Specialties:
Social Anxiety
Online Social Anxiety Treatment in Maryland
If you feel intense worry or discomfort in social situations, you may be experiencing social anxiety. You might avoid events, struggle with speaking up, or spend hours replaying interactions in your mind. Even everyday moments like meeting new people, speaking in meetings, or attending social gatherings can feel overwhelming and exhausting.
Social anxiety often grows quietly. You may appear confident to others while internally feeling tense, self-conscious, or afraid of judgment. Over time, these patterns can limit opportunities, affect relationships, and create a sense that you are holding yourself back from fully participating in life.
Support can help you break free from these patterns. Together, we explore the thoughts and beliefs that fuel anxiety, practice strategies to respond in the moment, and build confidence to engage in social situations without being controlled by fear. Counseling provides a safe space to understand yourself, reduce avoidance, and experience interactions with more ease and presence.
FAQ’s About Socail Anxiety
What is Social Anxiety?
If being around others leaves you feeling tense, self-conscious, or worried about what might go wrong, you may be experiencing social anxiety. It is more than shyness. Social anxiety shows up when your mind and body react as if every interaction is high stakes, even when most people see it as ordinary. It can affect your work, friendships, or everyday routines, making simple social situations feel exhausting or impossible.
How It Shows Up
If you recognize yourself here, social anxiety often shows up in ways like:
• If you avoid social events, gatherings, or even casual interactions because the thought of participating feels overwhelming.
• If your mind races with worries about being judged, embarrassed, or saying the wrong thing.
• If your body reacts with tension, sweating, a racing heart, or stomach discomfort before or during social interactions.
• If you overanalyze conversations afterward or replay every interaction in your head.
• If you want to connect with others but feel held back by fear or self-doubt.
These experiences are common and valid. Social anxiety is your system responding to perceived threats, not a flaw in your personality.
Why It Happens
If your nervous system learned early that being cautious, invisible, or “perfect” kept you safe, social situations may trigger stress automatically. Social anxiety is your brain and body trying to protect you. Over time, this response can feel like it controls your life even when the original risk is no longer present.
How We Treat Social Anxiety
If these patterns feel familiar, therapy can help you navigate social situations with more ease. Together we:
• Build awareness of triggers and early warning signs.
• Teach strategies to settle your nervous system in social settings.
• Work with self-critical or anxious thoughts so they lose power over your choices.
• Practice skills for approaching interactions step by step, at your pace.
• Rebuild confidence and comfort in social situations so you can connect without fear.
If you see yourself here, you are not alone. Social anxiety is treatable, and support can help you feel calmer, more present, and more confident in your interactions.