as told by Bill's Synapses
A short synopsis of each blog post is listed below. This is a great way to catch up without having to read every blog post! If a particular post piques your interest simply click on the title to read it in its entirety. Throughout the blogs Bill uses humor via conversations between his inner negative and positive voices and himself. Although funny, the intent is to show how one's negative inner voice plays a vital role in keeping the SAD sufferer down.January 23, 2012
I'm Baaaaaack!
Bill hasn't been writing but has spent some time reading about Social Anxiety over the past several weeks. No single known cause for Social Anxiety Disorder exists but it is likely that biological, psychological and/or environmental factors may play a role in its development. From a biological standpoint the brain may have an imbalance of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Neurotransmitters are special chemical messengers that aid in the movement of information between nerve cells in the brain. This imbalance can play a role in how the brain interprets information which in turn can lead to anxiety. From a psychological standpoint a past social event that was embarrassing or humiliating may be contribute to the anxiety. From an environmental standpoint observing other people's reactions to or seeing others in embarrassing or humiliating situations can cause personal anxiety, leading to an avoidance of similar situations. Also, overprotective parents or a lack of good social skills can have an impact.
Bill points out that medication is effective in treating the symptoms of the anxiety by increasing the serotonin level in the brain which gives the anxiety sufferer some relief from the intense anxiety. The problems with medication are the side effects and it does not deal with the automatic negative thoughts that sufferers experience. Medication can be very helpful as a temporary means to reduce the anxiety and allow the sufferer to focus on treating the automatic negative thoughts that keep the anxiety from going away.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has proven to be the best method in treating Social Anxiety. Through CBT a person can teach their brain to learn new behaviors for dealing with fears and eliminate or reduce the intensity of the anxiety. CBT takes a lot of time and practice to get the new learned behaviors to become the automatic behavior that your brain will use.
Bill recognizes that some of the information may be inaccurate or outdated because SAD is relatively new. As new research is done new information and insights replace or redefine some of the information that already exists. The Social Anxiety Institute (SAI) website deals with SAD exclusively, even though there are other anxiety disorders. Bill suggests that if you want to do research for yourself or someone you know then the SAI website would be a good place to start. Use multiple resources, books, blogs, websites etc.
March 23, 2012
CBT and Me
Bill points out that medication is effective in treating the symptoms of the anxiety by increasing the serotonin level in the brain which gives the anxiety sufferer some relief from the intense anxiety. The problems with medication are the side effects and it does not deal with the automatic negative thoughts that sufferers experience. Medication can be very helpful as a temporary means to reduce the anxiety and allow the sufferer to focus on treating the automatic negative thoughts that keep the anxiety from going away.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has proven to be the best method in treating Social Anxiety. Through CBT a person can teach their brain to learn new behaviors for dealing with fears and eliminate or reduce the intensity of the anxiety. CBT takes a lot of time and practice to get the new learned behaviors to become the automatic behavior that your brain will use.
Bill recognizes that some of the information may be inaccurate or outdated because SAD is relatively new. As new research is done new information and insights replace or redefine some of the information that already exists. The Social Anxiety Institute (SAI) website deals with SAD exclusively, even though there are other anxiety disorders. Bill suggests that if you want to do research for yourself or someone you know then the SAI website would be a good place to start. Use multiple resources, books, blogs, websites etc.
March 23, 2012
CBT and Me
Bill states that he feels more shy than anxious at this time in his life. He feels that he has more control over the anxiety than the anxiety has over him. Most of what he has learned has been done through trial and error. Bill credits his family, friends and coworkers with their support and understanding in helping him grow into the person he is today.
Bill feels that he can still move forward from where He is today. He's been taking medication to help control his anxiety for about 10 years. When he first learned about SAD he was under the impression that the intense anxiety was the result of a low serotonin level in his brain and therefore concluded that medication was the best option. Now that Bill understands that neuropathways in the brain affect the serotonin levels and not the other way around, he is going to use CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) to remove the automatic negative thinking that still occurs.
Bill will be using the audio therapy series "Overcoming Social Anxiety: Step by Step" found on the Social Anxiety Institute (SAI) website. It takes a lot of time and practice to change one's neuropathways. The audio CBT series contains 20 CDs, a workbook and supplemental information online. The suggestion is to spend at least 30 minutes a day listening to the CDs, reading the workbook and practicing the exercises. Each CD should take no less than a week to complete. This audio series works best when combined with group therapy but can be worked on without the therapy.
Bill's negative inner voice seems quite disturbed at the thought that Bill is using CBT. Bill's negative voice tries to be cool, calm and collected but you can tell that this is disturbing to him. Bill and his negative voice exchange dueling poetry at the end to sum up how they feel about one another.
April 17, 2012
Synopses From The Synapses
Bill feels that he can still move forward from where He is today. He's been taking medication to help control his anxiety for about 10 years. When he first learned about SAD he was under the impression that the intense anxiety was the result of a low serotonin level in his brain and therefore concluded that medication was the best option. Now that Bill understands that neuropathways in the brain affect the serotonin levels and not the other way around, he is going to use CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) to remove the automatic negative thinking that still occurs.
Bill will be using the audio therapy series "Overcoming Social Anxiety: Step by Step" found on the Social Anxiety Institute (SAI) website. It takes a lot of time and practice to change one's neuropathways. The audio CBT series contains 20 CDs, a workbook and supplemental information online. The suggestion is to spend at least 30 minutes a day listening to the CDs, reading the workbook and practicing the exercises. Each CD should take no less than a week to complete. This audio series works best when combined with group therapy but can be worked on without the therapy.
Bill's negative inner voice seems quite disturbed at the thought that Bill is using CBT. Bill's negative voice tries to be cool, calm and collected but you can tell that this is disturbing to him. Bill and his negative voice exchange dueling poetry at the end to sum up how they feel about one another.
April 17, 2012
Synopses From The Synapses
We the synapses of Bill's brain have created the synonpses that you are currently reading. Bill has been very busy lately and we thought that we would add a little information to let people know that they haven't been forgotten. We hope that more people will visit Bill's blog to at least gain an understanding of Social Anxiety Disorder and help Bill in his quest to get the word out. Please let others know about Social Anxiety Disorder and direct them to this blog for additional information. Even if you don't know anybody with SAD you may know someone who knows someone with SAD and your spreading the word could make a world of difference.
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