About.com

UFC Fighter Nick Diaz on the Hook for Using Marijuana to Quell Social Anxiety

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:38:28 +0000

I don't really follow the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) but I am aware of the names. Georges St-Pierre. Anderson Silva. Nick Diaz.

Nick Diaz.

The Stockton California native has been in the news lately. What for? It is one part social anxiety disorder, one part medical marijuana, and a whole lot of potential disciplinary action by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

I have to admit I have been bewildered trying to following this story.

I understand that Diaz lost to Carlos Condit in UFC 143 and then tested positive for marijuana use. The likely outcome will be a one-year suspension and a 40% cut of his purse given that this is his second failed drug screening.

This is where it starts to get a little hazy. Nick's trainer Cesar Gracie says that he is not comfortable being around people and that he self-medicates with marijuana. Others report he has social anxiety disorder (SAD) and has a prescription for medical marijuana in the state of California but he did not apply for an exemption prior to UFC 143.

The general consensus is that Diaz is unpredictable during media appearances and has trouble communicating outside his comfort zone. After his loss to Condit in Las Vegas he talked of retirement. If given a year's suspension that retirement might be something he is forced to do; at least temporarily.

The story reminds me of NFL football player Ricky Williams and his struggles with marijuana use and social anxiety.

All of this raises a number of questions:

Will medical marijuana be routinely prescribed for social anxiety disorder in the future?
Will athletes who use marijuana because of SAD be exempt from drug testing for the substance?
Will Nick Diaz ever fight again?

I know I am raising more questions than giving answers, but that is because this is a new area of exploration. I believe there will be lots more to come on this topic in the future.

What do you think? Should Nick Diaz be allowed to fight under the influence of marijuana?

Further Reading

=======================

Stay up to date:

Subscribe to the SAD newsletter

=======================

Photo © Microsoft

Matchmaker Website "Huntcha" Plays Cupid in Time for Valentine's Day

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:35:43 +0000

Just in time for Valentine's Day a new Website is set to help you turn your platonic relationships into something more. Huntcha is a tool for those who are too shy to approach potential love interests.

The site is a few months old and has more than 30,000 members and over 1500 matches.

How exactly does it work?

Imagine that you have been friends with someone for a really long time. Perhaps that person is your neighbor, a friend of a friend, a work colleague, or classmate. Instead of risking rejection by confessing your feelings in person, Huntcha allows you to add that person to a list of friends that you would like to turn into something more.

If that person also adds you to their list then you have a match. The site notifies you of the interest and you work to send clues to the other person to help them guess your identity. Eventually you connect, date in real life, and hopefully live happily ever after.

The only hitch is that the person must already be someone that you are friends with on Facebook. Well, they also have to know about Huntcha and create a list.

The site creator argues that it is a way to avoid making a fool of yourself. If the interest is not mutual, your friend will never know you added him to your list.

I think the site is one part brilliant and one part fifth grade. Isn't this what we accomplished in elementary school passing notes back and forth?

Interestingly, current stats show that women tend to put one or two people on their list, while men add more and change them often. Given that there is a limit of 9 people per list, my guess is that men have really long lists and that they just keep trying different names until they get a match. Women are a little choosier.

What does this have to do with social anxiety disorder (SAD)? If you fear rejection, this might be a method for turning a friendship into something more. Although it doesn't address the fear of making the first move, it does give you a chance to develop a relationship that might not otherwise get off the ground.

What do you think? Would you use this type of matchmaker site to see if your secret crush feels the same as you?

Further Reading

=======================

Stay up to date:

Subscribe to the SAD newsletter

=======================

Photo © Microsoft

Emergency Dispatcher With SAD Takes Employer to Court Over Desk Space

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:30:00 +0000

Do you have an office job? If so, are you protective of your workspace?

UK resident Nathan Roberts is suing North West Ambulance Service in Manchester under disability discrimination laws for not providing him with a consistent desk of his own. Roberts was hired as an emergency operator in 2008 and quit in 2009 due to the "hot desking" policy in place; "hot desking" means that employees take whatever desk is available to them during their shift.

