case | | | | to assist each individual sufferer in dealing with times |
| of children, psychiatrists can get to the root cause or | | | | when social interaction does result in judgment or |
| trauma that may have resulted in their social phobia. | | | | embarrassment by others. These strategies for |
| They can help them to understand the event and learn | | | | overcoming social phobia have proven to be very |
| to deal with what happened and cope with moving | | | | useful in helping patients deal with their affliction. |
| forward in life with a new positive approach and | | | | Studies have shown that both forms of cognitive |
| attitude versus forgetting what happened, which in | | | | behavioral therapies do succeed and allow each |
| itself is merely avoidance of the memories of those | | | | patient to move forward and enjoy normal, productive, |
| events. Another strategy that medical practitioners find | | | | socially interactive and happy lives. Of course, there |
| useful is cognitive group behavioral therapy. It is similar | | | | are a few cases were the affects of the anxiety are |
| to CBT in its strategy for dealing with social phobia, but | | | | so deep rooted that the individual needs to combine |
| in a group setting with other people who are suffering | | | | these therapies with medication. However, if you do |
| the same disorder and one or more group therapists. | | | | sufferer social phobia, getting guidance from your |
| The aim of this strategy is to not only overcome the | | | | doctor is the best first step to curing your suffering. |
| negative thought processes attributed to social phobia, | | | | Gary Miller was so scared that he actually passed out |
| but allow the patients to realize that they are not alone | | | | during a presentation and couldn't talk after due to |
| in what they suffer and have support from people | | | | numerous social anxieties. |
| who understand what it really feels like. There are | | | | |