Coping With Social Anxiety After Lockdown

 

By Steven Booth, Founder of Elevation Behavioral Health
 
How odd the world seems after spending a couple months cooped up at home. When it was finally okay to venture outside again, to many it felt like an alien world. Even driving a car felt foreign, and many felt a sensitivity to noise and felt over-stimulated in general being back out in the world. In addition to the strangeness of reentering society after the lockdown, many also experienced social anxiety. This can be so pronounced that some thought, “I think I’m losing my mind!” Social anxiety is characterized by a sense of fear or dread when in a social situation. Symptoms of social anxiety include:
  • Nausea
  • Irrational fear of being judged or humiliated in public
  • Blushes easily
  • Shortness of breath
  • Racing heart
  • Feeling faint
  • Dizziness
  • Sweating
  • Trembling
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America has reported that approximately 15 million U.S. adults suffer from social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety can be crippling, with the most extreme versions of social anxiety resembling the symptoms of a panic attack.

Treatment for Social Anxiety


Whether the onset of social anxiety is attributed to the extended lockdowns, or if the disorder existed previously, there is help for individuals who struggle with it. After a thorough assessment and interview a mental health professional will be able to design a comprehensive treatment approach for managing social anxiety.
  • Medication. There are a variety of medications that have been useful in the treatment of social anxiety disorder. These include antidepressants, such as SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium, and beta-blockers.

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT is a short-term psychotherapy that helps the individual make lasting changes in their disorder, thought and behavior patterns. The therapist will guide the individual toward recognizing irrational thoughts associated with social settings. Through the CBT process, the individual will learn to confront the avoidance behaviors and eventually replace them with assertive behaviors. These new behavioral responses will be accessed when entering an anxiety-provoking situation. The individual practices these new responses until they eventually become habit.

  • Prolonged Exposure Therapy. PE helps the individual to become incrementally desensitized to the triggering social situation or traumatic memory. This is accomplished through consistent and prolonged exposure while discussing the disturbing experience in talk therapy.

  • Psychodrama Role Playing. Psychodrama role-playing is group therapy technique that involves role-playing. Using this technique, the stressful social situations can be constructed and played out in a safe setting. This allows the individual to practice the new coping techniques.

  • Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing. EMDR is helpful when trauma is a contributing factor to social anxiety. Possibly the individual was publicly humiliated and traumatized by the experience. EMDR involves an 8-step plan toward desensitizing the individual to the traumatic memory.

  • Relaxation Techniques. Learning how to manage stress and anxiety through relaxation techniques is essential. Some effective strategies include mindfulness meditation and deep breathing exercises.

Steven Booth, Co-founder of Elevation Behavioral Health a leading residential mental health program in Los Angeles. 

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