Most people feel nervous or anxious now and then, perhaps when they are in a new social situation or are going through financial difficulties. However, everyday anxiety can become a bigger problem. Consequently, it can take over your life in negative ways.
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Symptoms of Anxiety
How can you tell if you are experiencing the symptoms of anxiety? Do you suffer from:
- Self-doubt or Self-consciousness?
- Perfectionism?
- Problems sleeping or Nightmares?
- Feelings of Fear, Panic, or Nervousness?
- Hyperventilation or Shortness of Breath?
- Dry Mouth, Dizziness, Nausea, or Chronic Indigestion?
- Muscle Tension?
- Chest pain or Heart Palpitations?
- Excessive Worry?
What Is Social Anxiety Disorder?
The defining feature of social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is intense anxiety or fear of being judged, negatively evaluated, or rejected in a social or performance situation. This affects roughly 15 million American adults.
Despite the availability of effective treatments, fewer than 5% of people of with social anxiety disorder seek treatment in the year following initial onset and more than a third of people report symptoms for 10 or more years before seeking help.
Anxiety Counseling
If you have some of these symptoms, Anxiety Therapy might be very helpful to you. One of the biggest challenges to getting help for anxiety is connecting with a therapist who really understands you and what your struggles are. Although many forms of counseling can be helpful to treat Anxiety, DBT and CBT therapies will give you immediate skills to use to reduce your symptoms.
Some people use drugs (Xanax, Ativan, Valium), alcohol, or cannabis to reduce their symptoms. While these might be temporarily helpful, learning to control your symptoms without chemical substances is very possible.