Social Anxiety and Shyness

By Dan Ramy

I guess I am just shy.
Various people may confuse social anxiety with shyness and there is a suitable reason for that. Shyness is a physiological term that stands for a sensation related to worrying along with minor discomfort. In general, this can arise whenever a sufferer is near new individuals and even in cases where she, or he is being addressed by another, especially in new event or just with unknown people. For nearly all public situations, a particular person may be miserable and insecure. However, he would still be competent to function effortlessly and also even enjoy himself during that specific event.
Here are a number of factors, which could make a "shy person":
1. Genetics: many kinds of individuality characteristics are considered "Hereditary," you could very well have come across the words "you behave exactly like your father/mother", it is most likely that in case that your father or mother is known to be having shy nature, then you may inherit it through them as well.
2. Brain's physical activity: quite a few scientific tests indicate that substances levels in the human brain (of Serotonin and also Dopamine, for example) takes on a lead role in controlling our feelings and mood, for instance; joy, sadness, stress, anxiety, hostility, energetic behavior and so on. Low level of those chemicals could possibly result in a "shy" behavior.
3. Personal life encounters: daily life situations constantly shape our qualities and affect the way we are. On many cases continued exposure to damaging event of judgment by other people, or teasing and bullying, may shape us in a pessimistic way. We might begin to grow wrong beliefs about ourselves, which will eventually have an impact on our actions in social situation.
So how is this associated with social anxiety?
Take all the previously mentioned and multiply it. The easiest explanation is that social anxiety is shyness on a very high degree. It implies that there is a lot in common among the source and the symptoms of the two, but the main difference is that social anxiety disorder restricts people's power to function normally in social circumstances.
The Chance of starting a conversation, responding to the request of another, communicate as well as express a need, thought or sensation, evokes excessive nervousness that leads to paralysis. This will happen particularly when there is a matter of becoming the heart of other people's interest. Everyday circumstances such as calling a waiter, face an unknown individual, talking to a group of acquaintances make for the disorder sufferer's mission impossible.
The Source feeling of stress is actually an anxiety that something shameful, humiliating, or degrading might happen, and that the individual will turn out to be an object of mockery for all to see. Having those serious issues and scenarios, makes the disorder sufferers choose often to keep away from the social environment at all cost.

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How to Help a Friend With Depression

By Anna Brown

One of the many situations that we face in our lives that there are no guidelines for is how to help a friend with depression. This is a serious situation and must be regarded as such.
One big problem is that we do not always recognize depression in others. When they pull away, we assume that they have gotten busy or that our friendship is not as important to them as it is to us. We get busy ourselves and time passes before we realize that the relationship has changed or that we have not spoken.
When a friend is depressed, they usually withdraw from the world. They quit contacting everyone, even those that are important in their livesl
Depression makes it tough to get out of bed and face the day. Reaching out to someone is nearly impossible. There are no words that come to mind that are worth sharing.
How could they understand? What difference would it make? What would you talk about?
but mostly... Talking takes too much effort.
They may appear to be quiet or moody, even uninterested. We take this personally, believing that it must be something that we did.
When you get depressed, it takes over your mind. There is nothing that does not cause painful thoughts. So, you simply try not to think. Going through the motions of each day without notice is often easier for those that have a well established routine.
Those around them may not even notice much difference depending on their usual personality type.
How can we know that a friend is struggling with depression and what can we do to help?
The symptoms of depression are there, we just do not always recognize them. We assume that it is something else, that they are not ready to talk, they are simply distracted, or one of many other normal assumptions. Including... that we are bothering them.
When someone is suffering with depression, they NEED to be bothered! Yes, calling or visiting bothering them. There is no way around it. They are often so lost that being social takes more effort than they feel they have.
They may even need to be pushed to get out of bed, to get into the shower, and yes, even to eat. The idea of getting up and facing the day may be overwhelming, even if they do have a well defined routine to their life.
If you find yourself in a situation that you have to decide how to help a friend with depression, start by bothering them.
Call them, 10 times a day if you need to. Stop by and visit. Insist on getting them out of the house. Find an activity that will help keep their mind busy.
Shop, go to the gym, take in a movie, take a walk, sit on a park bench, go out to lunch. Anything to get them out of the house and distract their mind.
Talk to them about getting some help. Offer to go with them, to take them if you can.
If you know the cause of the depression, find a way to approach the topic and then get them to talk while you quietly listen. Do not judge what they say, but try to be reassuring.
The biggest thing to remember when you are faced with deciding how to help a friend with depression is that your relationship will be very one-sided. You will have to be the one making ALL of the effort. Your conversations will likely be very one-sided as well, with you receiving one word answers or even no answer. You will need to push to stay in their lives. This is when they need you the most. Walking away now could leave them lost for good, and, not only to you.

Anna Brown is an independent writer that enjoys writing on a variety of topics that provide useful information to the reader. To read more about depression or to see the variety of information that is available, visit her blog at http://www.bartbecks.com

Mental Illness Statistics - How Sick Are We?

By Randall McGhee

Exactly how many people are mentally ill? What are the most common mental illnesses? How do mental illnesses affect men, women, seniors and children differently? For answers to these questions and more, here are some illuminating mental illness statistics.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the number of people in the United States who experience a mental health problem each year is now 1 in 3, which means a huge increase from its 2004 statistic of 1 in 4. About 5 to 6 percent of the population suffers from a serious chronic mental disorders. Almost half of these individuals suffer from two or more mental illnesses at the same time.
The most commonly reported type of mental disorder is anxiety disorder, followed by mood disorders, substance abuse problems and impulse control disorders. Around 10 percent of all children suffer from some type of mental disorder. 70 percent of all mental disorders begin to show symptoms during childhood or adolescence. Mental illness is the leading cause of disability among people from age 15 to 44 in the United States and Canada. 20 percent of people who have a mental disorders also have a co-occurring substance abuse problem. Over 90 percent of those who commit suicide suffer from diagnosable mental disorders. Women with mental illnesses are two to three times more likely than men to attempt suicide, but men are four times more likely to succeed. The highest suicide rate is among white men over 85 years of age. Dementia and mood disorders, especially depression, are much higher for the senior population. Women are more likely than men to report mental problems, seek treatment, and successfully complete treatment. Men are more than twice as likely as women to have substance abuse problems, with alcohol being the most common. Women are more likely than men to suffer from anxiety and mood disorders.
Women show schizophrenia symptoms later than men. Men usually start showing symptoms in their late teens or early twenties; women are more likely to do so in their late twenties and early thirties. Around 2.4 percent of the US population suffers from schizophrenia. About 1 in 17 Americans suffer from schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or bipolar disorder. The rate of mental disorder is much higher among people living below poverty. Mental illness is the 3rd largest cause of homelessness. Finally, which country has the highest rates of mental disorders? The United States does with its whopping 26 percent. This means that in a family of four, one person is likely to suffer from some kind of mental problem. However, it's important to realize that the US is the country with the most reported mental illness. Many countries don't have the mental illness resources and infrastructure that the US does. Furthermore, in many countries mental problems carry a social stigma and are underreported.

To read more about schizoaffective disorder symptoms please feel free to visit my site http://www.mentalillnesstest.org.