David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Do you have Social Anxiety Disorder?
By Nabila Mayet, Longevity Magazine
Sep 27, 2010
Nonhlanle was a teenager when she experienced her first trauma. Today, a single 40-year-old, she has suffered with SAD for 20 years. At 14 Nonhlanle fell pregnant and had an abortion. Then, when she was 19, her boyfriend commited suicide ? leaving her feeling she was responsible for his death. Says Pat Bosman, a therapeutic reflexologist at the Anxiety & Trauma Clinic in Morningside, Johannesburg, ?After 20 years of different medication, Nonhlanle?s situation had still not been improved.? She lost her job, moved in with her parents and experienced diarrhoea as a result of the anxiety.
After realising that she needed help she went into therapy and began reflexology sessions. After three months Nonhlanle started leaving the house, she is working again and her SAD is improving with each day. She is en route to living a normal healthy life.
The experts say that SAD is not just something you can live with and pretend everything is okay. It has serious effects on your health and wellbeing, with a risk of reduced self-esteem as well as physical symptoms such as elevated heart rate (palpitations), profuse sweating, muscle tension, stuttering, dry mouth, trembling, fidgeting and light-headedness. Hartman adds that the disorder is usually accompanied by catastrophic and negative beliefs about oneself, for example, ?Everyone is staring at me. I?m making a fool of myself.?
Professor Seedat warns that SAD is a serious condition and it?s important to realise this and not to trivialise the symptoms and behaviour. While the direct cause is unknown, some studies show that adults who are living with this social disorder have come from a childhood where parents were less affectionate or caring, and perhaps more rejecting and controlling. SAD can disrupt family life and limit work efficiency. It can be socially and economically disastrous, making it difficult for sufferers to complete school, go for interviews, obtain jobs, create friendships or build romantic connections.
Depression and suicide are common results of SAD and that?s why it is so important to seek the correct help. With the right kind of psychotherapy, and possibly pharmacotherapy (medication), many can experience a dramatic improvement. Treatment includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which involves gradual exposure to some feared situations. Professor Seedat says anxiety management and relaxation techniques may also be effective.
Coping with an anxiety attack
Here are some tips from the South African Depression & Anxiety Group:
By Nabila Mayet, Longevity Magazine
Sep 27, 2010
Nonhlanle was a teenager when she experienced her first trauma. Today, a single 40-year-old, she has suffered with SAD for 20 years. At 14 Nonhlanle fell pregnant and had an abortion. Then, when she was 19, her boyfriend commited suicide ? leaving her feeling she was responsible for his death. Says Pat Bosman, a therapeutic reflexologist at the Anxiety & Trauma Clinic in Morningside, Johannesburg, ?After 20 years of different medication, Nonhlanle?s situation had still not been improved.? She lost her job, moved in with her parents and experienced diarrhoea as a result of the anxiety.
After realising that she needed help she went into therapy and began reflexology sessions. After three months Nonhlanle started leaving the house, she is working again and her SAD is improving with each day. She is en route to living a normal healthy life.
The experts say that SAD is not just something you can live with and pretend everything is okay. It has serious effects on your health and wellbeing, with a risk of reduced self-esteem as well as physical symptoms such as elevated heart rate (palpitations), profuse sweating, muscle tension, stuttering, dry mouth, trembling, fidgeting and light-headedness. Hartman adds that the disorder is usually accompanied by catastrophic and negative beliefs about oneself, for example, ?Everyone is staring at me. I?m making a fool of myself.?
Professor Seedat warns that SAD is a serious condition and it?s important to realise this and not to trivialise the symptoms and behaviour. While the direct cause is unknown, some studies show that adults who are living with this social disorder have come from a childhood where parents were less affectionate or caring, and perhaps more rejecting and controlling. SAD can disrupt family life and limit work efficiency. It can be socially and economically disastrous, making it difficult for sufferers to complete school, go for interviews, obtain jobs, create friendships or build romantic connections.
Depression and suicide are common results of SAD and that?s why it is so important to seek the correct help. With the right kind of psychotherapy, and possibly pharmacotherapy (medication), many can experience a dramatic improvement. Treatment includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which involves gradual exposure to some feared situations. Professor Seedat says anxiety management and relaxation techniques may also be effective.
Coping with an anxiety attack
Here are some tips from the South African Depression & Anxiety Group:
- Sit upright, if possible ? this increases the capacity of your lungs to fill with air.
- Control your breathing ? breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth in a steady rhythm. Try to breathe out twice as long as you breathe in. This will help to empty your lungs of old air and make room for fresh air. You may find it helpful to count as you are breathing.
- If possible, mainly use your diaphragm (lower-chest muscle) to breathe ? this will pull the lungs downwards to expand the airways and allow air to flow in. When we feel breathless, we tend to forget to use this muscle and often use the muscles at the top of the chest and our shoulders instead. Each breath is shallower if you use these upper-chest muscles.
- Try to relax your shoulders and upperchest muscles when you breathe ? it is best to take the weight off your shoulders by supporting your arms on the side-arms of a chair, or your lap. A gentle massage of your shoulders by a friend or relative will help you relax.
- Try to relax your mind ? anxiety can make breathing problems worse. If possible, try to distract your mind when you are short of breath. Close your eyes and think of something pleasant. If your anxiety persists and you are having trouble breathing, it is important that you visit your doctor.
