Do social anxiety needs treatment?

Question

Hello doctor,

I think I have social anxiety, but I am not sure if it is affecting my life enough to do anything about it. I do not want to tell my mom, but I am sure therapy would help as I am very insecure, have a negative mindset, and generally I am very paranoid of what others think. I do not know how I will hold a job as I hate others observing me and hate confrontation and I am worried about interacting with customers, etc. Is social anxiety an essential one to get treated? How to tell my mom without making her worry.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand you are quite worried and frightened about your problems. Social anxiety is common, and it is all about what it does that affects the people more. Your worries about your inability to hold on to a job and avoiding social situations are valid. It is very important to treat social anxiety because if left untreated it will gradually keep increasing and you may end up feeling frustrated and depressed as well. Regarding explaining this to your mother, you can read and find it easy to understand articles regarding social anxiety and ask your mother to go through that. First of all, you need to make her understand that it is an illness like diabetes or hypertension. If it is an illness, it has some symptoms and a proper course and treatment as well. If you had diabetes, would your mother pity you? No, she would ask you to consult a doctor. Similarly, in this case, you will need medicines as well as therapy to overcome your symptoms and gain some control of your life. No one needs to pity you for anything. Once you start viewing this from a rational point of view, you will be able to explain it better to your family. I hope this helps. Take care.