Social Anxiety Disorder

[row_33]

12 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

Of course.  I think you’re missing my point.  I feel that there has always been a “range of normalcy” with respect to an individual’s level of comfort in social situations.  I work with children, and I see less tolerance for typical human differences.  I feel that many children who are perhaps a little “shy” are often times quickly identified as having a mental health condition and put on meds.  

 

I don’t have any CDC stats to support this, but I would suspect that the prevalence of individuals diagnoses with SAD has exploded over the past 20 years.  Just my subjective opinion as a mental health professional.

 

 

we have an empathy test on OTW that tells me I'm definitely Aspberger if I score under 40.....  i can't top 26 in honestly answering it... and I don't deny i have some splashes of it as I work with numbers and not with people...

 

people peddling drugs and the new thing will want to entrap everyone they can get their hands on, it's all about developing your individual freedoms and preference no matter how sad and bad this can foreseeably turn out....

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Johnny Hammersticks]

12 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

 

we have an empathy test on OTW that tells me I'm definitely Aspberger if I score under 40.....  i can't top 26 in honestly answering it... and I don't deny i have some splashes of it as I work with numbers and not with people...

 

people peddling drugs and the new thing will want to entrap everyone they can get their hands on, it's all about developing your individual freedoms and preference no matter how sad and bad this can foreseeably turn out....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I guess it boils down to a couple things.  Are you functional in your everyday life, and are you content with your social competence/experience?

 

Often times I will be consulting with a parent who has concerns over their child’s social skills/shyness.  If I don’t see very obvious signs/symptoms of anxiety I will ask the parent “How does Johnny feel about this?”  Parents are often shocked by this line of questioning.  Some kids are completely content with only having one or two friends, and are completely functional in most other facets of their life.  It is the parents who want to change them.  Again, getting back to the notion of a “range of normalcy” with respect to an individual’s desire for social interactions. 

 

I know I’m viewing this through my narrow lenses as a school mental health practitioners, but I see parallels with SOME adults I know who are being treated for social anxiety disorder.

Edited July 26, 2018 by Johnny Hammersticks

[RaoulDuke79]

52 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

No disrespect intended, but isn’t this the normal human experience?  Does anyone really enjoy weaving through large crowds of strangers?  I don’t have social anxiety, but I also dislike going to crowded amusement parks, Fairs, school functions with the kids.  

 

For the sake of friendly discussion, does anyone else think that normal human shyness, social reticence, and sensory hypersensitivity has become increasingly over-pathologized?  

 

FTR...not being dismissive of anxiety disorders.  I work in the mental health field, and I know for a fact that many people suffer from a legitimate chemical imbalance which causes them to experience organically caused mood disorders.  

I would venture to guess that it probably is, but if you were to ask my 7 year old her opinion of the park, the crowds would be an afterthought. I think as we mature social interaction becomes more burdensome.

[row_33]

25 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

I guess it boils down to a couple things.  Are you functional in your everyday life, and are you content with your social competence/experience?

 

Often times I will be consulting with a parent who has concerns over their child’s social skills/shyness.  If I don’t see very obvious signs/symptoms of anxiety I will ask the parent “How does Johnny feel about this?”  Parents are often shocked by this line of questioning.  Some kids are completely content with only having one or two friends, and are completely functional in most other facets of their life.  It is the parents who want to change them.  Again, getting back to the notion of a “range of normalcy” with respect to an individual’s desire for social interactions. 

 

I know I’m viewing this through my narrow lenses as a school mental health practitioners, but I see parallels with SOME adults I know who are being treated for social anxiety disorder.

 

 

i have nothing against your comments, you are clearly more involved in the day to day of this stuff, I'm hopefully having some kind of chat with you, i like your posts on here and you have a good concern about this important topic...

 

i have a professional number-crunching career and have seen many hampered by this kind of thing, myself included in the worst years....it often leads to destructive behaviour by men in their late 40s and they ruin everything and everyone who is unlucky enough to have them around

 

a few friends are going through the ropes of having their very normal son not be declared a social misfit just because he can't sit there at a desk for 6 hours when the teacher is a total bore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fadingpain]

17 hours ago, /dev/null said:

Corgis are the best.

[row_33]

9 minutes ago, Fadingpain said:

Corgis are the best.

 

Australian Shepherds, but they eventually start herding me around

 

 

[Fadingpain]

16 hours ago, stuvian said:

I have a tendency toward paranoia which is exacerbated by the dynamics of my workplace

Have you considered getting out of the combat chopper piloting game?

 

Too much time in a combat zone will do that to you.

 

 

[Just Jack]

1 hour ago, RaoulDuke79 said:

We went to an amusement park last weekend, and I didn't really find it enjoyable. It's just so crowded. You're constantly weaving in and out of people trying to avoid bumping into them, struggling to find a place to sit when you get a bite to eat. It's more burdensome than fun to me.

