Read the follwing an answer the questions at the end
Introduction
Social anxiety is defined as the fear of being assessed, adversely evaluated, or rejected in a social or performance context. Individuals with social anxiety will worry about being judged as foolish, awkward, or uninteresting if they act or appear uncomfortable (fumbling over words). As a result of this fear, they avoid social settings whenever possible, and when they can’t avoid them, they endure substantial amount of anxiety and anguish. Many people with social anxiety also have a great deal of physical symptoms such as a fast beating heart, nausea, sweating, and they may have full-fledged panic attacks when confronted. Social anxiety typically starts to wreak havoc during adolescent years, with onset being at 13 years of age, with those that have severe shyness (Social anxiety disorder in adolescents). For teenagers, especially the developing teenagers, it’s hard to know what is normal and what is not when it comes down to feelings and their behaviors. Teenagers, starting between the ages of 13-18, with the influences of their peers and family members are worried about rejection, acceptance and are extremely self-conscious during those times due to learned behaviors by those that they are surrounded by. “Social anxiety is linked to the concept of shame and guilt, using cognitive behavioral therapy will reduce the effects of shame and guilt in teenagers when used properly” (Herman). The topic of social anxiety in teens is so important to discuss because it sometimes goes unnoticed and does not get resolved, leading the teens to continue to have social anxiety well into adulthood.
Literature review
Positive psychology is about having desirable subjective experiences such as having a feeling of contentment, and satisfaction for the past; perseverance for the future; and happiness in the present. Studies show that lower middle class teenagers have a difficult time with finding ways on how to handle school, friendships and family relationships partly due to them watching their parents having to work hard and sometimes struggle. Seeing their parents or guardians having to struggle to provide causes many teenagers not wanting to end up being in that same predicament (Teachman & Allen, 2007). Being able to obtain many positive attributes that coincide with your individual self may include but not limited to, forgiveness, spirituality, courage, love, etc, these traits can help promote happiness in ones life. For teenagers, the goal is to identify what constituents of having a good or happy life and the individual qualities that are needed for being a “real” or good person (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Then there’s the community part, where it’s about enabling the ability to encourage individuals to become better citizens, as in taking responsibility, having tolerance and being able to be nurturing, etc.
For instance, teens should have the opportunity to obtain or develop this ability of learning and figuring out how to handle all these new found responsibilities from their parents or peers. However, in some instances, instead of having that opportunity of becoming knowledgeable in these circumstances, some teenagers are added the burden of not knowing how to be organized, how to remain calm and collective in a stressful situation, just by observing the people around them (Teachman & Allen, 2007). Studies show that middle class families believe that hard work is the way to go for many aspects with life.
Social anxiety for teenagers continues to have a big influence on how they behave in social gatherings as well as any performances they have to be in. They typically try to avoid them at all cost and if they can not, they start experiencing some of the traits associated with anxiety; sweating, fumbling etc. Positive psychology can help with social anxiety for teenagers, with the help of psychotherapy. Positive psychology encourages these teenagers to discover and be able to nurture their strengths instead of having them focus on how to correct their shortcomings.
Social anxiety in teens can present in many different symptoms and ranges for everyone. The symptoms can all present either in thoughts, actions or feelings and can present in different stages. Actions can be avoiding going to school, talking to friends, maintain poor eye contact and as well as mumbling when speaking to someone. Thoughts may include having a very negative self image, excessive worrying about how others will view them and worrying about what to say and how to say something to someone. Feelings may include helplessness, irritability or anger, however, teens may even feel physical symptoms too. Physical symptoms can include stomach pains, vomiting, shaking or shortness of breath.
There are many different ways of coping and utilizing CBT in teens with social anxiety. One way that is easy access and low cost/free is journaling. Dr. Ragnarson explains that journaling is self-driven and result driven as well, when properly put to use. Dr. Ragnarson explains the concept of his, the ABC of journaling that splits up journaling in three ways. A – the situation or event was something that had taken place, B – the thought that was processed while that event took place, and C – the emotion that was expressed or felt at that time. Getting used to writing in this style with benefit the client in the long run because the client will better express what happened, what they were thinking and as well as what they were feeling.
Another article uses internet-based CBT to increase access of therapeutic techniques to adolescents that suffer from social anxiety. Internet – based CBT are becoming more widely used than traditional therapies due to quicker access, affordability as well as the being in the comfort of your own home. More so in today’s time, face to face CBT has been experiencing drawbacks, including cost inefficiency and a lack of the adolescents committing to their following up appointments, especially those belonging to a low socio-economic status, however internet – based CBT has shown to be more cost-effective and less time consuming (Kumar & Sattar et al, 2017). The teenagers will be able to attend the sessions in their home, school or library, wherever they have the most privacy and quick access.
Intervention:
Adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 will be participating in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in order to reduce the effects of social anxiety. Enabling adolescents to participate in internet-based CBT will dramatically decrease the troubling effects of social anxiety amongst adolescents. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of psychotherapy that challenges the perceptions of unfavorable self and world views in order to change undesirable behavior patterns or treat mood disorders, like social anxiety. In an article by Hedman, he states how social anxiety is linked to the concept of shame and guilt. They use CBT as a way to reduce the effects of these concepts that are caused by social anxiety. They separated participants into individual format and a group format to illustrate how CBT can significantly reduce social anxiety and shame (Hedman, 2013).
One therapist is assigned, via zoom or another virtual platform, one teenager to begin therapy. The sessions begin with the therapist giving an introduction of themselves to the teenagers in order to build assurance and trust with the teen. The session proceeds with now the teenager, giving background of themselves and where they believe their social anxiety stemmed from. The therapist provides a website called “Living Life to the Full”, where the teenagers will begin their journey on how to manage their social anxiety on a self – guided approach. This website also allows for the teenagers to learn how to manage and cope with unwanted thoughts towards themselves or those that are around them. The therapist will track the progress of the teenager with weekly sessions and assessments.
Once the therapist has built the trust with the teenager she can use certain techniques to help develop the most effective method to recognize disruptive or upsetting thoughts that impact behaviors and feelings. Another CBT method that the therapist will try is journaling. This is a great example of identifying the emotions that the teenager is feeling day by day. The therapist can suggest to the client to write everyday about what goes through their mind and how they are feeling throughout the day. The therapist gives the teenager another coping mechanism which is a great strategy, meditating. Meditation can increase self-awareness and help acquiring new perspective in how to manage social anxiety. Meditation is viewed as a kind of psyche body integral medication which can create a deep state of unwinding and a peaceful mind.
Studies show great reduction in social anxiety with the appropriate and correctly used CBT methods. Meditation, journaling, and internet-based CBT are all useful methods that can be used as a way to reduce the effects of social anxiety in low socio-economic adolescents. These methods allow easy access to adolescents and are free (meditation, journaling) or are available at low cost (internet – based).
Social anxiety affects 1 out of 3 teens between 13-18 years of age and sometimes the symptoms become severe; that is when an intervention is needed for the individual. Our group discussed several methods of treatment that could be of benefit to a teen struggling with social anxiety, however, I’ll be asking you a few questions regarding Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) as my focus this week.
In your opinion, is PMR an effective method in reducing social anxiety in teens? Please explain your reasoning.
It is said that PMR can also have therapeutic benefits when it comes to sleep scheduling and patterns. Do you think implementing PMR into a nightly routine would be better than performing the exercise “in the moment?” Why?
Have you ever tried a PMR exercise yourself? If so, did you find it effective in reducing your own anxiety (social or other)? If not, would this exercise be something you would consider trying in order to reduce stress and anxiety?
