Dating anxiety is a common challenge that many individuals face. It can manifest as nervousness, self-doubt, and even physical symptoms like sweating or a racing heart. This anxiety often stems from fears of rejection, social pressures, and personal insecurities. However, there are effective strategies to manage and overcome these feelings. Understanding the Root of Anxiety […]
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The fear of other people, often termed social anxiety or social phobia, is a common and challenging experience for many individuals. It manifests as an overwhelming fear of judgment, embarrassment, or rejection in social situations, leading to significant distress and avoidance behaviors. Understanding this fear and learning coping strategies can greatly alleviate its impact on
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For those who live with social anxiety, the prospect of attending social events or interacting with others can be incredibly daunting. Even the simplest interactions can be a struggle, and many find themselves paralyzed by fear. If this is something you can relate to, you may have heard the suggestion to “fake it til you … Read More about Can You Fake It Til You Make It?
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In recent years, an increasing number of studies have examined the mechanisms underlying nonverbal emotional information processing in people with high social anxiety (HSA). However, most of these studies have focused on the processing of facial expressions, and there has been scarce research on gesture or even face-gesture combined processing in HSA individuals. The present study explored the processing characteristics and mechanism of the interaction between gestures and facial expressions in people with HSA and low social anxiety (LSA). The present study recruited university students as participants and used the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale scores to distinguish the HSA and LSA groups. We used a 2 (group: HSA and LSA) × 2 (emotion valence: positive, negative) × 2 (task: face, gesture) multifactor mixed design, and videos of a single face or gesture and combined face-gesture cues were used as stimuli. We found that (1) there is a distinction in the processing of faces and gestures, with individuals recognizing gestures faster than faces; (2) there is an attentional enhancement in the processing of gestures, particularly for negative gestures; and (3) when the emotional valence of faces and gestures align, it facilitates the recognition of both. However, incongruent gestures have a stronger impact on the processing of facial expressions compared to facial expressions themselves, suggesting that the processing of facial emotions is more influenced by environmental cues provided by gestures. These findings indicated that gestures played an important role in emotional processing, and facial emotional processing was more dependent on the environmental cues derived from gestures, which helps to clarify the reasons for biases in the interpretation of emotional information in people with HSA.
Researchers discovered that anxious individuals utilize a less optimal region of the forebrain when navigating socially challenging situations compared to their non-anxious counterparts. This was determined through brain scans that mapped regions active during simulated social scenarios.
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Background
Social anxiety (SA), a prevalent comorbid condition in psychotic disorders with a negative impact on functioning, requires adequate intervention relatively early. Using a randomized controlled trial, we tested the efficacy of a group cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention for SA (CBT-SA) that we developed for youth who experienced the first episode of psychosis (FEP). For our primary outcome, we hypothesized that compared to the active control of group cognitive remediation (CR), the CBT-SA group would show a reduction in SA that would be maintained at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. For secondary outcomes, it was hypothesized that the CBT-SA group would show a reduction of positive and negative symptoms and improvements in recovery and functioning.
Method
Ninety-six patients with an FEP and SA, recruited from five different FEP programs in the Montreal area, were randomized to 13 weekly group sessions of either CBT-SA or CR intervention.
Results
Linear mixed models revealed that multiple measures of SA significantly reduced over time, but with no significant group differences. Positive and negative symptoms, as well as functioning improved over time, with negative symptoms and functioning exhibiting a greater reduction in the CBT-SA group.
Conclusions
While SA decreased over time with both interventions, a positive effect of the CBT-SA intervention on measures of negative symptoms, functioning, and self-reported recovery at follow-up suggests that our intervention had a positive effect that extended beyond symptoms specific to SA.
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02294409.
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a serious concern for medical practitioners worldwide. Identifying its severity level (severe, moderate, mild, or none) can be challenging, which is why this paper proposes a solution. The researchers developed a method that classifies SAD severity levels using the patterns of brain information flow and graphical network structures, analyzed via
Here in Ireland, we like to think we’re great at having a chat, the ‘gift of the gab’ as they say.
Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, Volume 23, Issue 2, Page 334-348, June 2023.
