What is Social Anxiety Disorder?
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders that significantly affects teens. SAD is characterized by an intense fear of social interactions, extreme self- consciousness, and a constant and persistent worry about being judged or humiliated in social settings. Research has shown that adolescence years are a crucial time in a person’s development, as a greater importance is placed on friendships and peer interactions (Leigh & Clark, 2018).
What Causes Social Anxiety?
Both environmental and biological factors contribute to the development of social anxiety in teens. From an environmental lens, parenting styles, bullying, past traumas, exposure to social media and a lack of familial bond can increase a teen’s risk to developing social anxiety. In addition, biological factors such genetics and hormone imbalances contribute to a significant number of social anxiety diagnoses (Stein & Stein, 2008).
Signs of Social Anxiety: Social anxiety can present in various forms with the most common symptoms including:
- Avoiding eye contact
- Unstable voice when speaking to others
- Not participating in class
- Fear others are judging you
- Not attending social gatherings
- Panic attacks
- Intense anxiety before, during and/or after a social event
(Leigh & Clark, 2018)
How Do I Cope?
If you are struggling with social anxiety, therapy can help! Research has shown that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective tool in treating social anxiety. In addition, CBT also helps treat feelings of depression or generalized anxiety – two diagnoses that commonly occur alongside social anxiety (Morina et al., 2023). Through CBT, your therapist will help you shift your negative thoughts (“what if everyone is judging me?”) to more adaptive ones (“everyone is focusing on themselves, nobody is looking at me!”). In addition, through the use of mindfulness activities, anxiety around social settings will reduce.
Specific Strategies
1. 54321 grounding. Next time you are feeling anxious, look around the room and find:
o 5 things you can see
o 4 things you can touch
o 3 things you can hear
o 2 things you can smell
o 1 thing you can taste
Through this practice, you are helping your brain focus on the things right in front of you, rather than the anxious thoughts in your mind.
2. Deep breathing! Imagine you are smelling your favourite flower. Breathe in for 5 seconds and hold. Then, imagine it’s your birthday! Blow out the candles for 5 seconds and hold. Repeat this as needed. By slowing down our breathing, we help ourselves remain calm when faced with anxiety.
References:
Leigh, E., & Clark, D. M. (2018). Understanding Social Anxiety Disorder in Adolescents and Improving Treatment Outcomes: Applying the Cognitive Model of Clark and Wells (1995). Clinical child and family psychology review, 21(3), 388–414. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-018- 0258-5
Morina, N., Seidemann, J., Andor, T., Sondern, L., Bürkner, P. C., Drenckhan, I., & Buhlmann, U. (2023). The effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy for social anxiety disorder in routine clinical practice. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 30(2), 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2799
Stein, M. B., & Stein, D. J. (2008). Social anxiety disorder. The Lancet, 371(9618), 1115-1125.