Social Anxiety Every single person has experienced a moment of social anxiety during the course of their life. It seems to be a part of the human experience. Social anxiety is defined by feelings of intense fear and panic in social settings. For some individuals these feelings are triggered by specific places and circumstances. For example, a phobia of public speaking is a very common form of social anxiety. We may be perfectly comfortable speaking to friends in a crowded restaurant, but the scenario of speaking in front of an audience will cripple us with fear. A lot of these social anxiety experiences come from the internalization that those around us are judging us in the harshest way possible. That somehow, they have instantly picked up upon all our deepest insecurities. We ruminate on these thoughts sending our body into panic mode. We experience somatic symptoms, including sweating, tightness in the throat, tremors, and raised heartrate. All of these symptoms are the result of a flood of adrenaline which puts us in fight or flight mode. Something to remember is that social anxiety is multi-faceted. The idea of willing ourselves to be more confident when we are in these socially crippling situations over and over again, so that we no longer panic sounds like the answer logically, but it oversimplifies what is actually happening in our minds that triggers the body’s response. It is difficult to regulate this involuntary body response in the moment, so I’d like to share a few things to keep in mind as a point of reference next time you find yourself in a socially crippling situation. 1. No one caresThis is a major root of most social anxiety is this racing thought in which you feel that every single person that sees you is hyper-analyzing you. But always remember this: every single person has social anxiety. Perhaps not every second of every day but feeling nervous is a natural human emotion. Statistically speaking the odds that every single person around you is shredding you to pieces in their minds are very low. And this is because most people are too busy worrying about themselves. So remember, no one cares as much as you think they do. 2. Use others to inspire confidence.This is a game changer when it comes to managing social anxiety. Confidence is a character trait that you quite literally have to build from scratch. There are individuals who are highly extroverted and are seemingly very outgoing in social situations but will tell you they too suffer from crippling social anxiety. How is this possible? This is because confidence is quiet. The loudest person in the room is most likely the most insecure. And insecurity synergizes with social anxiety. We are afraid of being judged and rejected so being outgoing and dominant in social settings blocks that judgement and possible rejection. So how do I build my own quiet confidence from scratch? Use other people for inspiration. If you admire someone, it could be a family member, a friend, a celebrity, use them as your idol. Study all the things you admire about them and borrow their confidence. Next time you are in a social setting, tell yourself that you are this person and you have their confidence. This is that quiet confidence, its internal strength you are borrowing from this person you admire and your body will follow your mind’s lead. Disclaimer: All information, content, and material contained in this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
0 Comments
Our definition of success means a great deal. Having a great amount of support is extremely important for success.
In any goal that is difficult, there is going to be times where you feel down and do not feel that you can accomplish the goal. Without having the kind of support structure that is needed, you would quit. That is human nature. Furthermore, If your upbringing define success as something that wasn't authentic to you, Then you would live your life to please those around you, even though it isn’t true to your own heart. Many families say to focus on financial stability or social respects for instance however if the dream isn’t true to you this will bring heartache and pain in the short and long term. All you can do is do your best. All you can do is align yourself with the best individuals you can and make the most of your time. Life has its moments of sheer stress, where we feel under immense pressure and overwhelmed.The stress we experience may seem like too great of a burden for us to handle on our own. Even the thought of handling it adds even greater stress and so we retreat to easy comforts. Many individuals grapple with procrastination. For some individual’s they work best under pressure. The ability to motivate yourself each day and complete tasks of your own volition may rely entirely upon your personality type, personal values, and lifestyle. If an individual is used to working by deadlines and strict schedules, procrastination is most likely a non-issue in their life. If an individual is used to fluidity in their daily responsibilities, they may procrastinate their tasks regularly. Procrastination is not always a bad thing.We are taught at an early age that we must fulfill expectations that have been established long before we even came into existence. We wake up at the same time, brush our teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast, and go to school at the same time. We are expected to complete our homework the night before. Our parents prepare dinner around 6pm and so our life is already structured into a very strict schedule. We don’t get to choose, we simply adapt to the structure and the expectations. And we are constantly being reminded by our teachers, our parents, our older siblings, that abiding by the rules will prepare us for the autonomy offered by adulthood. We spend so much time following rules to prepare us for autonomy. It feels a lot like an oxymoron. And it touches upon the concept of procrastination and how it is not categorically negative and may allow some individuals to thrive. There are many times when we don’t feel like doing much.We would rather watch TV, sleep, eat junk food, yet we know that we shouldn’t be doing these things. We know we should be taking out the trash, doing the dishes, learning more, and being there for our family.