 

MMy wife was surprised that I like going to NYC in December to check out the sites, because I generally don’t like crowds. I told her my main reason is I can elbow and shoulder check people and no one seems to care. 

[Johnny Hammersticks]

7 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

 

i have nothing against your comments, you are clearly more involved in the day to day of this stuff, I'm hopefully having some kind of chat with you, i like your posts on here and you have a good concern about this important topic...

 

i have a professional number-crunching career and have seen many hampered by this kind of thing, myself included in the worst years....it often leads to destructive behaviour by men in their late 40s and they ruin everything and everyone who is unlucky enough to have them around

 

a few friends are going through the ropes of having their very normal son not be declared a social misfit just because he can't sit there at a desk for 6 hours when the teacher is a total bore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I’m just looking to have a friendly discussion about this, and I appreciate your input.  I don’t claim to know everything about everything related to anxiety/social challenges, but I do have a great deal of real life experience here.  

 

WRT your friends struggling with how school personnel perceive their children, I deal with this almost every single day.  It goes both ways.  I didn’t mean to just point the stinky finger at parents.  Again, this notion of a range of normalcy, to me, has real value in determining a course of treatment.

[Fadingpain]

30 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

I guess it boils down to a couple things.  Are you functional in your everyday life, and are you content with your social competence/experience?

 

Often times I will be consulting with a parent who has concerns over their child’s social skills/shyness.  If I don’t see very obvious signs/symptoms of anxiety I will ask the parent “How does Johnny feel about this?”  Parents are often shocked by this line of questioning.  Some kids are completely content with only having one or two friends, and are completely functional in most other facets of their life.  It is the parents who want to change them.  Again, getting back to the notion of a “range of normalcy” with respect to an individual’s desire for social interactions. 

 

I know I’m viewing this through my narrow lenses as a school mental health practitioners, but I see parallels with SOME adults I know who are being treated for social anxiety disorder.

Something to be considered in your line of work, with regard to the parents, is that most people in this country are f-ing idiots.  I mean really dumb people.

 

Consider that 1 in 4 Americans thinks the sun revolves around the Earth.

 

Sounds like you are doing a good job in protecting the kids.

 

 

 

 

[Johnny Hammersticks]

10 minutes ago, Fadingpain said:

Corgis are the best.

 

Husky-Corgi mix is the schizz-nit.

1 minute ago, Fadingpain said:

Something to be considered in your line of work, with regard to the parents, is that most people in this country are f-ing idiots.  I mean really dumb people.

 

Consider that 1 in 4 Americans thinks the sun revolves around the Earth.

 

Sounds like you are doing a good job in protecting the kids.

 

 

 

 

 

Equally important to me in evaluating my clients and making diagnoses that are supposed to lead to treatment (which is typically a pill), is opining that the child is fairly typical, functional, and happy and should be allowed to be themselves.

 

More often then not, if I defer diagnosis, the parent will come back to school with a prescription pad diagnosis from a medical doctor.  Often times after a 15 minute office visit, or sadly, after no contact with the child at all.

 

If a parent wants a diagnosis for their child they typically will get it, eventually.

[teef]

it's weird...i don't mind large crowds.  in fact, i enjoy them.  i love people watching, and i feel that i can blend in an not necessarily be noticed.  the only time crowds annoy me is when i know too many people in them.  i just don't want to deal with the conversations.  i'm "on" all day, so when i'm not at work, i try to stay a quiet as possible. mvd

[Johnny Hammersticks]

33 minutes ago, teef said:

it's weird...i don't mind large crowds.  in fact, i enjoy them.  i love people watching, and i feel that i can blend in an not necessarily be noticed.  the only time crowds annoy me is when i know too many people in them.  i just don't want to deal with the conversations.  i'm "on" all day, so when i'm not at work, i try to stay a quiet as possible. mvd

 

I think most folks who are in large part known in the community for their occupation can relate to this.

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 hour ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

Husky-Corgi mix is the schizz-nit.

 

Equally important to me in evaluating my clients and making diagnoses that are supposed to lead to treatment (which is typically a pill), is opining that the child is fairly typical, functional, and happy and should be allowed to be themselves.

 

More often then not, if I defer diagnosis, the parent will come back to school with a prescription pad diagnosis from a medical doctor.  Often times after a 15 minute office visit, or sadly, after no contact with the child at all.

 

If a parent wants a diagnosis for their child they typically will get it, eventually.

/smh...

 

People always looking for an easy answer through meds.

[Johnny Hammersticks]

2 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

/smh...

 

People always looking for an easy answer through meds.

 

In some cases, yes.  In other cases, however, some of these people absolutely NEED these medications to function.  I will say that the system is set up to make it very easy to be prescribed meds without a comprehensive evaluation; further exacerbating the issue of “people always looking for an easy answer through meds.”  They are actually led to believe this to be the case, IMO.

 

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 hour ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

I guess it boils down to a couple things.  Are you functional in your everyday life, and are you content with your social competence/experience?

