Overcoming Social Anxiety
By Stan Hibbs, Ph.D.
There’s a fairly simple explanation for all social anxiety. It’s caused by the unfortunate mental habit of “mind reading.” That is, we imagine what other people are thinking about us. “Do I look good?” “Do I sound intelligent?” Our unstated mission is “I must make them feel good about me!”
Mood Disorders Predict Later Substance Abuse Problems
Findings from an extensive, long-term study "confirm the link between mood disorders and substance abuse or dependence problems...they also suggest that earlier detection of bipolar symptoms could help to prevent consequent substance abuse problems.”
Behavioral Therapy Effectively Treats Children with Social Phobia
Social phobia, also called social anxiety disorder, is characterized by an extremely distressing fear of social situations, of being watched or judged by others, and of being embarrassed. Children with the disorder avoid everyday activities and situations such as playing with other kids, reading in class, and speaking to adults.
The Connection Between Obesity and Mood and Anxiety Disorders
The causal relationship between obesity and mood and anxiety disorders continues to be debated and studied. Both likely contribute to the other, but they may be linked through a common environmental or biological factor as well.
Brain Chemical Boosts Trust and Short-Circuits Fear
A brain chemical recently found to boost trust appears to work by reducing activity and weakening connections in fear-processing circuitry. The latest findings suggest new approaches to treating diseases thought to involve amygdala dysfunction and social fear, such as social phobia, autism, and possibly even schizophrenia.
Why Me?
Scientists aren't quite sure why some people get anxiety disorders. Different people exposed to the same situation can react in very different ways. Part of this difference may be in the genes they have inherited. For example, children of parents with panic disorders have a higher incidence of behavioral disorders very early in life, before you would think major environmental impacts would occur.
The Link Between PTSD and Substance Abuse
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop in some people after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. An emerging body of research has documented a very strong association between PTSD and substance abuse.
One of the Reasons Why Women Tend To Live Longer Than Men…
When the body is stressed it triggers a hormone called oxytocin. This fast hormone flush rather predictably causes the "fight or flight" response in men. However, in women, high estrogen levels can dull the hormone’s effects and instead produce a different reaction, something that can be thought of as a "tend or befriend" response.
Emotional Eating Can Sabotage Even Your Best Dieting Efforts
Typically triggered by stress and anxiety, "emotional eating" leads to overeating accompanied by clouded judgment, all of which results in making poor food choices. A key influence on emotional eating, however, is not just the presence of stressful or anxiety-riddled circumstances, but rather how we respond when life seems trying and difficult.
Moving Beyond Stigmas
According to findings in a just-released study, perceived stigmas surrounding mental health issues and available treatment not only keep sufferers of mental health disorders from getting the professional help they need, but the stigma-induced fears of being judged, criticized or discriminated against prevent many from confiding their concerns to even their closest friends.
Study Identifies Three Effective Treatments for Childhood Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders affecting children and adolescents. Untreated anxiety can undermine a child’s success in school, jeopardize his or her relationships with family, and inhibit social functioning.
Mimicking Brain's "All Clear" Signal Tricks Rats Into Not Feeling Scared
Researchers have now demonstrated that stimulating a site in the front part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, can extinguish the fear response by mimicking the brain's own "safety signal."
Coping With Traumatic Events
There are as many responses to crisis as there are people affected. Most individuals have intense feelings after a traumatic event but soon completely recover from the trauma; others are more vulnerable — especially those who have had previous traumatic experiences — and will need additional help for such conditions as anxiety, PTSD, and depression.
Timing of Chemical Signal Critical for Normal Emotional Development
A signaling protein suspected of malfunctioning in anxiety and mood disorders plays a key role in the development of emotional behavior. Rene Hen, Ph.D., Columbia University, and colleagues created mice that lacked the protein, which brain cells use to receive signals from the chemical messenger serotonin, by knocking-out the gene that codes for it.
Families Can Help Their Kids Cope With Fear and Anxiety
Whether tragic events touch your family personally or are brought into your home via newspapers and television, you can help children cope with the anxiety that violence, death and disasters can cause.
PTSD Is Not a New Disorder
Although careful research and documentation of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) began in earnest after the Vietnam War, it is not a new disorder. There are written accounts of similar symptoms that go back to ancient times, and there is clear documentation in the historical medical literature starting with the Civil War. There are particularly good destrictions of posttraumatic stress symptoms in the medical literature on combat veterans of World War II and on Holocaust survivors.
| 