Roberts suffers with social anxiety disorder (SAD); a condition that he disclosed during his original interview for the job. Although attempts were made to accomodate Roberts, such as moving employees out of his preferred desk when he arrived for his shifts, in the end he claimed he was forced to quit because he could not cope with sharing a desk due to his anxiety disorder.

If he wins the lawsuit he could recieve up to £500,000. Roberts argues that he is taking a stand for others with disabilities; particularly those even more disabled than him.

What do you make of this situation?

I have a mixed reaction. It does seem that the employer was trying to make accomodations for Roberts by moving employees out of his desk for his shifts. At the same time, I suspect that there was some animosity toward him on the part of the other employees. This case might speak more to the need for understanding and compassion from coworkers than it does the need for accomodations from management.

Have you ever worked in a "hot desk" situation, and if so how did you handle it? Do you think Roberts should have been given a dedicated desk?

Further Reading

=======================

Stay up to date:

Subscribe to the SAD newsletter

=======================

Photo © Microsoft

A Little Semen for Your Social Anxiety?

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:38:01 +0000

In a 2002 study, evolutionary psychologists Gordon Gallup, Rebecca Burch and Steve Platek at the State University of New York (SUNY) studied the impact of semen on women's levels of depression. Their research was spurred by the observation that lesbians do not synchronize menstrual cycles (known as the McClintock effect) as happens with heterosexual women. It was therefore theorized that heterosexual women absorb chemicals from semen during sex that could influence hormones and mood.

Given that semen contains over 50 compounds including mood-elevating substances such as endorphins, oxytocin and serotonin, the researchers sought to show that exposure to semen would lead to improved mood and lower depression.

For the study, 293 college women were surveyed about their sexual behavior, condom use and depressive symptoms. In order to assess levels of depression, the women were given the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). In addition to this information, the researchers gathered information about relationship factors and oral contraceptive use.

Results of the study showed that women who never used condoms (and therefore were exposed to semen) showed signficantly better mood, experienced fewer depressive symptoms, and less depressive episodes than women who used condoms or never had sex. Only 5 percent of women who never used condoms had experienced suicidal thoughts compared with 20 percent of those who always or usually used condoms.

At this point you might be thinking - that's all well and good - but couldn't these findings be explained by relationship status or oral contraceptive use? In fact, the researchers controlled for these and other potential confoundings variables (such as frequency of sex) and found that they did not explain the relationship between semen exposure and levels of depression.

Is it possible that women who use condoms are just naturally more nervous and unhappy? A 1983 study by Mark Leary and Sharon Dobbins found that socially anxious women were twice as likely to use condoms. A study in 2010 by Natalie Mota and colleagues found increased levels of depression among single men and women who never or rarely used condoms compared with those who always used condoms.

It seems that the jury is still out as far as cause and effect and whether semen does have an influence on women's moods. It is an interesting discussion, however, because the chemicals that Gallup, Burch and Platek believe improved mood in the SUNY study could also potentially have a positive impact on women with social anxiety disorder (SAD).

Nobody would advocate unprotected sex as a treatment for depression or anxiety, but it may be that women who do engage in sex without condoms reap some sort of psychological benefit. The issue seems pretty complex to me and is crying out for more research to be done; particuarly with respect to the impact of semen exposure on social anxiety.

What do you think? Do you believe the chemicals transmitted during unprotected sex could elevate mood and reduce social anxiety?

Further Reading

=======================

Stay up to date:

Subscribe to the SAD newsletter

=======================

Photo © Microsoft

Are You a Chronic Avoider?

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:29:57 +0000

Do you avoid social situations? Although you might be saving yourself anxiety in the short-term, in the long-term your avoidance is creating more fear and dread. The key to overcoming your avoidance is to take small steps towards facing those situations that you fear; both in your mind and in real life. Read more...

...

Read Full Post

Social Anxiety Shows Up in Facebook Profiles

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:23:29 +0000

In a recent study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, researchers investigated whether Facebook profiles could reveal social anxiety.

In the study, 62 Facebook profiles were examined by six coders who made note of the number of interests as well as assessed the overall profile. These ratings were compared with self-reports of social anxiety from the Facebook users. Results showed that the coders ratings were similar to the self-ratings, meaning that the coders were able to pick out which users suffered with social anxiety.

