Does Hypnosis Work for Social Anxiety?
Many of us experienced blushing or nervous feelings in front of a crowd from time to time. However, being around big groups or just people, in general, can be more than a nightmare for many people. This extreme anxiety and panic are called social anxiety. Public speaking is just one expression of it. There are many forms of social anxiety and it can affect even the simplest life events such as going on a date, speaking to authority figures, or even holding meetings. There is mounting evidence that hypnotherapy is an effective tool to treat anxiety-related problems as well as social anxiety and its effects.
What is social anxiety?
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America “social anxiety is intense anxiety or fear of being judged, negatively evaluated, or rejected in a social or performance situation.”. For example, many people feel nervous or hyperventilate before a presentation. However, someone with social anxiety may withdraw or deny the presentation altogether.
Although it may be perceived as shyness, social anxiety is much more than being shy. People with social anxiety may experience even stuttering, increased heart rate, and nausea in severe cases.
How does social anxiety affect cognitive abilities?
Social anxiety can be very disruptive. People who suffer from social anxiety tend to avoid certain situations and environments to evade uncomfortable feelings. These avoidance behaviors may be difficult to understand for someone who doesn’t have social anxiety. Some examples include but are not limited to fear of vomiting, avoiding parties, avoiding public transportation, or even not being able to work in an office setting.
Many people who are dealing with social anxiety operate with disturbed thinking habits such as exaggeration, shrinking their self-image, or using absolute language. For instance, they may claim that they never feel comfortable around others. In fact, they may be feeling comfortable around their family, best friend, or partner. This shows one of the disturbed thinking patterns they are unconsciously engaged with due to social anxiety.
Another negative result of an anxious state is that anxiety disables one’s coping skills and alters perceptions. With the addition of anticipatory anxiety, it is hard to see outside of the situation for someone who is dealing with social anxiety.
Anxiety disables one’s coping skills and alters perceptions.
How is social anxiety developed?
Although it is unknown why some people are more receptive to social anxiety, many people report that they had an early life experience in which t they felt shy, embarrassed, or criticized. Following the negative memory, they tend to avoid similar situations to prevent experiencing the same feeling. With constant repetition of avoidance behaviors, social anxiety grows stronger as the person adds more anxiety and worry from other environmental factors in their lives. Eventually, it creates significant life changes and becomes unbearable.
How does hypnosis help with social anxiety?
Hypnosis is a natural state of deep calmness and relaxation in which the focus is on the mind and body. During the calm and relaxed state, negative future projection, or past worries are lifted. Imagination is heightened and presence & awareness are improved. Hypnosis creates a dissociative state which provides an observant point of view. It becomes easier to separate the reality from disturbed thinking.
According to an article from the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, hypnotherapeutic approaches have been found to be helpful to restore one’s coping abilities as well as taking them out of the anxious state.
There are so many techniques to break the anxiety state with hypnotherapy. Imagery journeys are one of the most powerful techniques since they bring out one’s own resources and create inner strength. Another hypnotic technique can be practicing certain situations that created anxiety in the past during hypnosis. By gradually lowering anxiety under the hypnotic state, one can slowly commit to challenges that will restore their socializing skills again.
Another well-known hypnotic technique is understanding the source of the problem and the very first time when someone felt that inferior feeling. Under hypnosis, it is easier to observe old memories and understand them without any judgment. By making sense of these memories, and creating new coping skills, one can control the anxiety state.
Hypnotherapy can also be used as an adjunct to other psychotherapeutic approaches. The most common treatments for social anxiety are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy. According to the Casebook of Clinical Hypnosis, hypnotherapy is a helpful tool to improve results as an adjunct to psychotherapy.
Final thoughts
If you are experiencing extreme anxiety and avoidance behaviors, it may be a good idea to seek help. Undetected social anxiety will lead to more avoidance behaviors until you are really suffering in your day-to-day life. Ask your licensed psychotherapist to learn further and make your choice! You can either try hypnotherapy as an adjunct to psychotherapy to get better and faster results. You can also just work with a hypnotherapist with the approval of your licensed psychotherapist.
In the end, it will all worth it. Living with anxiety and fear is toxic and unenjoyable for anyone!