Access To Healthcare Services
Quality statement
Rationale
Quality measures
Structure
Data source:
Outcome
What the quality statement means for organisations providing care, social care, health and public health practitioners, local authorities and other commissioning services
Organisations providing careSocial care, health and public health practitionersLocal authorities and other commissioning services
What the quality statement means for service users
Older people in care homes
- GP services for older people living in residential care: a guide for care home managers SCIE guide 52, Residentsâ entitlements and requirements: Access to quality GP services Protection of residentsâ rights. GPsâ role in relation to the resident, the home and the wider NHS: The GP as point of access to primary and secondary care Managing relationships Role of nursing staff in facilitating joint working.
Definitions of terms used in this quality statement
Care homes
Healthcare services
Equality and diversity considerations
Buy Yourself A New Outfit
Retail therapy is obviously no cure for social anxiety, but sometimes clothing really can make you feel like a new person with a new attitude. Try to get yourself out of a rut by purchasing something outside your comfort zone. Choose a unique accent piece both to try something new and to give others a conversation starter when they first meet you.
Avoiding Social Gatherings Events Or Specific People
If youre trying to overcome social anxiety, its important to remember that its not all in your head. And I mean that literally: While worry places a central role in social anxiety, your behavior is equally important. Specifically, the tendency to avoid potentially scary social situations.
For example, many people with social anxiety get especially nervous and uncomfortable around new people. As a result, they frequently turn down to social gatherings theyve been invited to that involve unknown guests.
There are two problems with this habit of avoidance:
Even though social anxiety can feel like a very heady experienceworries, anxiety, nervousness, etcits crucial to learn to see that it has a strong behavioral component as well. How you choose to act is every bit as important in social anxiety as how you think and feel.
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Understanding Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder is more than just feeling shy or nervous. It is a more intense feeling that they may likely embarrass themselves if exposed to socializing, so they are faced with the crippling fear of humiliating themselves in front of others. It leaves them wondering why it is only me going through this, especially when they see others having fun and coping in such a situation.
The American Psychiatric Association defines social anxiety disorder as a mental disorder in which one has a persistent fear of one or more social situations where embarrassment may occur, and the fear or anxiety is out of proportion to the actual threat posed by the social status as determined by the persons cultural norms. It is a chronic mental condition that not just prevents people from making friends, contrary to what people perceive or portray it has. This condition affects every sphere of the life of people with social anxiety. Some situations where it could manifest include:
- Going for a job interview
- Having to talk to your thesis supervisor
- Having to warn your neighbor about a robbery going on in the area
- Receiving a prize in front of people
- Going to a friends birthday party
- If you are meeting a family member or friend for the first time.
So how does social anxiety disorder present itself?
Feeling Like An Imposter Or Fraud At Work
Many people with social anxiety hide it extremely well. In fact, Ive found that social anxiety seems to be especially prevalent among people who might describe themselves as high-achievers or Type-A.
In other words, social anxiety is more prevalent than you would think in people who look like theyve got it all together on the outside. But on the inside, theyre plagued with self-doubt and imposter syndrome
- They constantly feel like theyre a fraud, not good enough, and that at any moment people are going to figure it out.
- Theyre in the habit of chronically comparing themselves to others and never feeling like they match up.
- They struggle to appreciate their wins and successes because as soon as something goes well, they immediately worry that its not good enough or that someone will find fault with them.
Of course, this struggle of feeling like a fraud tends to show up most frequently at work. And interestingly, is especially common among people who are higher up in a company or organizationas a client explained to me once, the higher you climb the further you have to fall.
Okay, now that weve covered what social anxiety is and what it looks like, lets take a look at where social anxiety comes from and what causes it.
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Socially Interacting With Co
Step 1: Say hello to your co-workers.
Step 2: Ask a co-worker a work-related question.
Step 3: Ask a co-worker what they did over the weekend.
Step 4: Sit in the break room with co-workers during your coffee break.
Step 5: Eat lunch in the break room with your co-workers.
Step 6: Eat lunch in the break room and make small talk with one or more of your coworkers, such as talking about the weather, sports, or current events.
Step 7: Ask a co-worker to go for a coffee or drink after work.
Step 8: Go out for lunch with a group of co-workers.
Step 9: Share personal information about yourself with one or more co-workers.
Step 10: Attend a staff party with your co-workers.
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
SSRIs are often the first-line treatment for social anxiety and depression.
These medications which include paroxetine and sertraline work by increasing the level of serotonin in your brain.
Serotonin is an important neurotransmitter, a molecule that helps send messages throughout your body. Low levels of serotonin have been linked to depression and anxiety.
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Should I Call An Anxiety Helpline
You can obtain information about anxiety and discuss your concerns with someone who understands and wants to help.An anxiety helpline can provide free, convenient, and easy services that will allow you to speak with someone who knows what you are going through. Staff members are highly trained on anxiety disorders and the treatment options available. If youre suffering from anxiety, you might feel a bit fearful of calling a hotline, but you should know that no one will judge you or criticize you for calling. You dont even have to give your name or any identifying information if you dont feel comfortable doing so. All free anxiety helplines are private and confidential. If you are seeking information for a loved one who might be suffering from anxiety, calling a 24-hour anxiety hotline can be very beneficial. You can obtain information about anxiety and discuss your concerns with someone who understands and wants to help. You can also learn about ways to talk to your loved one and encourage them to seek help if they are reluctant to do so on their own. Some of the reasons people call anxiety hotlines include:
Explore Specific Situations That Trigger Anxiety
Social anxiety doesnt show up in the same way for everyone.
