February 2012 Archives

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February 1, 2012

Sexual Dysfunction and SAD

If you suffer with social anxiety disorder (SAD), you may also experience problems with sexual dysfunction. Sexual dysfunction may include such issues as avoidance of sex, erectile dysfunction, and decreased enjoyment. In addition, certain medications used in the treatment of SAD, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can sometimes produce sexual dysfunction.

Research is still in its infancy about the relationship between SAD and sexual dysfunction. This relationship makes sense when you consider that people with SAD fear performance and interpersonal situations; sex can elicit both of these fears. However, while there is some evidence that SAD and sexual dysfunction co-occur for some individuals, studies do not show a consistent connection between the two.

How Do Men and Women With SAD Experience Sex?

The relationship between SAD and sexual dysfunction has not been thoroughly researched, but initial small studies suggest that there may be a link between the two.

In a study of 40 people with SAD and 40 without, men with the disorder were found to have moderate impairment in sexual arousal, orgasm, enjoyment and satisfaction.

Women with SAD were found to have severe impairment in sexual desire, arousal, activity and satisfaction. In addition, men with SAD were more likely to have paid for sex and women with SAD had fewer sexual partners.
Researchers compared 30 people with SAD and 28 people with panic disorder, and found that 75% of those with panic disorder, versus 33% of those with SAD, had sexual problems. The most frequent problem in males with SAD was premature ejaculation.
In a study comparing 106 individuals with SAD, 164 people with sexual dysfunction, and 111 normal controls, men with SAD were found to be less sexually active but just as satisfied as the male normal controls. Women with SAD were not found to differ from the female normal controls.

What Does This Mean for You?

If you have been diagnosed with SAD and are also experiencing problems with sexual functioning, it is important to tell your doctor or therapist. Issues such as sexual performance anxiety can be treated alongside SAD in therapy (after medical causes have been ruled out for problems such as erectile dysfunction).

In addition to addressing sexual problems in therapy, medications can be tailored to your particular situation. For example, SSRIs may be a good option if you suffer with premature ejaculation as they can help to delay orgasm.

_Sources

_{Bodinger L, Hermesh H, Aizenberg D, et al. Sexual function and behavior in social phobia. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2002;63(10):874-879.}

_{Munoz V, Stravynski A. Social phobia and sexual problems: A comparison of social phobic, sexually dysfunctional and normal individuals. British Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2010;49(1):53-66.}

_{Figueira I, Possidente E, Marques C, Hayes K. Sexual dysfunction: a neglected complication of panic disorder and social phobia. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 2001;30(4):369-377.}

About.com Social Anxiety Disorder: What’s Hot Now

Tags: Dysfunction, Sexual.

Filed under Social Anxiety by on Feb 1st, 2012.

February 2, 2012

Types of Anxiety Disorders – Do You Know Which Type of Anxiety Disorder You Have?

Article by Michael

As you should know by now, anxiety is a healthy and normal emotion that everyone experiences. It is the body’s natural reaction to a stimulus that pushes the decision to either “fight” or “flight” during a situation. However, when anxiety attacks are irrational, chronic, severe, and start affecting the overall health of a person, whether it be emotionally, psychologically, or physically, it turns into a problem that must be dealt with right away. Do not be confused though because there is a rather thick line between healthy and unhealthy anxiety attacks and you will be able to tell the difference. Unfortunately, this is often overlooked by doctors who tell you there is nothing to worry about and you are perfectly fine.

Anxiety is a general term which houses various different classifications under its name. There are six main types of anxiety disorder and they all have different and unique characteristics: generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, phobia, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

GAD is a chronic worry or fear over everyday tasks without even knowing why. People with GAD show symptoms such as fatigue, stomach upset, insomnia, sweating, and restlessness. If you have GAD you will often be worried that bad things will happen and have a feeling of anxiousness about day to day activities.

