Is there a link between depression and social anxiety?
Social anxiety, also known as “social phobia”, is one of the most common forms of psychological disorder. However, unlike other common mental issues, the onset of the disorder is almost always during the period of adolescence or childhood. Also, social phobia is usually hard to detect with accuracy and there is a lack of awareness on its causes and symptoms.
Social phobia is the fear of interacting with other persons or mingling in situations that may easily trigger negative emotions or feelings of criticism, inadequacy, inferiority and self-consciousness.
For some people these uncomfortable feelings can be overpowering and cause them to avoid human interaction altogether. This in turn can lead to them becoming isolated from other people and missing out on the healthy positive interactions that could reduce their anxiety in the long run. It is believed that this type of psychological distress is most upsetting among sufferers up to the age of 30.
Many people suffering from social anxiety will visit their doctor and seek medical treatment, thinking that medication can relieve their symptoms, only to find out that they are suffering from a psychological disorder
The majority of medical experts believe that early intervention may greatly reduce the severity of this disruptive mental burden, if not treat the disorder. Social anxiety is strongly correlated during the early years of adult life and has been linked to the development of depressive behavior if left untreated.
Unfortunately, early intervention is not given priority within the healthcare system or the government, as is the issue with many mental problems. A teenager or a child suffering from this mental dilemma may also experience an early sign of depression, and having no one else around to understand what the person is going through makes the situation worse.
The affliction increases the chances that an individual will try to find solutions to their problems without help from others. Without a clear understanding of the real source of the problem, a socially inferior person may likely conclude that there is really something wrong with himself and become even more paranoid, thus worsening the low feelings associated with depression.
When they occur at the same time, social anxiety and depression can make any type of situation for the one being hounded by the illness extremely unbearable. This leads to a vicious cycle of further social isolation and low thoughts and depressive feelings.
However, there has been a lot of research done into the causes of these mental health issues over the last couple of decades. This has led to the formulation of cognitive behavioral therapy which provides a goal driven strategy to challenging unhelpful, negative ways of thinking and replacing them with healthier more objective thoughts. Through reducing negative thoughts, cognitive behavioral therapy makes it easier to cope with the situations that previously made sufferers feel uncomfortable, and can reduce anxiety over the long term as a result.
Becoming more active, regular exercise and taking up hobbies that involve healthy human interaction are other recommended tactics that can be effective in reducing social phobia and depression.
You can find more tips and advice on how to overcome social anxiety on Matt’s website www.socialanxietydisorder.org.uk.
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