Public speaking is seen as a very difficult situation for many people. Individuals who are afraid of getting excited during the speech are afraid to express themselves and become silent. This leads to limitations in many areas of life and can lead to depression. "When the person accepts that this fear is unnecessarily magnified in the mind, it means that he has begun to take control," said Yıldız Burkovik, Specialist Clinical Psychologist, author of the book Social Phobia, and made important evaluations about the treatment methods of social phobia.
Specialist Clinical Psychologist Yıldız Burkovik from Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital gave important information about social phobia and treatment methods.
Noting that there are also hidden social phobics who do not appear in society and do not show themselves, Uzm. Clinical Psychologist Yıldız Burkovik; "We can call this situation 'shyness' in general. But it is a hesitation full of fear. A hesitation as if someone will criticize every minute at every moment. It is as if 'I will be disgraced, they will make fun of me'."
The most common symptoms; trembling, sweating, flushing and palpitations
Yıldız Burkovik, author of the book Social Phobia, stated that the most common symptoms of social phobia are trembling, sweating, blushing and palpitations, and said "These have very different reflections; when we say just blushing-sweating, it sounds very simple and shallow. Because when it is said, 'It can happen in everyone, so what the heck, you too', the person closes himself more, saying, 'Nobody understands me anyway, nobody will understand me'. Our goal is always to be able to regulate such events and situations and to enable the person to control himself/herself."
Social phobia can lead to psychological problems
The 'well-behaved girl' and 'gentleman boy' who don't talk to people have no bad manners; but they don't have a circle of friends either. Social phobia can start from childhood and adolescence and can be hidden until a certain age. There, when people realize this situation and apply for help, a real recovery is achieved. However, this recovery process has not only a psychologist but also a psychiatrist. Because the brain chemistry can change, the person can become intensely depressed, experience major anxiety disorders or obsessive obsessions and relapses can be added. It is necessary to work in a multidisciplinary way to improve the brain chemistry in case these are added.
"I will make a mistake" anxiety causes avoidance behavior
The person sits with his/her back turned, eats quickly or cannot go to the toilet in front of others, cannot speak on the phone or speaks perfectly in a foreign language; but because of the anxiety of 'I will make a mistake in front of others', the person who speaks in the best way starts not speaking at all. People with social phobia finish their speech in less than a minute because of their excitement or inability to control their breathing when they are about to start explaining a topic, instead of making a long speech. They can't breathe, sweating and bodily reactions can occur with that palpitation."
Realizing that fears are meaningless provides control
Yıldız Burkovik, Specialist Clinical Psychologist from Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital, said, "If very different things suddenly appear in front of people, of course they can be excited and afraid. Even a person who says 'I have no fear' can produce a fear of something unexpected. But when the person realizes, learns and accepts that this fear is meaningless and unnecessarily magnified in the mind, they have already started to take control."
"The person has entered into that process, so as soon as they appear in front of the community again, the brain will bring that positive process in front of them and make a positive comparison in the mind. Therefore, the same process will not happen again and again.
Can social phobia be treated?
First of all, it is necessary to maintain order by using cognitive behavioral therapy techniques together with different behavioral therapies; it is necessary to turn false beliefs, erroneous behaviors and thoughts in the right and positive direction. Afterwards, we use virtual glasses and virtual therapy to help people realize that their expectations are not actually much worse and that their own mind has created them. If people have a bodily reaction, we teach them to control themselves, their body, breathing, heartbeat, temperature with bodily feedback techniques called 'biofeedback'. After taking that process under control, we can usually start virtual glasses treatment and go to different points and then the case can be solved."
