What causes social anxiety disorder?

SOCIAL anxiety is anxiety (worry, apprehension, doubt, fear, emotional discomfort) about social situations and interactions with other people. It often happens early in childhood as a result of childhood experiences, but may go unnoticed until adolescence or adulthood. Overcoming social anxiety can be relatively easy for some, and very tough for others. The reasons are not yet very clear: It can be linked to shyness or other temperamental or emotional factors, but its real nature is still the subject of ongoing study and research.

What Is Social Anxiety Disorder? What Causes Social Anxiety Disorder?

Social anxiety disorder or social anxiety is an excessive emotional discomfort, anxiety, fear or worry about social situations. The individual is exceptionally worried about social situations, being evaluated or scrutinized by other people - there is a heightened fear of interactions with others. Social anxiety disorder is sometimes referred to as social phobia. A phobia is an irrational fear of certain situations, objects or environments. A person with social anxiety disorder typically is excessively shyness in social situations - this fear can sometimes have a debilitating effect on personal and professional relationships.

It is is a chronic (ongoing) mental health condition that causes person to feel intense anxiety or fear of activities or situations in which she believes that others are watching her or judging her. More than simply having an introverted nature or a preference for solitude, suffers of social anxiety disorder may experience actual physical symptoms when forced to confront their fears.

The Cause of Social Anxiety Disorder: The Behaviour You Use, For Coping With Painful Social Memories

The cause of social anxiety disorder is the behaviour you use, as a means for coping with the painful memories of some social experiences from your past. In the very beginning of your problems with social anxiety, a social event upset you. This event stimulated your central nervous system so much, that ever since it happened, you've been behaving in ways that keep you away from letting it happen again. THAT is what causes social phobia. By treading on eggshells to avoid that uncomfortable stimulation, you've accidentally created social anxiety disorder by yourself.

Quick Definitions

Shyness, social anxiety, social phobia...these terms are often used interchangeably, although their meanings are often quite different and can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. The following definitions are provided to clarify how each term is used in this article. Anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness, apprehension, and/or dread about a real or imagined future event. It is tied to a sense that these unpleasant events are at least partially unpredictable and uncontrollable, and therefore accompanied by an uncomfortable level of uncertainty.

In addition to isolation, sufferers may turn to substance abuse, disordered eating, other addictions, or even self-mutilation to cope with stressful situations that they cannot avoid. So it's important to always seek the advice of a doctor or mental health professional if the fear of strangers is getting in the way of your ability to enjoy a fulfilling life.

Read more ...

Social Anxiety Symptoms – Do I have social phobia or am I just shy?

Do you feel tense or awkward in social situations? Do you worry about what strangers think of you when walking down the street? Are these

social anxiety symptoms

Useful Meditation Websites Worth Checking Out

WITH the heavy demand and hectic pace of modern life, many people feel over-worked and stressed. Our tiredness makes us frustrated, impatient, and unhappy. It can even affect our physical and mental health. We are usually so preoccupied that we feel we could no longer allocate a few hours to sit back, relax and meditate. But meditation actually gives you plenty of time by making your mind more focused and relaxed.

Meditation can be an effective way to fight stress and it has the potential to enhance quality of life and reduce healthcare costs. And a simple 10 or 15-minute breathing meditation can actually help you to deal with stress more effectively. Check out the websites below for guidance on how you can use meditation to reduce feelings of anxiety and worry.

How to meditate

How to Meditate was created to offer practical information about Buddhist meditation that is clear, simple and easy to understand. Our goal is to make Buddhist meditation more accessible to busy people. We wish to offer qualified information about Buddhist meditation on the web in order to give more people the opportunity to become familiar with meditation and what it has to offer the modern world. If you have questions or feedback, please contact us. Kadampa Sites The New Kadampa Tradition – International Buddhist Union - Kadampa.org Kadampa Buddhism is an international Buddhist tradition, presenting pure and authentic teachings in a manner suitable for the modern world.

About NCCAM

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is the Federal Government’s lead agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine.
Our Mission
The mission of NCCAM is to define, through rigorous scientific investigation, the usefulness and safety of complementary and alternative medicine interventions and their roles in improving health and health care.
Our Vision
Scientific evidence informs decision-making by the public, by health care professionals, and by health policymakers regarding use and integration of complementary and alternative medicine.

About The Guided Meditation Site

The mission of the Guided Meditation Site is to provide a valuable resource of information and downloads to people who want to evolve mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and to help people become healthier, happier and more peaceful.
We are also committed to supporting meditation teachers, personal development consultants and holistic healers by helping them create their own guided meditations, and then by helping them to reach a wider audience with their work.
In this way The Guided Meditation Site acts as a bridge that connects people with a wide range of talented healers and teachers throughout the world.

The Skillful Meditation Project

The Skillful Meditation Project was founded as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization in 1996 in Los Angeles. We offer meditation retreats, workshops, and classes in Southern California, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts and Vermont, as well as a yearly set of retreats and events in Australia. All of our events are run on a donation basis. Our purpose is to promote the study, instruction and practice of meditation in accordance with the tradition of Early Buddhism through a meditative approach developed by Jason Siff called Recollective Awareness.

Read more ...

Review Shyness and Social Anxiety System

 

The Shyness and Social Anxiety System is a social phobia support program created by Sean Cooper, an ex-sufferer of social anxiety and

Review of shyness and social anxiety system

How meditating can help to reduce your anxiety and fear of strangers

ANXIETY meditation techniques can combat stress and help to provide badly-need relief in a few simple ways. There are many anxiety reducing meditation techniques you can use to help when you feel a rush of massive stress. Daily meditation to cut stress can minimize the damage that stress and anxiety have brought upon your body. Your relationship to stressful events will even  transform as you begin to make a pause over time between a stressful situation and your body's reaction to it.


Meditation is a great way to relieve anxiety and ease mental burden. It has a cumulative effect on the both the body and mind so the benefits increase over time. It can also enhance your overall sense of well-being.

Meditation

You may be thinking “meditation, oh sure, what’s next - incense and hippie beads?” Study after study has shown meditation, when done correctly, to be a very successful form of stress reduction. And there is really nothing mystical or hocus-pocus about it. The primary cause of anxiety is an over active or out of control thought process. Effective meditation slows down your thought process and - whala - reduces your anxiety. The first step is to find a comfortable position. Many people choose to sit with good posture in an upright position. I suggest preparing yourself by first doing a few minutes of diaphragmatic breathing and muscle relaxation exercises to relax you physically.

 

Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress

Meditation can wipe away the day's stress, bringing with it inner peace. See how you can easily learn to practice meditation whenever you need it most. If stress has you anxious, tense and worried, consider trying meditation. Spending even a few minutes in meditation can restore your calm and inner peace. Anyone can practice meditation. It's simple and inexpensive, and it doesn't require any special equipment. And you can practice meditation wherever you are — whether you're out for a walk, riding the bus, waiting at the doctor's office or even in the middle of a difficult business meeting.

Meditation and Other Relaxation Techniques Work Equally Well Against Anxiety

Transcendental meditation involves focusing the mind on an object until the mind achieves stillness. EMG biofeedback measures muscle relaxation and teaches people to control their own level of muscle relaxation. The second study compared mindfulness meditation, which encourages awareness of one's thoughts while maintaining detachment, to Kundalini yoga. Kundalini yoga includes a meditative form of breathing known as pranayama. Researchers say both studies showed that meditation was comparable to other forms of relaxation therapy in reducing anxiety overall. But the small number of people involved in the studies makes it difficult to draw any firm conclusions about the effectiveness of meditation in the treatment of anxiety disorders.



 

Read more ...