The brief relief from relaxing even though there will be guilt in the future mean so much to us. In a sense, this is the model of cognitive behavioral therapy, and also the model of drug addiction. Some heroin addicts and drug addicts will say that the future version of their selves will take care of a “something”. Procrastination is often viewed as the neglect of one’s responsibilities and this seems to oversimplify the definition of procrastination and the role it plays in the life of certain individuals. There seems to be different degrees in which procrastination impacts our life. It is good to understand that procrastination does not equate to neglect, it is defined as delaying or postponing something. Procrastination is not just limited to responsibilities and tasks, it can also affect emotions and thoughts. Our responsibilities, as well as, our emotions are important and central to our well-being and livelihood. The brief relaxation we get from procrastination is small compared to the sustained feeling of accomplishment we get from doing what needs to be done. How many times do we feel that we’ve made mistakes in the past? We wish we had the wisdom of the present when we were experiencing the past. If we knew what we know now, we could’ve made better decisions, we would be happier and we would’ve spared ourselves so much pain and suffering. In some sense, we wish we had an intuitive and God like vision of how the future would pan out. By knowing what will happen we can ensure not only that we do only good things but also that only good things will happen to us. This regret is an expression of the need for control. We desire to live simultaneously in the past, present, and future. We want full control over how each frame of time will influence the other. The intense regret and discouragement we experience when things don’t go our way is often blamed on a lack of foresight.We believe firmly that the adversity could have been prevented. We believe firmly that the suffering was needless. Our negative present is a perpetuation of the negative past. In our mind we conceptualize life as a math equation rooted in direct causality. However, the variables involved with experiencing life are mostly random. The discouragement we tend to feel from not seeing the bigger picture is misplaced. We plague our minds with the thought that if only I had done a particular thing differently, I would be happier. We tend to hyper focus on the disadvantages we’re facing and attribute them to what we lack, what we were not given, what we didn’t know. It is important to not get stuck into these wishful thought patterns which force us to live in a cycle of self-deprecation. Instead, when we experience a failure, we must respond with gratitude. We must be grateful that the failure triggered awareness in us. That it is teaching us how to attract the success we desire in the future. If we were given direct insight into exactly how the future would unfold and the exact things we need to do in order to succeed, our life would be highly egocentric, and there would be no growth, no discoveries, no progress, and no creations. Our lives are meant to be lived, we have to allow our minds space and encouragement for that experience. The desire to control all variables is what we are taught by our parents and teachers, and this is meant to help us refine our attentiveness and decision-making skills. But with each failure we experience outside of these social teachings, in our personal and everyday lives, we must see these failures as a constant exercise. Life is challenging us, exercising our faculty for anticipation. Life is helping us refine our intuition. Experiencing failure means we are constantly being engaged and strengthening our intuitive flow. We should make the most of our cards, and treat our failures as an exercise to help us build our strength.  There’s something about music that transcends all culture and transcend social norms.Something about music allows for transcend deep thoughts of depression that allows for an individual to feel such a great amount of flow is it a small period of time. It isn’t one particular genre that makes individual feel this way, it’s much more about the overall melody and flow. Different flows of music speak to different people in their own unique way. Yes music invokes a lot of nostalgia, it’s emotive and creates a space where we are able to process our emotions freely and intuitively. It kind of puts our emotions in auto pilot.  It’s a universal language The beautiful thing about music is it stimulates pathways of serotonin that don’t require higher doses of medication. There is something about listening to music that stimulates pathways in unique and novel ways that can help individuals feel great job. The melodies, tonality, chord progressions, lyricism, and production of the music all interact with one another to stimulate different neurotransmitters in our brain as we are listening. Even recalling a particular song will stimulate that same pathway. The stimulation will vary from person to person however the emotion it invokes inside of us and the noticeable instantaneous shift in mood is experienced by everyone. Music creates a space for the brain to process emotion in a natural, intuitive manner. The music isn’t eliminating the negative emotions we experience, it’s rather translating and encoding these emotions into a full body, transformative experience, transcending long held beliefs and barriers that trigger us to repress, music translates the emotion for us intuitively, it bypasses language and our typical forms of expression, it is felt very deeply.  What kind of music resonates with you?Have you noticed that your mood can completely change after listening to a particular song or genre? What do you think about how powerful music is? Why do certain music beats relate more to certain age groups and how other beats relates to other demographics differently?
