Social phobia causes you to be overly sensitive to how people perceive you. It makes you worry about being disapproved of, being disliked, or being seen as inadequate.
When you have social phobia, you worry about how you will be seen by the other person or people with whom you interact. Even before the actual social situation begins, you may think about all of the possible ways it can go wrong. The negative anticipation tends to make you behave in a manner more likely to make you appear uncomfortable or stiff to others. This can actually lead you to leave the social situation feeling that you have failed to connect to the other person or people. Lower self-esteem and increased anxiety may be the result.
For teens, this fear of being negatively judged can be especially problematic. Adolescence is a period when social interactions and acceptance by your peers are of the utmost importance.
A teen with social phobia may feel unhappy at school because of the constant anxiety from being among is or her peers.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is sometimes used by psychologists and psychiatrists to treat teens with social phobia. Generally, it is considered an effective treatment.
However, a recent article in Decoded Science describes the long-term efficacy of CBT. A study discussed in the article shows that, contrary to popular belief, CBT may not be “the most effective” of all the treatments for anxiety. Also, teens who are treated with CBT for social phobia may not continue to see improvement in the long run.
To read more about CBT and anxiety treatment, especially for teens with social phobia, visit the link below.
http://www.decodedscience.com/does-cbt-help-teens-with-social-phobia/31459
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