If you have experienced Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you may already have anxiety disorders. If you also suffer from social anxiety, this may increase the number of situations that cause you to stress.
The sequelae of anxiety and psychological trauma are usually interrelated, but there are treatments and techniques to control and relieve them.
So, Professor Rong Xinqi, a psychology expert in the new concept, will talk to you about the "connection and treatment between traumatic stress disorder and social anxiety."
Contact between social anxiety and Post-traumatic stress disorder
Social anxiety disorder and PTSD (PTSD) have several contacts. People with PTSD may:
feel different because of PTSD, so they avoid social occasions;
experiences social isolation shame or guilt caused by PTSD;
suffers from PTSD and depression , which makes it difficult to maintain a social life.
People with social anxiety disorder may be more likely to experience PTSD due to social psychological trauma, which may involve fear of humiliation and rejection in social situations, according to a 2020 study.
ps: Some knowledge about "psychosocial trauma"
There has been controversy about "what constitutes psychosocial trauma" and "whether it complies with the PTSD standards outlined in the 5th edition of the Text Revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diseases (DSM-R-TR)."
PTSD criteria include trauma that has experienced death, injury or a threat of sexual violence. Some may argue that fear of rejection or humiliation does not pose the same threat.
Although it is obvious that these types of experiences may be more likely to cause symptoms of PTSD, it is important to consider that it is not the event itself that may lead to a persistent sense of threat, but a person's perception of the event.
Professor Rong stressed that For mental health professionals, it is crucial to consider adopting different approaches to understand what causes the patient's traumatic experience and what may lead to PTSD symptoms.
Taking into account each person’s unique experience helps to understand the different types of threats that may play a role in PTSD, including social trauma. If you experience PTSD symptoms due to psychosocial trauma, please know that your feelings are real and effective.
How common are social anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorders?
According to a 2019 study, it is estimated that 3.2% to 16% of people with social anxiety will also experience PTSD. If a person's primary diagnosis is PTSD, the concurrent incidence of social anxiety disorder will increase to around 43%.
A 2020 study found that social anxiety disorder (formerly known as social phobia) is the most common psychological problem that co-occur with PTSD after depression.
Why are these two related?
People with PTSD will feel a lot of social pressure and certain social situations may trigger PTSD – you may find yourself in a state of constant high alertness as your sympathetic nerves (fight, flight or freeze reaction) nervous system is expected to have more threatening situations. This can cause anxiety in social situations.
If you have initially diagnosed with social anxiety, you may experience different social trauma than others. You may suffer from PTSD due to psychosocial trauma.
Generally, criteria for PTSD diagnosis include experiencing psychological trauma that may cause the threat of death, injury, or sexual violence. But people with social anxiety may have a lower trauma threshold when they are socialized by nature. This experience can be particularly disturbing for people who already have social anxiety.
A 2020 study involving control groups with social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and no psychiatric diagnosis found that one in three patients with social anxiety disorder met the criteria for PTSD due to social trauma.Neither the obsessive-compulsive disorder nor the control group experienced clinically significant PTSD characteristics due to psychosocial trauma. How to treat
?
1. Psychological and Medication Treatment
If you have multiple problems, it may be difficult to know where to start. But there are some options that can help manage both.
Professor Rong said that psychotherapy is effective for post-traumatic stress disorder and social anxiety . You can consider the following treatment methods:
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT);
Cognitive processing therapy (CPT);
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR);
Internal family system (IFS);
interpersonal relationship therapy;
dialectical behavioral therapy (DBTh);
acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT);
psychodynamic therapy;
exposure therapy;
hypnotic therapy, etc.
If your symptoms still affect your daily functioning, you can try medication even if you are undergoing psychotherapy. There are several drugs that can help treat anxiety:
selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs);
5-hydroxytryptamine-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI);
tricyclic;
benzodiazepines.
Doctors sometimes prescribe SSRIs to help control PTSD symptoms. For example, sertraline is an SSRI class drug that can be used to treat anxiety and PTSD.
2. Recovering a sense of security
Post-traumatic stress disorder and social anxiety will destroy your sense of control. The following methods can help you quickly restore a sense of security:
Name your feeling. If you are caught off guard by anxiety or PTSD reactions such as dizziness or stomach upset, name it "Trigger Reaction" which can help you eliminate unpleasant feelings more easily.
breathing and relaxation exercises. focuses on slowing down and deepening your breathing relaxation exercises and is an effective anxiety management tool.
sensory dialogue technology. Turn your attention to sensory input, which can calm you down, you can try to name and count things you can hear, see, smell, feel and taste.
distracts oneself. Try some humorous, calm music or simple activities that can help you get rid of anxiety.
Understand your triggers. So you can manage the frequency of encountering them.
3. Lifestyle improvement
Another way to manage PTSD and social anxiety is to evaluate and adjust your lifestyle. When you develop new habits, it is OK to focus on one area at a time, such as:
exercise regularly;
improve dietary nutrition;
develop good sleep habits;
enjoyable leisure activities;
positive social contact, etc.
4. Mindfulness Meditation
If you haven't tried it, please consider exploring mindfulness meditation practice. Scientific research has shown that mindfulness meditation practice is effective for both PTSD and anxiety disorders.
A 2022 study found that mindfulness meditation reduces PTSD symptoms. Regarding social anxiety disorder, a 2021 study also found that interventions based on mindfulness meditation helped relieve anxiety symptoms, and the effect lasted for 12 months.
Post-traumatic stress disorder and social anxiety disorder both make it difficult for patients to interact with others in some cases. For example, if your patient has PTSD and social anxiety, you may have difficulties at work or school, or even in shorter public places such as a grocery trip.
However, don't be discouraged and discouraged, there are some treatment options that can help control your symptoms.
Remember that if psychotherapy or medication does not work for you, you have other options. It can be helpful to communicate regularly with a professional doctor or mental health professional, especially if you want to change the direction of treatment.
Reference:
· What is post-traumatic stress disorder?
·Bjornsson AS et al. (2020). Social trauma and its relationship with PTSD and social anxiety disorders.
· Drug Abuse Treatment Center (2013). Figure 1.3-4: DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Trauma-informed care in behavioral health services.
·Haper L et al. (2022). The association between trait mindfulness and post-traumatic stress symptoms: a meta-analysis.
·Koyuncu A et al. (2019). Comorbidities of social anxiety: Diagnostic and treatment challenges.
·Liu X et al. (2021). Mindfulness-based interventions for social anxiety disorder: systematic reviews and meta-analysis.
·Kasim T et al. (2020). Psychiatric comorbidities in PTSD: Detailed results of the survey on the incidence of psychosis in adults in the UK.
· Treatment and facts: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
