Social Anxiety Toronto

Do you feel extremely anxious or overwhelmed when speaking to people or thinking about being in social situations? It may be that you are dealing with social anxiety. Social anxiety, also known as social phobia is one of the most common mental health disorders and can make day to day life extremely difficult to handle. People with social anxiety often can become so distressed in social situations where they may begin to avoid them completely. Often the phobia is driven by a fear of being judged by others, fear of being embarrassed or put in an embarrassing situation, accidentally offending someone or hurting their feelings and being placed in a situation where they will be the centre of attention. While there is not a direct cause of social phobia, studies have shown that it can be related to a history of being bullied, self reported low self esteem, and can often be seen alongside other mental health disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder or depression. Treatment can be a combination of both medication, life-style changes, as well as talk therapy.