 Reward & Motivation Dopamine regulates these functions of our brain. The experience of reward and motivation are associated with survival and regulated by the body’s release and re-uptake of dopamine neurotransmitters.  AddictionDopamine plays a role in addiction. The limbic system in the brain floods with dopamine and this causes the body to feel rewarded by encouraging current activity. It is not the dopamine itself creating the positive feeling, instead it is conditioning the body to believe that whatever you are doing is “rewarding” so you should continue doing it as a means towards survival. The boost in dopamine is triggered by the drug ingested into the body and it conditions the body to look forward to ingesting the drug, creating this cycle of dependence. Dopamine levels are self-regulated by the body through the processes of ”up-regulation” and “down-regulation”. The body never produces more dopamine, the levels are typically consistent at all times, the body works to ensure this. Some dopamine binds to the synapses in your brain and the rest is re-absorbed back into your body. This mechanism is regulated by either “up-regulation” in which more dopamine is binding to your synapses and less is being re-absorbed back into your body or by way of “down-regulation” in which less dopamine is binding to the synapses in your brain and more is being re-absorbed into your body and recycled. Certain drugs are classified as “Selective Dopamine Re-Uptake Inhibitors” because they increase the level at which dopamine is binding to the synapses in the brain by blocking the re-absorption of dopamine into the body to be recycled, this creates a flood. The body has these mechanisms in place to maintain a balance of dopamine and receptor cell levels. Creating this balance, assuming the body has healthy levels of other vitamins and minerals and we aren’t taking drugs that interfere with this regulation, typically takes 4-8 weeks. These means that addiction is something we can recover from if we take care of ourselves for 4-8 weeks. Given the nature of our life and the world we live in that is easily said than done which is why addiction is a complex disorder that may require help from a medical professional. Perfect conditions are never guaranteed and so to help our own body to do its job in light of everything we may be going through, we may need guidance from a professional, but it is good to know how the processes our body goes through to keep us at a healthy functioning baseline.  Dopamine Can Be Found In Supplements & Food The brain requires “precursors” in order to synthesize dopamine. These precursors can be found in the everyday food we eat. Dopamine does not go directly to our brain’s receptors. Instead the precursors needed by the body to produce dopamine can pass through the blood/brain barrier and then be converted effectively to produce the balance of dopamine the body needs in order to function effectually. Foods or supplements containing the amino acids L-Tyrosine & L-Phenylalanine are associated with a boost in the body’s dopamine levels. The body converts these amino acids into dopamine naturally. We can find these amino acids in foods we consume regularly. L-Tyrosine can be synthesized by the body using Phenylalanine and it is typically found in high protein food sources, such as spinach, eggs, turkey, almonds, avocados, bananas, and soy products. If you have an allergy to any of these, you can also purchase L-Tyrosine supplements. Dopamine is an extremely important hormone the body works to regulate in order to contribute to our overall health and well-being. Very similar to serotonin, the body regulates very even levels naturally, the use of drugs or other substances may disrupt this and so abstinence for at least 4-8 weeks gives the body time to recuperate and keep us going. It is always good to speak with a mental health professional if you do have concerns or wish to learn more. There are psychiatric disorders that interfere with these levels and so it’s good to consult with a psychiatrist so they may help you if you feel you are struggling. You are not alone, please feel free to speak with one of our mental health professionals below. Disclaimer: All information, content, and material contained in this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
Have you ever wanted something so badly, and once you received it, you realized that it wasn't all that you hoped it would be?The mind has this extraordinary ability to believe that if situations are different that life would be much "better". We tend to attribute the negative emotions we experience inside to the external world around us. That the world around us directly influences how we feel within and we have absolutely no control over that dynamic. That if we received that promotion we would feel more content, if that special person came into our life, we would feel more fulfilled. If only someone understood us would we feel complete. It seems the negative emotions we experience are the result of some shortcoming in the world. And if we change our external physical experience, it will have a direct impact on how we feel inside and instantly alleviate the suffering we feel inside. There isn't any doubt, that if certain things in the external world were different, then we would indeed feel more contented. Living in an area where the weather is ideal would make almost anybody feel more content. Working your dream job will most likely also bring a sense of inner peace and fulfillment. There are stimuli out in the world that do create a positive shift in the emotions we feel internally.  