What does this mean if you suffer with social anxiety?

I guess it depends on how you use Facebook. If it is a tool to keep up with friends, then your social anxiety might be hampering your ability to interact online, just as it does in real life. If you simply like to keep tabs on the people you know then it might not affect you too much.

That brings me to this week's poll. How do you use Facebook?

Further Reading

=======================

Stay up to date:

Subscribe to the SAD newsletter

=======================

2012 SAD Readers' Choice Awards

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:27:24 +0000

Every year About.com hosts an awards program to choose the best products and services in various categories across the network. The About.com 2012 Readers' Choice Awards will showcase the best of the best based on nominations and votes submitted by visitors to the site.

Although social anxiety disorder (SAD) is not a heavily product-based topic, I did think there were a couple of categories that would be interesting to include as part of the awards program. These are the best SAD websites and the best SAD self-help tools. Websites can include blogs, forums, article-based sites, and any other helpful website you have come across. Self-help tools might include books, apps, DVDs, audio programs and other products you have found helpful.

You can submit your nominations in these two categories up until February 15th:

For more details about the process and the categories you can visit the main SAD awards nomination page.

After the nomination period I will tally up the reccommendations and choose finalists in each category. Voting will then begin and extend until March 21st, with winners being announced on March 30th.

Please also note that in order to vote you will need to log in with an About.com username or your Facebook profile.

Since this is the first time I have participated in the Readers' Choice Awards I am excited to see the nominations that arrive. I think this is a great chance for readers to share the resources that are most valuable to them and to showcase all of the great sites and self-help tools that are available for SAD.

Further Reading

2012 About.com Readers' Choice Awards

=======================

Stay up to date:

Subscribe to the SAD newsletter

=======================

Photo © About.com

Woman Travels the Globe to Meet Facebook Friends and Overcome Anxiety

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:47:25 +0000

What do 325 Facebook friends, one romance novelist, and a New Year's resolution have in common?

They are the topic of an upcoming documentary called "Face to Facebook" about a woman who went on a year-long journey to overcome her fear of people and leaving her home.

...

Read Full Post

Blogging Helps Teenagers Overcome Social Anxiety

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:40:47 +0000

Have you ever kept a personal diary about your feelings and problems related to social anxiety? Did it make you feel better? New research published in the APA journal Psychological Services suggests that going a step further and blogging about your difficulties online might be the key to improvement.

The study, conducted by Meyran Boniel-Nissim, PhD and Azy Barak, PhD, investigated the impact of blogging on 161 high school students in Israel. Students were included in the study if they showed some level of social anxiety, trouble making friends, or difficulty relating to others.

The teens were assigned to one of six possible conditions: four experimental and two control. Bloggers were required to blog at least twice a week for 10 weeks.

The conditions were as follows:

Blogged about their social anxiety and had the blog open to comments.
Blogged about their social anxiety with the blog closed to comments.
Blogged about any topic and had the blog open to comments.
Blogged about any topic with the blog closed to comments.
Wrote in a private diary.
Did not do any writing.

Results of the study showed significant improvement in self-esteem, social behaviors, social anxiety and emotional distress for those who blogged versus those who did not. Students who wrote about their social anxiety and those whose blogs were open to comments fared the best. In general comments from the community were supportive and positive.

I think there is another interesting point to be made about this research. Blogs about personal experiences with social anxiety can help more than just those who are writing them. There is a good chance some of the readers of those blogs, and most specifically the commenters, were probably also helped to read that someone else felt the same way as them. It seems as though putting that information out there is a win-win for everyone.

What do you think? Would blogging about your social anxiety make you feel better or worse?

Further Reading

=======================

Stay up to date:

Subscribe to the SAD newsletter

=======================

How to Cope When You Are Alone on New Year's Eve

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:46:16 +0000

Being alone on New Year's Eve can be difficult, particularly if you have isolated yourself because of social anxiety. It is a time of year when everyone seems to be celebrating and spending time with loved ones. Fortunately, there are ways to enjoy a New Year's spent alone. Here are some tips to help you cope. Read more...

...

Read Full Post