2. Panic Disorder

This is when you have unexpected and repeated panic attacks. You actually fear the panic attack itself and are afraid that another one will occur any moment without warning. Many people with panic disorder are likely to have agoraphobia; the fear of being in places where help or escape will be difficult to reach you. If you have agoraphobia, you may be afraid of being trapped in confined places such as an elevator, airplane, or overly crowded places.

3. Social Anxiety Disorder

This is the fear of being humiliated in public, or seen negatively by people. Being shy is what people often call this. It is okay to be shy; everyone is over certain things in their life. However, people with bad cases of social anxiety disorder may isolate themselves from people, public events and places, and will tend to be alone. The most common form of social anxiety is stage fright which everyone has.

4. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

More commonly referred to as OCD, this is a condition where a person has uncontrollable and undesired thoughts or behavior. People with OCD may have particular obsessions such as worries that they forgot to turn the light off, or wanting everything they do to be perfect. Some of the most common OCD symptoms are frequent hand washing, re-checking something numerous times, and hoarding useless junk in fear that something bad might happen if thrown away.

5. Phobias

A phobia is usually a senseless, foolish, and over exaggerated fear of simple things that usually present little or no danger at all. A person can have a phobia of anything there is, some of the most common ones being: dark, spiders, heights, swimming, snakes, and flying. People with phobias will most often try to avoid the things they are afraid of, but avoiding your fear instead of facing it only tends to worsen the phobia.

6. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD is a classification of anxiety that happens after a dramatic or life-threatening event takes place. People with PTSD can show symptoms such as avoiding situations or places that remind them about the event, isolation, flashbacks, nightmares, and frightening easily.

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Emergency Dispatcher With SAD Takes Employer to Court Over Desk Space

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?

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Tags: Court, Desk, Dispatcher, Emergency, Employer, over, Space, Takes.

Filed under Anxiety by on Feb 4th, 2012.

February 12, 2012

“Can Benicar be used to treat hypertension or panic attacks?”?

Question by jayteemoney: “Can Benicar be used to treat hypertension or panic attacks?”?

my dad has hypertension and high blood pressure and mostly has hi stress – is he taking the right medication?

Best answer:

Answer by AtLarge
Yes, Benicar can be prescribed for high blood pressure and in some cases it treats heart failure. There are reports from some people that it has caused panic attacks. I don’t know about it helping panic attacks, usually that is completely different type of mechanism the drug would be utilized with panic attacks. Check out the web site below.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Tags: Attacks, Benicar, hypertension, Panic, Treat, Used.

Filed under Panic Attacks by on Feb 12th, 2012.

February 13, 2012

Panic Attack Relief – These Techniques Can Help Stop Panic Attacks

Article by Robert Wiggins

It’s a sure thing that panic attack sufferers want nothing more then to get some panic attack relief. People lives can be ruined by panic attacks. The signs and symptoms people experience can make peoples lives a living hell. Panic attack relief is hard, but with some effort it can be done without the use of medications.

One of the first steps in achieving panic attack relief is to understand how your panic attacks are related to anxiety. Panic attacks are so devastating because of which the speed that they are brought on. Many people feel as though they just come from out of the blue. What is really happening is that your anxiety just builds up until you can’t hold it back anymore. This is a slow process and doesn’t really all happen at once.

The experience of a panic attack is one that is hard to forget. Many people’s lives change as soon as they feel the dread of a panic attack. It’s hard to forget the feeling and emotions that accompany one. One of the classic signs that you are having panic attacks is the actual fear of future attacks. This fear of future attacks can quickly develop into other anxiety disorders such as agoraphobia.

One way to get panic attack relief is to change the way in which you react to stressors. If you can embrace your anxiety, you start to realize that it is nothing but a feeling. You realize that you are actually scared of something that is nonexistent. If you can figure out what is causing your anxiety, you can face it. If you can figure out your triggers, you have a good chance of seeing some panic attack relief. Relaxation and visualization techniques are especially effective in bringing you panic attack relief.