You might feel anxious about any situation where you worry about others judging you, from ordering food at a restaurant to leaving for the restroom during a class lecture. On the other hand, you could feel mostly fine simply being around others as long as they dont expect you to share your thoughts or speak up.
Pinpointing why and when you feel most anxious can help you take the first steps toward finding solutions to power through those feelings.
Tip: Start by listing situations that cause the most discomfort, the ones you feel utterly unable to face. These might include:
- interviewing for a new job
- meeting with a professor to ask for help
- introducing yourself to someone youre attracted to
Chances are, you spend a lot of time thinking about the potential negative outcomes of those social situations you just listed.
You might worry about:
- accidentally saying something rude or offensive
- tripping or spilling something on yourself
- laughing, sneezing, or coughing at the wrong time
- getting sick in front of other people
These things do happen on occasion, and they certainly can cause some short-term discomfort. It can feel frightening to imagine yourself in a similarly awkward situation, but try to keep things in perspective.
Understanding the spotlight effect the tendency to think others notice your mistakes more than they actually do can also go a long way toward easing feelings of social anxiety.
- sweating
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What Are The Different Formats Of Social Anxiety Support Groups
When it comes to the format of your social anxiety support group, there are options. Its all about identifying what feels right for you.
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CBT therapy groups: Counselors trained in cognitive behavioral therapy typically lead social anxiety support groups. These therapists help members confront their fears, first in the safety of the therapy group and then in real life. As you learn new ways to handle stressful situations, your fears become manageable.
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Social support groups: People who have struggled with and overcome social anxiety often volunteer to start support groups. While the structure may not focus on therapy, many members find these get-togethers beneficial. Some groups simply socialize while others like Social Anxiety Anonymous cover a 12-step program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous.
Social Phobia Can Extend Beyond The Social Event
A person with social phobia can feel anxious while simply anticipating an upcoming social event. After the event, the person may replay the conversations they had and rate their performance. Brooding on these feelings of social failure can make the person feel even worse, and reinforce the desire to avoid social situations in the future.
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Surround Yourself With Positive People
If at all possible, try to spend more time with positive people people who love you, believe in you, and see the beauty in who you are despite your social anxiety.
Spending time with these people will make you feel good and help you to weather any rough times as you try to make changes in your life.
Talk With A Therapist
Despite what some people might suggest, social anxiety goes beyond shyness, or feeling uneasy and nervous around new people. Social anxiety is a mental health condition, and its not always possible to work through symptoms yourself.
You can do a lot on your own to manage the anxiety and distress you experience, but getting professional support is always a good place to start.
A trained mental health professional can:
- offer more insight on the difference between social anxiety and shyness
- help you identify social anxiety triggers
- teach helpful coping strategies, social skills, and relaxation techniques
- offer guidance with challenging and replacing or reframing negative thoughts
Therapy also offers a safe environment to practice navigating anxiety-provoking situations through graduated exposure, one potential treatment for social anxiety.
Your therapist might recommend group therapy or support groups, which give you the chance to practice social skills and interact with other people also coping with social anxiety.
A therapist can also refer you to a psychiatrist, who can prescribe medication for social anxiety. Medication can provide some relief from severe symptoms, making it easier to start working through them in therapy.
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What Is Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder is a common type of anxiety disorder. A person with social anxiety disorder feels symptoms of anxiety or fear in certain or all social situations, such as meeting new people, dating, being on a job interview, answering a question in class, or having to talk to a cashier in a store. Doing everyday things in front of peoplesuch as eating or drinking in front of others or using a public restroomalso causes anxiety or fear. The person is afraid that he or she will be humiliated, judged, and rejected.
The fear that people with social anxiety disorder have in social situations is so strong that they feel it is beyond their ability to control. As a result, it gets in the way of going to work, attending school, or doing everyday things. People with social anxiety disorder may worry about these and other things for weeks before they happen. Sometimes, they end up staying away from places or events where they think they might have to do something that will embarrass them.
Some people with the disorder do not have anxiety in social situations but have performance anxiety instead. They feel physical symptoms of anxiety in situations such as giving a speech, playing a sports game, or dancing or playing a musical instrument on stage.
Unhelpful Thinking Styles That Fuel Social Anxiety
Ask yourself if youre engaging in any of the following unhelpful thinking styles:
- Mind reading Assuming you know what other people are thinking, and that they see you in the same negative way that you see yourself.
- Fortune telling Predicting the future, usually while assuming the worst will happen. You just know that things will go horribly, so youre already anxious before youre even in the situation.
- Catastrophizing Blowing things out of proportion. For example, if people notice that youre nervous, it will be awful, terrible, or disastrous.
- Personalizing Assuming that people are focusing on you in a negative way or that whats going on with other people has to do with you.
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What Is A Social Phobia
Shyness is a common sort of mild fear if it’s mild, it doesn’t really spoil life.
Many of us get a bit worried before meeting new people but find that, once we are with them, we can cope and even enjoy the situation.
A phobia is also a fear. We all have fears about things such as heights and spiders but, for most of us, they don’t really stop us from doing what we want to do.
A fear becomes a phobia when it stops us from enjoying things or doing them easily.
If you have a social phobia, you get very anxious when you are with other people, usually because you worry that:
- they may be critical of you
- you may do something embarrassing.
This can be so bad that you can’t enjoy being with people or speaking in front of them. You avoid social situations altogether.
This information describes what it is like to have a social phobia, how you can help yourself and some of the help you can find for this.
There are two main sorts of social phobia.