“How do you help someone with social anxiety?”
My husband has social anxiety. I want to know how do you help someone with social anxiety?
7 Answers
PsychologistPsychologist
See if he will try online talk therapy. He needs a checkup, meaning update on his physical and then speak to his doctor about best steps from there.
I help someone with social anxiety the same as with other anxiety, by getting both their conscious rational mind and their subconscious mind to really get it that interacting in peaceful social situations is not a threat to survival. That often involves clearing prior unpleasant experiences and looking forward rather than inward. Not everyone is going to be interested in him, or like him, or even pay any attention to him, and that says way more about them than it does about him.
I hope this is helpful.
I hope this is helpful.
Hi,
Thank you for your question. To help your husband with social anxiety, it is important to understand what social anxiety is. Someone with social anxiety has fear about one or more social situations in which others will scrutinize them and fear that acting in a certain way or appearing anxious will lead to being negatively evaluated. Social situations almost always provoke anxiety or fear, which are avoided or endured with dread, and the anxiety is out of proportion to the actual threat posed by the situation. A person with social anxiety will make negative predictions about what the experience will be like in a social situation and maintain core beliefs about themself that get in the way of successfully managing social situations. They will monitor their own emotional, physical, and behavioral signs of anxiety to try to avoid showing anxiety, which actually makes their symptoms intensify. They assume other people notice too and judge them negatively without paying attention to those around them so they can't collect data to disconfirm their assumptions such as positive or neutral facial expressions.
I would recommend that your husband seek out Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which has been found to be one of the most effective treatments for social anxiety. CBT will help him to practice emotional acceptance of anxiety, restructure his negative core beliefs by gathering evidence to the contrary, train himself to focus on external cues rather than internal sensations to interpret his performance more accurately, and develop more adaptive ways to evaluate his performance to reduce post-event processing. A CBT therapist will also likely develop an exposure hierarchy of his feared situations and help him prevent his social anxiety responses by starting with the lowest level and working up to the most feared social situation.
I hope this information has been helpful!
Best,
Jenna Torres, PsyD
Thank you for your question. To help your husband with social anxiety, it is important to understand what social anxiety is. Someone with social anxiety has fear about one or more social situations in which others will scrutinize them and fear that acting in a certain way or appearing anxious will lead to being negatively evaluated. Social situations almost always provoke anxiety or fear, which are avoided or endured with dread, and the anxiety is out of proportion to the actual threat posed by the situation. A person with social anxiety will make negative predictions about what the experience will be like in a social situation and maintain core beliefs about themself that get in the way of successfully managing social situations. They will monitor their own emotional, physical, and behavioral signs of anxiety to try to avoid showing anxiety, which actually makes their symptoms intensify. They assume other people notice too and judge them negatively without paying attention to those around them so they can't collect data to disconfirm their assumptions such as positive or neutral facial expressions.
I would recommend that your husband seek out Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which has been found to be one of the most effective treatments for social anxiety. CBT will help him to practice emotional acceptance of anxiety, restructure his negative core beliefs by gathering evidence to the contrary, train himself to focus on external cues rather than internal sensations to interpret his performance more accurately, and develop more adaptive ways to evaluate his performance to reduce post-event processing. A CBT therapist will also likely develop an exposure hierarchy of his feared situations and help him prevent his social anxiety responses by starting with the lowest level and working up to the most feared social situation.
I hope this information has been helpful!
Best,
Jenna Torres, PsyD
Matthew James Camarena
Counselor/Therapist | Professional
Many people suffer from some form of social anxiety. Thankfully, this can be a very treatable disorder. I would recommend seeking out a mental health practitioner (e.g., a psychologist) who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of this type of disorder.
You might start by checking with your medical carrier. Many have a dedicated telephone number specifically for mental health, whereby, you could request a referral to a therapist who specializes in this is order.
All the best!
You might start by checking with your medical carrier. Many have a dedicated telephone number specifically for mental health, whereby, you could request a referral to a therapist who specializes in this is order.
All the best!
See this link for some help...
https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/5-ways-to-help-social-anxiety
https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/5-ways-to-help-social-anxiety
Validating a persons feelings and working through their fear is the best way you could help him. It may be a good idea for him to take advantage of counseling right now while he could do it online to work through some of the anxious feelings.
Sara Cole, MS, LPC, CAC III, NCC, CFRC
Sara Cole, MS, LPC, CAC III, NCC, CFRC
Hello and thank you for your question,
Social anxiety can be addressed in counseling sessions with a licensed therapist. Finding a mental health office in your area and attending regular counseling sessions can be supportive.
Thank you,
Patricia Harris | MA, LPC
Social anxiety can be addressed in counseling sessions with a licensed therapist. Finding a mental health office in your area and attending regular counseling sessions can be supportive.
Thank you,
Patricia Harris | MA, LPC
