Social Anxiety
Social anxiety can make everyday interactions feel overwhelming because of a strong fear of being judged, embarrassed, or negatively evaluated by others. You may avoid people and social situations, overthink conversations, or spend significant time worrying about how you came across. Social anxiety can often feel like you are missing out and be extremely interfering in building and maintaining relationships.
You can overcome social anxiety symptoms and get back to your life . At Wise Mind Counseling, I provide social anxiety therapy in Green Bay, Door County, and tele-health throughout Wisconsin. Treatment is individualized based on your symptoms, needs, and goals. I use evidence-based approaches including Exposure-based CBT to help you face feared situations, reduce avoidance, and become more comfortable with uncertainty and the possibility of judgment.
What Does Social Anxiety Look Like?
Social anxiety can feel intense and involve an extreme fear of being humiliated. You may feel like you are on center stage, with everyone staring at you and negatively judging you. You may criticize yourself and interpret others as rejecting or disapproving of you.
You may have difficulty finding words, making eye contact, joining or staying in conversations, or obsessing over every little thing you say or do. Your body may feel panicked, with a racing heart, nausea, shaking, a flushed face, and tension.
You may want to hide, become smaller or less noticeable to avoid attention, be quiet, keep your distance within a group, distract yourself, or avoid socializing altogether.
CBT for Social Anxiety
You will learn different ways of responding to anxious thoughts and how to face social situations, especially those of importance and meaning to you that you have been avoiding.
Treatment may help you:
- Learn about social anxiety and your individual symptoms.
- Manage anxious body reactions.
- Face social fears, including relationships, events, and activities of value to you.
- Challenge negative thoughts and predictions.
- Understand the likelihood of your fears happening and how you will cope if they do happen.
- Improve social skills to make it easier to join and stay in situations.
Complementary treatments to CBT for social anxiety: Mindfulness and self-compassion skills can teach people to come to the present moment and notice social anxiety fears without adding to them. The skills increase self-kindness, reduce self-judgment, and support you in recovery.
Common Questions About Social Anxiety
Do I have to talk in front of people during exposure therapy: Exposure therapy is gradual and individualized. If talking with others or speaking in front of others is part of your goals (it often is for SAD), treatment will eventually include these situations. Exposures can be gradual and at a pace that allows you to build confidence, tolerate the uncertainty of facing social fears, and learn that you can handle what you fear.
How long does social anxiety therapy take: When people are actively participating in CBT with exposure to avoided situations and challenging unhelpful thoughts, there can be a reduction in symptoms within a few weeks to a few months. The long-term goal is for you to continue approaching social experiences and learn that your fears may not be true and that you can cope with your anxiety.
What if I feel too anxious to start therapy: It can be difficult to start therapy, especially when you have social anxiety. It may help to imagine taking small steps toward therapy and build your motivation by thinking about the freedom you would like to have from your anxiety.
Social Anxiety Therapy in Green Bay
Green Bay Location:
321 Saint George Street
Green Bay, WI, 54302
Treatment is tailored to your symptoms and the individualized patterns that keep your anxiety going. The goal is to help you build practical skills and manage your discomfort in social situations.