What do you think is more effective way to get rid of Social Phobia?

[Firefly09]

- Going to therapy
- Taking medicine
- Going to therapy and taking medicine
- Taking care of it myself

[Cam]

I think knowing the origin of your anxiety and learning how to stop it as it begins is the key. Also, learning to eliminate negative and engraved thought patterns can help as well. Self-therapy can work if you really put the time and effort into it.

I don't think there's a way to completely get rid of it, but you can improve it a lot.

[Frogger]

Try the first 3 of the 4th does not work in a year time.

[CeCe]

- Going to therapy and taking medicine

[JustAShadow]

It depends on the severity and the cause. Some people need medication to serve as a crutch while they work through therapy, and build the social and coping skills necessary for them to stand on their own. For others medication is a necessity because they have a chemical imbalance.

Other factors that influence our overall health too, some already mentioned:

*Getting adequate sleep (which I know can be a challenge for many of us with anxiety.)

*Eating a balanced diet. I've read fluctuations in blood sugar can contribute to anxiety in certain sensitive individuals. A hypoglycemic diet can be effective for some.

*Daily exercise - 30 mins

[ShyGuy82]

I've tried both medication and psychotherapy in the past, but improvement was limited, though other people might benefit greatly from them. For me, the the best results came from CBT, and specifically, exposure therapy. JustAShadow makes an excellent point though. Improving our overall healthy can affect our well-being, and thus our anxiety as well. I believe yoga/tai chi/meditation could also be of great benefit, though I have yet to actually try them.

[Antidote]

Going to therapy and taking medicine is supposedly the most effective treatment. But personally I didn't find it helpful. I've always just tried to deal with it myself.

[Matty]

Depends on the person and severity.
I have gone 4 most of the time with a spell of 1. I think the best combo for me is 1 and 4 together.

[Chopin12]

I got rid of social anxiety almost completely between the ages of 14-16 just by exercising and exposing myself to social situations. I was lucky by having a friend that actively sought me out, though. So I didnt have to try hard to put myself out there. After hanging out with people for a long time, you get used to it. Most people hang out with a friend almost every day. But for most of us, we spend quite a bit of time in solitude,

Self image and self esteem is so important, as well. If we take care of ourselves and know we look good it does a great deal for anxiety. Its not the whole thing but it can help.

If you have a good therapist Im sure it could help. But good therapists are hard to come by. In my experience, most of them dont know what theyre talking about. Clearing your mind of thoughts (and trying to stay there) as well as 'positive self talk' can help. Focus on only the positives, not the negatives. And if there arent many positives, focus on making things better, and feel good about that. We need to help ourselves feel good instead of low and stressed out all the time. We need to figure out what thoughts are bringing us down and quit thinking them. We have absolute power over our thoughts.

[Otherside]

It depends on the person and the severity. Some people can manage by just going to therapy. Some people need to take meds to. I don't think just taking meds and not getting therapy will help you much.

[metamorphosis]

For most people #3 and ideally they will be able to reduce and completely stop medication over time. It depends on the severity of the anxiety disorder. If the person ends up becoming agoraphobic or continues to have severe anxiety, than medication might need to be used indefinitely.