Individuals grappling with social anxiety disorder (SAD) undergoing exposure therapy may find potential benefits through the administration of testosterone, according to research conducted by Moniek Hutschemaekers, set to be presented in her Ph.D. thesis defense at Radboud University.
Social anxiety disorder can severely impact individuals, inducing fear in social situations, leading to a pervasive avoidance of such scenarios. Hutschemaekers explains, “People are afraid of being rejected or laughed at by the people they know, or they’re afraid that people won’t like them. As a result, they avoid social situations.”
While exposure therapy stands as an effective method for symptom reduction, its success is hindered for 40%-50% of individuals, largely due to continued avoidance of anxiety-inducing situations. Hutschemaekers notes, “Experimental research has shown that administering testosterone can help people break through social avoidance. We investigated whether testosterone could also help in exposure therapy itself.”
In the experimental study, women with SAD received either a liquid containing testosterone or a placebo. Subsequently, participants were tasked with delivering a presentation in front of a therapist and a small audience, a daunting prospect for those with SAD. Hutschemaekers reports, “We found evidence that administering testosterone affected anxiety levels during these exposure sessions. In particular, people with high avoidance seemed to benefit from testosterone administration.”
It is important to note that a single dose of testosterone did not result in a visible effect on SAD symptoms. Anxiety levels did not decrease after administration compared to the placebo group. However, the study revealed nuanced impacts on the exposure therapy process. Hutschemaekers comments, “The study findings give a very tentative indication that testosterone affects processes that are important for therapy.”
While the research is still in its early stages, Hutschemaekers emphasizes the need for further investigation to determine whether testosterone can genuinely enhance the efficacy of therapy. The preliminary findings suggest that testosterone could be a valuable addition to the therapeutic approach for individuals grappling with social anxiety disorder.
