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Kaleb Kauscher

Prof. Leonard

ENG 1201.2V3

21 Mar 2021

What Is the Best Treatment for Social Anxiety in Adolescents?

Social Anxiety, also known as Social Phobia, is a mental disorder that causes the affected

to have a fear of being judged by others which leads to a marked avoidance of social interactions.

There are several methods of coping or helping those affected by social anxiety. I have used the

two most common methods to help deal with my social anxiety, occupational therapy and

prescription medication. The sources being reviewed will hopefully help answer the question of,

what is the best treatment for social anxiety in adolescents.

The first recorded case(s) of social anxiety dates back to 400 B.C. when, “Hippocrates

described the overly shy person as someone who ‘loves darkness as life’ and ‘thinks every man

observes him.” (Cunic). Since then many remarkable changes have happened, namely social

phobia had become an official psychiatric diagnosis in the third edition of the Diagnostic and

Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Then in 1985 two psychiatrists pushed for more research

on social phobia as it had been lacking. Shortly thereafter the first medication was introduced

known as Fluoxetine (Prozac), it was the first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) to be

marketed in 1987. Since then several SSRI’s have been created, including paroxetine (Paxil) and

sertraline (Zoloft).

There are several treatments available to help those who suffer from social anxiety, the

most common being cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and medications. According to WK

Silverman, “Cognitive-behavioral therapy in group or individual format is the psychotherapeutic

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intervention that has received the most empirical support for its efficacy in treating anxiety in

youth.” (Ebert et al.).

While anxiety medications are common, they are not always the first choice to help deal

with anxiety. “Depending on the severity of your teen’s symptoms, medication may be

prescribed in addition to psychotherapy (an example of this is CBT discussed in the paragraph

above) to treat his or her social anxiety.” (“Social Anxiety Disorder”).

While anxiety medications are used with the idea of them helping, they can also cause a

multitude of side-effects including, “…restlessness, agitation, insomnia, and gastrointestinal

distress.” (Ebert, et al.), along with dizziness, dry mouth, excessive sweating, headache, and

nausea (Morin).

Speaking strictly from experience, just one or the other is not enough to help during times

of severe anxiety, medications can help to only a certain extent, along with therapy. However,

when you combine taking medications with going to therapy, they both help increase your

control on your anxiety thus making your levels of anxiety lower and lowering the chance of the

levels flaring up again.

It is easy to think that medication alone can help with anxiety, like anti-biotics help you

when you are sick, but in reality, it is the anti-biotics working in tandem with your immune

system to help fight whatever ailment the person is suffering from. SSRIs are very similar in that

concept. They help a person deal with their anxiety, but alone it may not be enough to help.

Therapy is the same way, it can help, but it may not be enough. When I stopped going to therapy

and was only on anxiety medication, my anxiety could easily flare out of control if I were not in

a good mood or having a bad day. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak I recently started going to

therapy again and with therapy and medications, I am able to control my anxiety much better
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than I was before. An answer to my question could easily be, there is no single treatment that can

help on its own depending on the severity of anxiety, but when two common methods are

combined, their usefulness increases drastically.

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Works Cited

Cuncic, Arlin. “Key Points in the History of Social Anxiety Disorder.” Verywell Mind, Dotdash,

7 Nov. 2020, www.verywellmind.com/a-brief-history-of-social-anxiety-disorder-3024708.

Ebert, Michael H., et al. “Anxiety Disorders for Children and Adolescents.” Current Diagnosis

& Treatment: Psychiatry, 3e. E-book, McGraw-Hill Education, 2018.

Morin, Amy, LCSW. “Should Your Teen's Anxiety Be Treated With Medication?” Verywell

Mind, 20 Mar. 2020, www.verywellmind.com/is-anxiety-medication-safe-for-teens-

4140381#:~:text=Selective%20serotonin%20reuptake%20inhibitors%2C%20also,%2C

%20and%20Lexapro%20(escitalopram). Accessed 3 Mar 2021.

“Social Anxiety Disorder in Teens and Adolescents.” Evolve Treatment Centers, 4 Jan. 2021,

evolvetreatment.com/parent-guides/social-anxiety/. Accessed 7 Mar 2021.