Social phobia is a disorder that causes the person who suffers from it an intense discomfort due to fear and anxiety generated by being in different types of social situations. This type of disorder can occur in anyone regardless of age or sex and treatment will depend on the particular situation of each individual. However, treatment when it comes to children and adolescents also includes parents or guardians who, with their words and actions, can contribute to their improvement. But, what can parents or guardians of children and adolescents do to help them overcome social phobia? What is the conventional treatment they should undergo to eliminate it? In this article from Psychology-Online: social phobia treatment in children and adolescents, we are going to know the symptoms of social phobia in children and adolescents to finally provide you with a series of guidelines and recommendations focused on eliminating this condition.
The children and adolescents with social phobia they usually have a series of symptoms that make it evident. Among the main symptoms, the following stand out:
- Difficult to focus.
- Stomach pains
- Sleep disorder
- Loss of appetite
- Fear of separation from parents.
- Diarrhea.
- Muscle tension.
- Redness
- Excessive fear of participating in class in front of classmates.
- Avoidance and inhibition in the interaction with people of their age and with adults.
- Avoidance of school work or group games.
- Refusing to attend school.
- Exaggerated fear of making a fool of yourself in front of others.
- Refusing to do extracurricular activities due to anxiety caused by having to interact with others.
There are many more symptoms that can indicate that a child or adolescent suffers from social phobia, they all have in common exaggerated fear and the avoidance of anything that involves interaction with other people.
It is important that children and adolescents who suffer from social phobia carry out a psychological treatment With a professional, since if this condition is not treated, it can increase until reaching the adult stage, which is what happens on many occasions. Psychological treatment can, on occasions, be accompanied by pharmacological treatment depending on the individual situation of each person.
Psychotherapy
In the case of cognitive behavioral therapy, Its purpose is aimed at modifying the irrational thoughts and ideas that the child or adolescent has for other more objectives that allow them to alleviate their fears and adapt better.
You are also taught to regulate your emotions so that you can begin to carry out the actions that cause you fear and gradually cope with them. As you stop avoiding situations that cause you fear, your fear will lessen. For this, they also carry out relaxation exercises, among others, that allow you to feel more secure when facing feared situations.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, parents and / or guardians of children and adolescents can contribute significantly to help them overcome this problem that, without a doubt, limits each of the areas of their life and which, if not attended to in time, will each time go in increase. There are a number of tips or guidelines that can be followed at home to help children cope and overcome social phobia. Some of these guidelines are as follows:
- Learn about this disorder. In order to help children cope, you need to understand what they are going through, as sometimes it is difficult to really put yourself in their shoes. In order to understand the situation that children are going through, it is necessary to be well informed about this disorder and the way in which it affects the emotional well-being of children.
- Get involved in treatment. It is necessary to be involved in the treatment together with the children. You can, for example, accompany them to psychotherapy sessions even if you do not go in with them, be on the lookout what they are working on in the session, talk with the psychologist to see how they can contribute, etc.
- Active listening. This is a fundamental part, since for the child or adolescent who suffers from social phobia to feel understood and cared for, it is necessary to listen carefully. It is not necessary to share the same ideas and beliefs with him, it is simply about entering her world, knowing it and finally putting yourself in her shoes. When a person feels listened to and cared for, they also feel better about themselves.
- Don't ridicule it. The child or adolescent already suffers a lot from suffering from this limiting disorder and if the adult plays jokes or just ridicules him using his problem, the only thing that will happen is that it will go more and more in increase.
- Reinforce his achievements. If the child or adolescent is achieving the goals established in therapy, he becomes closer and closer to people and begins to carry out actions aimed at them that they did not do before, it is recommended that you emphasize the progress that He has had. For example, positive and motivational comments can be given to her letting her know how brave she is and how much progress she has made.
- Don't criticize them. It must be remembered that the criticisms made of the children should only be constructive, since otherwise their insecurity will increase considerably which will worsen their problem.
- Promote your independence. As far as possible and according to their age, independence should be promoted in children by entrusting them with small tasks that they can carry out by themselves. In this way, realizing that they may be able to carry them out on their own, your confidence and self esteem will improve, which will contribute to the elimination of your condition.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