Unlearning anxious habits is another key to panic attack relief. This is generally pretty hard for people because they have been practicing these habits for their whole lives. These habits just seem like normal reactions to anxiety for these people. When you suffer from panic attacks you really have to unlearn these things.

Think about what happens to your breathing when you get nervous… You probably take short and quick breaths. This is actually bad for you. Breathing like this can make you dizzy, ad give you a headache… isn’t that how most of your panic attacks start?

Panic attack relief does not come instantly. You must spend time fighting panic attacks and anxiety. If you give a good go at unlearning unhealthy habits and really put forth an effort you will conquer your panic attacks.

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Tags: Attack, Attacks, Help, Panic, Relief, Stop, Techniques, These

My Panic Attack Solution

Tags: Attack, Attacks, Help, Panic, Relief, Stop, Techniques, These.

Filed under Uncategorized by on Feb 13th, 2012.

February 14, 2012

Matchmaker Website “Huntcha” Plays Cupid in Time for Valentine’s Day

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?

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Tags: Cupid, Huntcha, Matchmaker, Plays, Time, Valentine's, Website.

Filed under Anxiety by on Feb 14th, 2012.

Alone on Valentine's Day

Are you going to be alone on Valentine’s Day? There are many reasons why you may find yourself alone; if you suffer with social anxiety disorder (SAD) it may be due to fear about approaching potential romantic partners. Whatever your reason for being alone, below are some tips to help you cope.

Forego Valentine’s Day

There is no reason why you need to acknowledge or celebrate Valentine’s Day. Don’t let advertising, store displays, or stories of others make you feel bad. February 14th is just another day of the year, and there is no reason why you can’t treat it that way.

Treat Yourself

Instead of ignoring Valentine’s Day, decide to make it a day for yourself. Take the day off work, sleep late, eat your favorite foods, and engage in hobbies that you enjoy.

Send Yourself Flowers

If you are feeling really down about being alone on Valentine’s Day, why not send yourself flowers or chocolates to your place of work? Your coworkers will wonder about your secret admirer, and you will receive a gift chosen by the person who knows you best.

Avoid Love Triggers

If you are upset about being alone on Valentine’s Day, avoid watching romantic movies and listening to love songs. People with SAD are prone to depression, and these types of activities are sure to bring on the love blues.

Make Other Plans

Plan a day revolving around a recreational activity or a theatrical/musical event unrelated to Valentine’s Day. Invite a friend or family member. Having plans to do something concrete will help to take your mind off the fact that you are single.

Night Out with Single Friends

If you have single friends, plan a night out as a group. Being in the company of others in the same situation will help to ease your loneliness. Just be sure to keep the night upbeat.

Reach Out to Someone

Take the opportunity to reach out to someone that you haven’t spoken to in a while. That person might be a romantic interest, a friend, or a family member. You never know who might also be feeling lonely on Valentine’s Day.

Brighten Someone Else’s Day

Do you know someone who has recently lost a signficant other? Perhaps your neighbor is recently widowed. A small gift on Valentine’s Day would mean a lot to her and would make you feel good as well.

Go About Your Business

One of the best ways to deal with being alone on Valentine’s Day is to go about your daily routine. Work, go to the gym, catch up on emails; anything that will make it seem like just another day of the year.

Play Cupid

How would you feel if you received a gift from a secret admirer? Why not anonymously send a gift to someone in the same position as you? This doesn’t need to be someone in whom you have romantic interest; simply someone whom you want to see smile.

Valentine’s Day can be wonderful if you are in a relationship, but difficult if you find yourself alone. If social anxiety is preventing you from dating or maintaining romantic relationships, and you haven’t been diagnosed with SAD, if may be time to talk to your doctor.

About.com Social Anxiety Disorder: What’s Hot Now

Tags: Alone, Valentine&#039s.

Filed under Social Anxiety by on Feb 14th, 2012.