What causes Social Anxiety?

Social anxiety is far more common than we might think and most of us have suffered from social anxiety in one form or another during our lives. But what causes social anxiety? It manifests itself as a fear of rejection or being judged or embarrassed in front of other people. It leads to avoidance behaviour and can have a disruptive, negative effect on how you live your life, including but not exclusively –

Meeting new people
Giving presentations
Speaking to authority figures
Shopping
Eating out
Rejection

It’s difficult to exactly pin down the causes of anxiety disorders. It’s quite possible for some people that there isn’t an identifiable cause for their anxiety. Experience has shown that there are several things which make it more likely that you experience anxiety.

A traumatic experience

There is a pattern which shows that if you’ve previously experienced a traumatic experience which you found difficult to deal with emotionally, its possible that you may become anxious if a similar situation arises or seems likely to arise.

Parents or relatives experience anxiety

It’s a fact that we learn from others and copy their behaviour patterns. It’s the same with social anxiety – feeling anxious could be something you learned earlier in your life. It could also be that we could have inherited a genetic tendency to be anxious.

Worryin that you will lose control

If you feel that you’re not in control of your life, you could start to feel anxious about events beyond your control, and worry about what could happen. You might feel anxious about the possibility of being attacked, the chances of developing cancer or of losing your job.

Your physical health

There’s no doubt that people with cronic health conditions, especially if it’s painful, can make you more likely to experience anxiety. Other things such as a bad diet, too much caffeine or sugar, drugs, tiredness, stress and the side effects of certain medications can also make you feel anxious.

How I Treat Anxiety

At Behavioural Freedom, I use a skills-based model for treating anxiety. During our sessions, I will teach you relaxation techniques and helpful ways in which you can fundamentally and positively change the way you behave, think and act. It’s also important to note here that you can’t be stressed or suffer from anxiety when you are in a relaxed state. The skills you’ll learn during your time with me will be vital to both your on-going treatment and perhaps more so as you leave my care.

A combination of Applied Relaxation and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is considered by the British Medical Journal to be one of the most effective therapies to alleviate anxiety and put you on a path to having a positive mind-set and being able to live life to the fullest, free of worries. By combining both and adding in the element of hypnosis, I believe this is the most effective, pragmatic and relevant approach to the treatment of anxiety.

Please contact me today to start the journey back to behavioural freedom.