I think I have social anxiety/phobia but I am scared to find a therapist and having to tell my parents about it. I'm not sure what to do now to be honest, I don't really want to admit having a problem to my parents or having to share things with a therapist. What should I do?
Hello, I am Rafael. Thanks for asking your question - I'm here to support you. (Information posted here is not private or confidential but public).
I am sorry to know about your situation, it truly seems very challenging for you to tell your parents about it. .
Yeah I just will like they will be disappointed in me
You are a very young person, and there are not better person who could and should support you than your parents. Allowing them to support you and get adequate professional support would ensure your rehabilitation from tisi anxiety - phobia problem you have been experiencing.
My mum especially is someone who I know would worry a lot if she knew I had a "problem" and my dad would probably be in denial or would act weird about it
Yeah but i feel it would make the situation worse...
Experiencing any anxiety disorder does never and should never imply a persona deficiency, it is soemthing that does happen to any normal person , just like depression, and requires of professional support for you to get fine, as we all need to get a doctor's support to get healthy when we get a stomach problem.
I understand your concerns but the worst approach you may have would be to deny -hide your core problems not allowing yourself to get necessary professional support.
You need and deserve professional therapy, since you need and deserve to be and feel fine.
If you do not want to tell your parents, option I do not recommend at all, you would need to look for therapy by yourself and stick to it.
I know, but the pain of having to admit they I have a "problem" to my parents would be so painful. Being shy is one thing but having a "problem" that you have to get mental help for is another thing entirely. I just fear that telling them that I have a problem or something is wrong with me will change the way they look at me and act around me. I know its the right thing to do but it just seem so painful...
It is very challenging but necessary, for you to mature and grow, learning to take better care of yourself and work on areas requiring support. Your fears are normal because you are very young and there are too many stereotypes and ignorance about mental health and well-being, but we all need to choose between taking good care of ourselves or to perpetuate self-neglect expossing to further issues and deterioration of our mood and functioning.
I am sure you do not want to afford getting worse to the point where it would be impossible to hide your anxiety and fears and where your need for longer and more intense therapy would become an unavoidable and harder reality to face.
Does it make sense?
Yeah it make sense thanks. It has already got worse over the years since I haven't done anything about it so I suppose its going to get worse if I leave it. I guess I will have to pick a time to tell my mum and find out when to see a therapist tomorrow hopefully. On the topic of therapists I know that one who specializes in this and CBT is important, but what qualifications should I look for when choosing one?
Also I live in the UK
Look for a professional psychotherapist who works with individual, with expertise on anxiety disorders, who has an integral or eclectic approach, in other words, it would mean a therapist who uses humanistic therapy and cognitive-emotional-behavioral interventions too.
Make several calla in order to get an impression of several possible therapists, to know about their approach, education, expertise and to see how good personality match you experience, which is very important.
Do qualifications matter or is experience worth just as much?
After those calls, chose to interview at least 2 or 3 and choose the one who feels and seems to be the best match, the most emphatic and professional. Then everything else is about you being totally honest with him-her in order to get necessary support.
Both. A master degree in counseling or psychotherapy is what you need to look for. BA or BS are not enough, PhD, are mainly about research in one topic, while PsyD, are clinicians who could also provide good support if with experience in this area.
Ok thanks for that advice. Also when you said about interviewing them, how do I go about doing that
Make phone calls and talk to them, from there select 2 or 3, and schedule an initial appointment to discuss about your needs and see if they could support you or not.
You're very welcome.
Please feel free to contact me for any further support.
Ok I will do that. Thanks for all your help and advice and making me realise that it is something that I really need to do. Thanks, James