Social Anxiety Disorder Treatment in Sycamore and North Aurora IL
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If you are interested in counseling for Social Anxiety, call OakHeart at 630-570-0050 or 779-201-6440 or email us at [email protected]. We have counselors, psychologists, and social workers available to help you at one of our locations in North Aurora, IL, Sycamore, IL, and/or via Telehealth Online Therapy Services serving Kane County, DeKalb County, Dupage County, and beyond.
What is Social Anxiety Disorder?While many individuals feel anxious in social situations, individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (also known as Social Phobia) experience immense distress in social situations, causing various impairments in their lives. Many individuals with social anxiety express feeling incredibly lonely and some may avoid jobs or school as a result of their anxiety.
Social Anxiety Disorder is defined as an intense and persistent fear of social situations (interaction and/or performance). Individuals with social anxiety set exceedingly high expectations for themselves in regards to how they should behave/perform, and estimate their ability to meet these expectation as very low. The individual fears that they will be negatively evaluated and that they will be humiliated or embarrassed as a result. Individuals with social anxiety may also fear positive evaluation because they perceive positive feedback to mean that the bar to which they are held will then be raised even further out of their reach. Individuals with social anxiety often fear that they will stutter, collapse, be unable to initiate or maintain a conversation, that their voice will crack, that they will panic, say something wrong, etc. They may also fear that others will think that they are stupid, awkward, incompetent, weird, etc. They often envision how they might appear to others, and this perception is often significantly skewed towards the negative. Individuals with social anxiety often experience anticipatory anxiety prior to social situations and will engage in "post-event processing" following the social situation, where they will ruminate about all of the things they feel they did wrong and how horrible the social experience turned out. As a result of their fears, individuals with social anxiety often avoid social situations all together, or endure them with high levels of anxiety ("white knuckle through it"). They may engage in "safety behaviors" to try and make themselves feel less anxious. |
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These safety behaviors might include not talking, over-preparing for a presentation or conversation, having a safety person with them for social situations, avoiding eye contact, pacing, trying to avoid direct conversations, avoiding confrontation, over-apologizing, making excuses for their behavior (e.g., "sorry I don't feel well today so I might act weird"), etc. Unfortunately, many times these behaviors only make it more likely that they will receive negative feedback and the behaviors ultimately perpetuate their fears.
What is the Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder?
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an effective and safe treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder. Treatment will focus on helping the individual identify any unhelpful ways of thinking that they have about themselves, social situations, or their emotions, and on changing thoughts that maintain their fear and anxiety. Treatment will also help the individual confront their fears without the use of safety behaviors, so that they can learn through experience, that they are over-estimating the likelihood and cost of their feared consequences and underestimating their self-efficacy (their ability to handle what they are afraid of happening).
We occasionally incorporate components of mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into the CBT protocol if indicated or requested by our clients. Our team of psychologists, licensed counselors, and social workers in North Aurora and Sycamore, Illinois provides evidence-based treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder to clients throughout Kane County, DeKalb County, DuPage County, and the surrounding Chicago suburbs, including in-person and telehealth options.
We occasionally incorporate components of mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into the CBT protocol if indicated or requested by our clients. Our team of psychologists, licensed counselors, and social workers in North Aurora and Sycamore, Illinois provides evidence-based treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder to clients throughout Kane County, DeKalb County, DuPage County, and the surrounding Chicago suburbs, including in-person and telehealth options.
Frequently Asked Questions About Social Anxiety Disorder:
Is social anxiety the same as shyness?
No. Shyness is a personality trait that many people have and it does not necessarily interfere with functioning. Social Anxiety Disorder is a clinical condition in which fear of social situations causes significant distress and impairment. People with social anxiety often want to connect with others but feel unable to do so because of the intensity of their fear. Shyness, by contrast, does not typically cause the same level of distress or avoidance.
Is social anxiety disorder common?
Yes. Social Anxiety Disorder is one of the most common anxiety disorders, affecting an estimated 7% of adults in the United States at any given time. Despite how common it is, many people with social anxiety go undiagnosed and untreated for years, often because they attribute their struggles to personality rather than recognizing them as a treatable clinical condition.
Can social anxiety be treated without medication?
Yes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is considered the gold-standard, first-line treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder and is highly effective on its own for many individuals. Some people benefit from a combination of therapy and medication. Your therapist can help you determine the most appropriate treatment approach for your specific needs and can coordinate with your physician or psychiatrist if medication is something you wish to explore.
What does CBT for social anxiety actually involve?
CBT for social anxiety involves identifying and challenging the unhelpful thinking patterns that maintain fear, such as overestimating the likelihood of negative evaluation and underestimating your ability to handle social situations. A central component of treatment is gradually confronting feared social situations without the use of safety behaviors, which allows you to learn through experience that your feared outcomes are less likely and less catastrophic than you believe. This process takes courage, but it is highly effective and your therapist will guide you every step of the way.