The issue that exists is that we are now constantly in search of what we can change in our external world in order to influence our internal experience. It becomes all we know. We don’t understand happiness, peace, or satisfaction without a direct stimulus that we can either find, change, or create in the world around us. We condition ourselves to seek externally how we want to feel internally. We rely on an ever changing reality to maintain a sense of emotional stability. This is inherently a losing battle. We have to separate the external world from our internal world in order to achieve homeostasis. The human body has mechanisms and pathways which helps it to regulate its own temperature. The body is constantly working to maintain homeostasis internally in response to our environment. If we are outside on a hot summer day, our body sweats to cool us down. The mind should work in a similar fashion to maintain emotional homeostasis. We have to self regulate what we are feeling internally in response to our environment. Much of the external world is beyond our control and so this will lead an individual to believe that much of what they are feeling inside is also beyond their control. This is a myth. We have to understand and regulate the relationship that exists between our mind and our environment. We have to self regulate and separate how we feel inside from what is happening to us on the outside. Many use meditation, music, exercise, reading, art, or religion as tools towards this separation. It’s important to practice this separation. There is only so much we can attempt to do to control our external reality, our control is limited. Many people foster a relationship in which their inner peace and happiness is directly dependent upon the external stimulus they are exposed to in the world. If we foster this type of relationship we develop poor impulse control. The ability to adapt to situations and navigate them well is what helps us the most. Cultivating love, inner energy, and allowing that energy to permeate in the world around us is what allows for us to adapt to a world that is greatly out of our control. Mass Shooting TragediesWe come across increasing media reports of mass shootings claiming the lives of hundreds of innocent people. These shootings take place in schools, religious places of worship, malls, and many other public places. Theses tragic events seem to be random acts of violence carried out by a ruthless, most likely mentally ill individual. In the case of school shootings, the perpetrator is often a student who may have been a victim themselves of bullying. Attempts to reduce the incidence of these tragic events are being made through the reform of existing gun laws. This is seen as a preventative measure to lessen the likelihood that a gun could be accessed by individuals with ill intent. However, research has found that the states in the United States with the most restrictive gun laws saw a 53% increase in the risk of a mass shooting event, so gun laws seem to be one piece to a larger puzzle.  The Mental Health of A Mass ShooterIt is important we examine the risk factors that could predict an individual’s chances of engaging in acts of violence against innocent people in addition to the reform of gun laws. A study published in the Journal of Loss and Trauma explores the myriad of risk factors that can be identified specifically in the case of the student responsible for the Virginia Tech shooting. The risk factors discussed in the study focus exclusively on the student’s environment and its ultimate influence on him claiming the lives of his peers. Could there be psychiatric risk factors as well that can help bring us closer to understanding how and why these mass shootings occur? Below are 6 risk factors that describe psychological characteristics commonly present among mass shooters. These risk factors give us some insight into the mental health and psychological dynamics of these perpetrators of mass shootings, that the individuals that commit these crimes may not necessarily have a mental illness, however, the presence of these characteristics predict a potential for engaging in acts of violence.  6 Psychiatric Risk Factors1. Social Isolation/Rejection
2. Narcissism
3. Self-Esteem Issues
4. Persecutory Delusions/ Paranoia
5. Suicidal Ideation
6. Depression
 Considering All The FactorsAn individual may present all of these characteristics and never commit acts of violence against others. Specifically, in the case of mass shooters, it seems to be a multifactorial situation, in which psychological/psychiatric factors interact with environmental factors leading the shooter to engage in an act of violence.
