Social Anxiety / Social Phobia: Alone With Witnesses – Part 2

     Follow @ocdla

In part one of this two-part series, we discussed the experience of the Social Anxiety sufferer.  In part two, we examine how to treat this condition with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and how Social Anxiety relates to other Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Disorders.

Treatment of Social Anxiety

The most effective form of treatment for Social Anxiety is the same as in other Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Disorders – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).  This is because, like the other disorders in the spectrum, Social Anxiety involves an obsession and a series of compulsions which form a cycle.

The fundamental obsession in Social Anxiety is the fear of being evaluated negatively.  This generally includes fears of being rejected, as well as the fear of being singled out for humiliation and traumatized by emotional abuse from others.  The primary compulsion in Social Anxiety is the phobic avoidance of social situations in which one fears rejection and/or humiliation (thus its synonym, Social Phobia).

It is tempting to look at avoidance as the absence of engaging in social behavior.  However, avoidance is an overt physical and mental behavior, the primary goal of which is to reduce or eliminate anxiety.  For the individual with Social Anxiety, the act of choosing not to go to the party thus serves the same function as the act of choosing to wash one’s hands serves for the individual with OCD.  Further, those with Social Anxiety who are able to commit to a social interaction may find themselves escaping mentally in the process by spending their energy focusing on things other than the present situation. › Continue reading

Tags: Anxiety, Avoidant Behaviors, Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Compulsive Skin Picking, Hair Pulling, Health, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Olfactory Reference Syndrome, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety / Social Phobia, Trichotillomania

Proposed DSM-5 Changes for OCD and Anxiety Disorders

     Follow @ocdla

There have long been rumblings that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) was undertaking a thorough review of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV).  The ostensible goal of such a review would be to create a more accurate and in-depth edition of the DSM, which was last updated in 1994.

After ten years of ongoing debate, the numerous APA work groups investigating potential revisions to various diagnoses and categories to be included in a planned fifth edition have presented their suggestions to the APA.  Some of these changes are likely to be as controversial as current classifications in the DSM-IV, while others will pass barely noticed into the new DSM-5 (for example, the switch away from Roman numerals in the title).  A number of these proposed changes directly impact conditions treated here at the OCD Center of Los Angeles.  To wit: › Continue reading

Tags: American Psychiatric Association, Anxiety, APA, Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), Compulsive Skin Picking, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, DSM-5, DSM-IV, Health, Hypochondria / Health Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Olfactory Reference Syndrome, Panic Disorder, Trichotillomania