The two most common types of treatment for social anxiety disorder are medications and psychological counseling (psychotherapy). These two approaches may be used in combination.
Psychotherapy
Psychological counseling (psychotherapy) improves symptoms in most people with social anxiety disorder. In therapy, you learn how to recognize and change negative thoughts about yourself. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most common type of counseling for anxiety. This type of therapy is based on the idea that your own thoughts — not other people or situations — determine how you behave or react. Even if an unwanted situation won't change, you can change the way you think and behave.
Cognitive behavioral therapy may also include exposure therapy. In this type of therapy, you gradually work up to facing the situations you fear most. This allows you to become better skilled at coping with these anxiety-inducing situations and to develop the confidence to face them. You may also participate in skills training or role-playing to practice your social skills and gain comfort and confidence relating to others.
Your mental health professional may help you develop relaxation or stress management techniques.
First choices in
Several types of medications are used to treat social anxiety disorder. However, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are often the first type of medication tried for persistent symptoms of social anxiety. SSRIs your doctor may prescribe include:
- Paroxetine (Paxil)
- Sertraline (Zoloft)
- Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
- Fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, others)
The serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) venlafaxine (Effexor) also may be an option for social anxiety disorder.
To reduce the risk of side effects, your doctor will start you at a low dose of medication and gradually increase your prescription to a full dose. It may take up to three months of treatment for your symptoms to noticeably improve.
Other medication options
Your doctor or mental health provider may also prescribe other medications for symptoms of social anxiety, including:
Other antidepressants. You may have to try several different antidepressants to find which one is the most effective and has the fewest unpleasant side effects.
Social anxiety disorder medications. A type of anti-anxiety medication called benzodiazepines (ben-zo-di-AZ-uh-peens) may reduce your level of anxiety. Although they often work quickly, they can be habit-forming. Because of that, they're often prescribed for only short-term use. They may also be sedating. If your doctor does prescribe anti-anxiety medications, make sure you try taking them before you're in a social situation so that you know how they will affect you.
Beta blockers
These medications work by blocking the stimulating effect of epinephrine (adrenaline). They may reduce heart rate, blood pressure, pounding of the heart, and shaking voice and limbs. Because of that, they may work best when used infrequently to control symptoms for a particular situation, such as giving a speech. They're not recommended for general treatment of social anxiety disorder. As with anti-anxiety medications, try taking them before you need them to see how they affect you.
Stick with it
Don't give up if treatment doesn't work quickly. You can continue to make strides in psychotherapy over several weeks or months. And finding the right medication for your situation can take some trial and error.
For some people, the symptoms of social anxiety disorder may fade over time, and medication can be discontinued. Others may need to take medication for years to prevent a relapse.
To make the most of treatment, keep your medical or therapy appointments, take medications as directed, and talk to your doctor about any changes in your condition.
Mental illnesses are of different types and degrees of severity. A few of the major types are depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar mood disorder, personality disorders, trauma and eating disorders.
Mental illnesses may take many forms, just as physical illnesses do. Mental illnesses continue to be feared and misunderstood by a lot of, but the fear will disappear as people find out more about them. If you, or somebody, has a mental illness, there is good news: all mental illnesses may be treatable.
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness; about 10 % people have one. There are different types of anxiety disorders like obsessive compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, phobias, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. Sometimes people could possibly get anxiety or panic attacks. The symptoms of the panic or anxiety attack may include sweating, headache, nausea, tunnel vision along with a racing heart.
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is extreme moodiness that are out of proportion towards the things that are going on in everyday life. The moods are sometimes called either “highs” or “lows”. The “highs” could make someone feel really active or energetic, but additionally irritable, agitated, and impulsive. What this means is they might do something without really thinking it through, or they may have poor judgment. The “high” mood is generally followed by a “crash” or low depressed mood.
Schizophrenia
Individuals with schizophrenia might hear, see, smell or feel stuff that other people don’t. These experiences can be quite real and scary for somebody with schizophrenia, so it’s important to never judge another person if they are reacting to something we can’t see. Many people with schizophrenia might withdraw from getting together with other people and become paranoid. Learn about depression symptoms, warning signs, and causes, plus what you can do to feel better.
Depression
People can seem to be depressed for lots of different reasons also it can last several weeks or months, or happen every now and then throughout someone’s life. Depression could make people feel sad or worthless, and it could make it hard to get out of bed and face the day. Depression could make people lose interest in doing whatever they love.
Even people who are slightly obese could be candidates for weight-loss surgery under new guidelines released by three U.S. medical groups.
The groups recommended that eligibility for weight-loss (bariatric) surgery be expanded to include mildly to moderately obese people with diabetes or metabolic syndrome, which is a group of conditions that put people at increased risk for heart disease and diabetes.
Under the new rules, eligible patients would have a body-mass index (BMI) of 30 to 34.9. BMI is a measurement of body fat based on height and weight.
There is not enough current evidence, however, to recommend weight-loss surgery for blood sugar control alone, fat lowering alone or heart disease risk reduction alone, independent of BMI criteria.
- Sleeve gastrectomy is reclassified as a proven method of weight-loss surgery, rather than an experimental one.
- Women should avoid pregnancy before weight-loss surgery and for 12 to 18 months after surgery.
- A team approach to patient care around the time of surgery is “mandatory with special attention to nutritional and metabolic issues.”
Other recommendations cover topics such as patient screening and selection, deciding on the best type of weight-loss surgery, and criteria for readmitting patients to the hospital after they’ve had weight-loss surgery.
Bariatric or metabolic surgery is among the most studied surgical interventions in medicine and this ever-increasing mountain of evidence continues to show that these procedures are the most successful and durable treatment for obesity and several related diseases, a member of the 12-person panel that developed the guidelines.
If your cholesterol levels are already high, you might have some questions about avoiding certain foods for top cholesterol. In these cases, it's best to avoid foods for example egg yolks, liver, and whole-milk dairy products. Other foods to prevent include those containing saturated fat or trans fat. Foods which are high in these types of fat may also raise your level of LDL (bad) cholesterol.
Eating a healthy diet and regular exercise will help lower the level of cholesterol in your blood. Adopting healthy habits, for example eating a healthy balanced diet and exercising, will even help to prevent your cholesterol levels from becoming full of the first place.
Use Healthy Oils
Stop cooking with butter, trans fat filled margarine along with other polyunsaturated oils. Use canola oil, olive oil and plant sterol spreads.
Include High Fiber Foods
Along with oatmeal, other whole grains include flaxseed and wheat grains, which are both high in fiber and help bind cholesterol and prevent it from passing in to the bloodstream.
Enjoy Plenty of Vegetables and fruit
These are an important part of any heart-healthy diet since they're low in fat and calories and high in nutritional value.
Eat Oatmeal in the morning
Experts agree that oatmeal is among the top cholesterol lowering foods available. Just eating it a few times a week can have great effects in your health.
Eat Nuts
Walnuts and pistachios are particularly good to consume to help lower cholesterol, along with seeds for example sunflower seeds.
Eat Fish
Fatty fishes for example salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines are great choices to include in a minimal cholesterol diet plan.
Stock Your House with Low Cholesterol Options
Buy lots of whole grains, vegetables and vegetable juices, in addition to canned and dry beans so you have low cholesterol choices on hand.
Use Cholesterol Free Egg Substitutes
Swap out traditional whole eggs to have an egg substitute available in your dairy portion of the grocery store.
