Synopses From the Synapses

     Hello everyone. Bill has been very busy lately so we, Bill's synapses, are going to write this blog to keep you up to date on the latest developments. We are excited (some may say we are "fired up" :)) to bring the latest and greatest news going on in Bill's brain. Of course if you knew Bill as well as we do you would realize that 90% of Bills thoughts are too risque to post here (wink wink).

     Have you ever found the need to use CliffNotes or SparkNotes? Of course we synapses prefer "Spark"Notes (ha ha ha, get it "Spark"Notes / synapse?). But seriously, sometimes you don't have the time to read the full version of a blog post but you want to know what is going on. But does CliffNotes or SparkNotes create a synopsis of each blog post? No. So we synapses got together (get it, got together?, I just crack myself up sometimes) and wrote a synopsis of each and every blog post in Bill's blog. So if you haven't seen this blog before, just read the synopses section (link to synopses sections are in the Pages section on the right) and get up to speed in no time. Missed a couple of posts? Don't have time to catch up? No problem. Read the synopses of those posts that you missed.

     Hopefully this will help get more people to this blog as the most important aspect is to spread the word about Social Anxiety Disorder. Please inform your family and friends about this blog so that they will gain an awareness of SAD and its devistating effects on its victims.

     Warning: The synopses do not contain the delightful humor that Bill adds to his blog posts and therefore may cause drowsiness. Please use caution when operating heavy machinery while reading the synopses. Better yet, question your judgement about reading the synopses and operating heavy machinery at the same time. Seriously, who would do that? *

     Bill will return (hopefully soon) with additional information and stories as they relate to social anxiety disorder. Please stay tuned and check in from time to time to see what (if anything) Bill may or may not have done since the last time you checked in to see what (if anything) Bill may or may not have done ......

Peace,

Bill's Synapses

* A special thanks to synapse #33749120 for remembering to add the warning to prevent possible lawsuits

CBT and Me

     I've stated in a previous blog (Shy or Social Anxiety? 12/4/2011) that I felt that I am more shy than I am anxious at this time in my life.  I said that I felt as though I have more control over the anxiety than the anxiety has over me.  All of this is still true.  I've made great, maybe even amazing, strides through the decades I have dealt with SAD.  Most of what I have learned about how to deal with this devastating disorder has been done on my own through trial and error.  I have a beautiful family and have had a successful career which spans 30+ years in Information Technology.  I owe a great deal of credit for my successes to the support and understanding from family, friends and coworkers.  I could easily be content living out the rest of my life being the person I am today.

     Throughout the several weeks in December and January while I was not writing but rather reading about SAD, I realized that I can still move forward from where I am today.  In the last decade I have been taking medication to help control my anxiety.  When I first learned about SAD 10 years ago I did some research on the web but I did not dig as deeply as I should have.  I was under the impression that the intense anxiety was the result of a low serotonin level in the brain.  It seemed to me that medication was the best option for me.  While digging deeper into SAD I've discovered that neuropathways in the brain affect the serotonin levels and not the other way around.  Using CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) can change the neuropathways that your brain automatically uses and therefore will change the serotonin level in the brain.

     I don't think it is any secret based on the title of this posting, "CBT and Me", that I am planning to use CBT to change my life. "I'll bet there are a few dumb-dumbs out there that couldn't figure that out" interrupts Bill's negative voice.  Bill's inner positive voice responds "Hey negative voice, the point Bill is about to make is that you are no longer welcome in his life and he plans to silence you for good".  I am going to be using the audio therapy series "Overcoming Social Anxiety: Step by Step" found on the Social Anxiety Institute (SAI) website (you can find a link to this website in the column on the right under the heading "Additional Information About SAD and SM").

I'm Baaaaaack!

     Sorry for the extended absence.  I hope many of you will return to read and recommend this blog to others.  Due to a variety of reasons, blogging during these past 7 weeks hasn't worked well with my schedule.  But the show must go on and I will not abandon the mission I set out to accomplish.

We are pleased to interrupt this blog with some important news from UNIV (United Negative Internal Voices).  It has come to the attention of the "fine" voices at UNIV that this so called blog is nothing but a hoax.  We at UNIV have been investigating this Bill guy for quite some time and have concluded that he has no clue what he is talking about.  He is "an anarchist agitator spreading false propaganda in an attempt to lead the public into false beliefs about your internal negative voice as well as the belief that intense anxiety is not a good thing".  For your own safety and that of your loved ones, please do not read any more jibberish from this person.  Leave this site and never return!!!  You'll be pleased that you listened to the truth from your own internal negative voice and will forever remain indebted to us.