It is important to open up the conversation and take into account the many aspects influencing these types of events so that we can work as a community to prevent these tragedies in the future. Disclaimer: All information, content, and material contained in this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Surviving Much of life may feel like a balancing act between surviving and thriving. Surviving refers to our mundane day to day responsibilities which help to keep us a float and functioning within society. Some of these responsibilities include going to work, going to school, eating breakfast, getting an oil change. These responsibilities add value to our life in the sense that they keep us alive and facilitate our ability to continue fulfilling them. These responsibilities reflect this concept of “surviving”. ThrivingAlternately, the concept of “thriving” is less intuitive. Thriving refers to the meaning and value we assign to our lives and how we work towards fostering these values. Instead of the mundane responsibilities that keep us functional within society, thriving entails activities that we seek out primarily for the inherent value and meaning it instills within us, as opposed to the activity serving only as a means for survival.  We Need Both It’s clear we need both surviving and thriving to live holistically healthy and balanced lives. However, we find that survival can overshadow any attempts towards thriving. We have mounting responsibilities that are central to our life. If we don’t go to work, we risk losing our homes. Surviving is the corner stone of our existence so it is natural that it tends to overshadow the concept of thriving. In fact many feel surviving is more important than thriving because in order to implement the concept of thriving into our lives we must be surviving at a sufficient level. Eating healthy, practicing good sleep hygiene, exercising are small steps we can take towards thriving. Finding small moments of relaxation, such as listening to music, reading about a topic that interests you, cooking, and spending time with a friend are also small activities that push us closer to the concept of thriving. Balancing Surviving & Thriving The key seems to be balance. Too much of one disrupts our sense of inner peace and overall mental health wellness. When thriving becomes more central to surviving, we may find ourselves unstable financially. When surviving dominates any attempts towards thriving, we may find ourselves extremely stressed, anxious, and in a constant state of worry.
Finding a balance between the two is a day to day process. Our responsibilities are fairly consistent each day, we go to work at a set schedule, we pick our kids up from school at the same time during the week. Our activities for relaxation may not be this structured. It’s good to start with small acts each day and let them facilitate the fulfillment of our responsibilities. Balancing surviving with thriving makes life more meaningful, more enjoyable, and allows us to make sense of the pain of survival. Given we have infinite responsibilities that are difficult to “get out of“, we are left with the choice of trying to minimize our responsibilities, or making sense and meaning of them. In rising above this survival mindset we enter a higher level of thought process and we are able to transform our pain into something greater. Traumatic Events Traumatic events seem to be common place in today’s world. It seems we see a stream of never ending media reports of mass shootings, migrant children being separated from their parents, natural disasters uprooting children and families from their communities, and reports of other traumatic experiences. It is estimated that 40 % of children are affected and experience a traumatic event during their life. Some of these experiences trigger an overwhelming response of care and support from those around them which helps these children to recover from their traumatic experience. However some children grapple with their traumatic experience and struggle to recuperate. They experience frequent flashbacks of the event, which puts them in a constant state of anxiety, fear, and sadness.  Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms in Children These children exhibit symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The symptoms of PTSD we are most likely to observe in children include:
Treatment for PTSD PTSD symptoms in children can be treated under the guidance of a trained mental health professional who specializes in working with children and can provide a comprehensive assessment of the child’s symptoms and what the best course of treatment will be. Treatments available and found highly effective for children with PTSD include: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
These treatments help children with PTSD to recover control of their life and path, the children systematically accept the trauma and become free of their symptoms. Contact our office below to speak with a child psychiatrist who can help you on the road towards recovery. Disclaimer: All information, content, and material contained in this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
|
AuthorArchives
August 2019
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
