OCD, Social Anxiety and Phobias

Understanding Social Anxiety and Phobias in relation to OCD

Social phobia mostly revolves around caring too much about what others think of the person. More specifically, this revolves around fears of being negatively judged, humiliated, and rejected by others, especially within the public setting. Such worries are also common concerning Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, whereby the person’s over-inflated sense of responsibility causes them to become overly concerned with what others may think of them. Fears are usually exclusive to social situations, leading to increased anticipatory anxiety in relation to upcoming social events include parties, going to school, college or work, or any event where other people may be present. Such anxiety can lead to increased frustration from the individual, as they often have the awareness that their feelings are likely to be irrational or misplaced. Such heightened emotions could be particularly evident if the person used to aid well in social situations, previous to developing such fears.
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There are two different types of Social Phobia, which include:

  • Fear of social situations in general
  • Concerns around more specific social conditions including public speaking, eating or drinking in public or using the public toilet

 

It is not uncommon for people that develop a social phobia to report feeling ‘left behind’ with social development when comparing themselves to others. However, this is not always the case. Often, social anxiety can develop after a stressful event, or after being exposed to an experience that may knock self- confidence, leading to a feeling of being less assured within themselves, and their role within the social scene.

Many people with social anxiety explain how they feel that they may become humiliated or judged in public, whereby they don’t think they could adequately cope. This fear can often lead the person to feel more sensitive and self-conscious when around others, whereby they become concerned with anything that may ‘make them feel as if they stand out,’ sometimes creating a self-fulfilling. Other worries can include general attractiveness to others (not always the opposite sex), worries that they are boring, or wasting other people’s time.

Such fears often lead to a series of behaviours that exasperate such unwanted feelings, commonly including avoidance of social situations and minimizing opportunities for them to feel vulnerable around others and become somewhat reclusive. On a deeper level, most people that fear social settings have a deep driver to be accepted by others, and in fact, desperately want to be able to actively and successfully socialize with others. Occasionally, if social anxiety is left untreated, symptoms can manifest into more severe compulsive tendencies, which can lead to the development of OCD.

How common is social anxiety?

Over 90% of the general population will experience social anxiety at some point in their lives. It is also thought that 90%, around 2% of those people will experience symptoms intense enough to be classed as a phobia.

How can our program help?

Some of the main therapeutic tools proven time and time again to help those with social anxiety include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT) and talking therapy, all of which are included in our treatment programs. We also find that clients respond very well to the Psychoeducation part of the program, whereby we help clients to understand the inner workings of their fears in relation to themselves and others, leading to increased feelings of confidence and empowerment.

Unlike some of the other co morbid conditions that we treat, we also find that working on challenging beliefs around what it means to be accepted and liked by others can prove very effective when working with social anxiety. Also, for clients that experience such social anxiety, we also specifically incorporate behavioural work that includes confidence building and the strengthening the ability to be assertive, as part of the therapeutic program.

It is also worth noting that understanding the role of the amygdala and its ability to make social situations appear and feel overly threatening is particularly useful when working with social anxiety, as well as learning simple and effective techniques to reduce the activity in the these parts of the brain, leading to deeper experiences of calm when faced with social situations. Social anxiety is extremely common among our clients, with most experiencing some form of social anxiety at one time or another alongside their OCD.

If you'd like to book a session, or talk to a therapist to understand more about OCD, Social Anxiety and Phobias
Book a Session
For additional information, including key differences between OCD, Social Anxiety and Phobias, how to obtain a diagnosis, further symptoms and how to recognise them, a recommended reading list and more please enter your email to download our free eguide here.
Download eGuide