Will I have to do things that make me uncomfortable in therapy?
Gradually, yes; and that is actually the point. Avoiding feared social situations provides short-term relief but maintains the anxiety long-term. In CBT for social anxiety, you and your therapist will collaboratively develop a gradual plan for facing feared situations in a systematic, supportive way. The goal is never to overwhelm you but to help you build confidence and tolerance through repeated, successful exposure to the situations you fear.
Is social anxiety related to introversion?
Not necessarily. Social anxiety and introversion are often confused but are distinct. Introversion is a personality style in which a person prefers less social stimulation and recharges through alone time. It is not inherently distressing. Social anxiety involves genuine fear of negative evaluation (and sometimes positive evaluation) and significant distress in social situations, regardless of whether the person identifies as introverted or extroverted. Many people with social anxiety are actually extroverted and genuinely want social connection but are held back by fear.
No. Shyness is a personality trait that many people have and it does not necessarily interfere with functioning. Social Anxiety Disorder is a clinical condition in which fear of social situations causes significant distress and impairment. People with social anxiety often want to connect with others but feel unable to do so because of the intensity of their fear. Shyness, by contrast, does not typically cause the same level of distress or avoidance.
Is social anxiety disorder common?
Yes. Social Anxiety Disorder is one of the most common anxiety disorders, affecting an estimated 7% of adults in the United States at any given time. Despite how common it is, many people with social anxiety go undiagnosed and untreated for years, often because they attribute their struggles to personality rather than recognizing them as a treatable clinical condition.
Can social anxiety be treated without medication?
Yes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is considered the gold-standard, first-line treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder and is highly effective on its own for many individuals. Some people benefit from a combination of therapy and medication. Your therapist can help you determine the most appropriate treatment approach for your specific needs and can coordinate with your physician or psychiatrist if medication is something you wish to explore.
What does CBT for social anxiety actually involve?
CBT for social anxiety involves identifying and challenging the unhelpful thinking patterns that maintain fear, such as overestimating the likelihood of negative evaluation and underestimating your ability to handle social situations. A central component of treatment is gradually confronting feared social situations without the use of safety behaviors, which allows you to learn through experience that your feared outcomes are less likely and less catastrophic than you believe. This process takes courage, but it is highly effective and your therapist will guide you every step of the way.
Will I have to do things that make me uncomfortable in therapy?
Gradually, yes; and that is actually the point. Avoiding feared social situations provides short-term relief but maintains the anxiety long-term. In CBT for social anxiety, you and your therapist will collaboratively develop a gradual plan for facing feared situations in a systematic, supportive way. The goal is never to overwhelm you but to help you build confidence and tolerance through repeated, successful exposure to the situations you fear.
Is social anxiety related to introversion?
Not necessarily. Social anxiety and introversion are often confused but are distinct. Introversion is a personality style in which a person prefers less social stimulation and recharges through alone time. It is not inherently distressing. Social anxiety involves genuine fear of negative evaluation (and sometimes positive evaluation) and significant distress in social situations, regardless of whether the person identifies as introverted or extroverted. Many people with social anxiety are actually extroverted and genuinely want social connection but are held back by fear.
OakHeart Social Anxiety Counselors, Psychologists, and Social Workers
Social Anxiety Related Blogs:
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Social anxiety disorder often appears as anxiety in social situations where one could be evaluated by others (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). This could involve meeting new people, being observed by others, or even having to perform in front of others. Fear of negative evaluation is a big part of social anxiety. My patients often ask “will I embarrass myself? will I be rejected or humiliated? Will I offend someone?” Individuals with social anxiety disorder want to stay away from social situations that could involve evaluation or will do so with a ton of anxiety...(to read more, click on the link above).
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Social anxiety disorder can be defined as anxiety in social situations due to fear of evaluation (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Essentially, this leaves an individual with social anxiety with two options: 1). Avoid social interactions all together; 2). Do so with anxiety and then engage in hours of what is referred to as post-event reprocessing. Post-event reprocessing entails revisiting social interactions and events mentally after they have taken place and critically evaluating your performance (Leigh & Clark, 2018). Ruminative thoughts about social errors may consume hours or even days after a social encounter for someone struggling with social anxiety disorder (Leigh & Clark, 2018)...(to read more, click on the link above).
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Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder are thought to experience anxiety in response to social situations because they assume that they will be evaluated negatively and catastrophize about the implications of negative evaluation. More specifically, individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder assume that they will be evaluated negatively because they think that their abilities will fall short of others’ expectations, that there are high expectations for social performance, have unconditional negative beliefs about the self, and assume that acting in certain ways will result in negative consequences...(to read more, click on the link above).
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