 

Often times I will be consulting with a parent who has concerns over their child’s social skills/shyness.  If I don’t see very obvious signs/symptoms of anxiety I will ask the parent “How does Johnny feel about this?”  Parents are often shocked by this line of questioning.  Some kids are completely content with only having one or two friends, and are completely functional in most other facets of their life.  It is the parents who want to change them.  Again, getting back to the notion of a “range of normalcy” with respect to an individual’s desire for social interactions. 

 

I know I’m viewing this through my narrow lenses as a school mental health practitioners, but I see parallels with SOME adults I know who are being treated for social anxiety disorder.

What happens if they don't even have one friend.  A total fish out of water.  Everybody is just totally opposite.  Should you move.  What if you can't.

 

Asking for a friend.  ??

[Johnny Hammersticks]

Just now, ExiledInIllinois said:

What happens if they don't even have one friend.  A total fish out of water.  Everybody is just totally opposite.  Should you move.  What if you can't.

 

Asking for a friend.  ??

 

That would depend on the factors involved.  Why is this individual completely alienated from their peer group?  How do they feel about it?  What do they attribute it to?  Likely a lot of factors in play.  Probably too sensitive to discuss here given that you have posted and “shouted” about your situation.  I’d be happy to discuss if you want to PM me.

[row_33]

22 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

That would depend on the factors involved.  Why is this individual completely alienated from their peer group?  How do they feel about it?  What do they attribute it to?  Likely a lot of factors in play.  Probably too sensitive to discuss here given that you have posted and “shouted” about your situation.  I’d be happy to discuss if you want to PM me.

 

thanks for your views and your work, seems you are doing something wise and good here

 

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

15 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

That would depend on the factors involved.  Why is this individual completely alienated from their peer group?  How do they feel about it?  What do they attribute it to?  Likely a lot of factors in play.  Probably too sensitive to discuss here given that you have posted and “shouted” about your situation.  I’d be happy to discuss if you want to PM me.

Thank you so much!!!

[Tiberius]

1 hour ago, teef said:

it's weird...i don't mind large crowds.  in fact, i enjoy them.  i love people watching, and i feel that i can blend in an not necessarily be noticed.  the only time crowds annoy me is when i know too many people in them.  i just don't want to deal with the conversations.  i'm "on" all day, so when i'm not at work, i try to stay a quiet as possible. mvd

Same! 

[GoBills808]

21 hours ago, Another Fan said:

Tried to confront a manager at work.  It just came all bad/stuttered.  SA played a part.  Might have made things worse if anything 

Workplace issues are a can of worms imo. Throws the intrapersonal interaction into a different light, and if you've got an anxiety problem it's bound to be exacerbated.

 

My nonprofessional advice is to work on your communication skills. Having a conversation or discussion with another person, be it a negotiation or a matter of resolving differences, is really a necessary skill in getting on with life. Especially if you've got a partner. I'm not sure I'd be so quick to chalk it up to a disorder (of which I acknowledge are very real and very difficult to deal with, the point being that in today's society we by and large tend to absolve an individual of responsibility for myriad disorders, which is IMO dubious but medically convenient) rather than something you may need to address head-on. My $0.02

 

Good luck. 

[ExiledInIllinois]

21 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Workplace issues are a can of worms imo. Throws the intrapersonal interaction into a different light, and if you've got an anxiety problem it's bound to be exacerbated.

 

My nonprofessional advice is to work on your communication skills. Having a conversation or discussion with another person, be it a negotiation or a matter of resolving differences, is really a necessary skill in getting on with life. Especially if you've got a partner. I'm not sure I'd be so quick to chalk it up to a disorder (of which I acknowledge are very real and very difficult to deal with, the point being that in today's society we by and large tend to absolve an individual of responsibility for myriad disorders, which is IMO dubious but medically convenient) rather than something you may need to address head-on. My $0.02

 

Good luck. 

Yep! +1.

 

Work, there is the whole boss-subordinate issues... Power that is wielded over another, etc... Throws a wrench in everything.

[Another Fan]

Thanks a lot guys.  Working on understanding the cause of the black out/panic attack to try to ensure it doesn’t happen going forward.  Advise here was helpful

[Royale with Cheese]

2 hours ago, Another Fan said:

Thanks a lot guys.  Working on understanding the cause of the black out/panic attack to try to ensure it doesn’t happen going forward.  Advise here was helpful

 

Honestly, I'm not sure what you're view on cannabis is but that really helps me.

[row_33]

36 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

Honestly, I'm not sure what you're view on cannabis is but that really helps me.

 

sitting alone doing drugs will cure your social problems

 

[Royale with Cheese]

2 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

sitting alone doing drugs will cure your social problems

 

 

It does.

[DC Tom]

22 hours ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

I guess it boils down to a couple things.  Are you functional in your everyday life, and are you content with your social competence/experience?

 

 

This is actually a key point that too many people do not understand.  The difference between "behavior" and "mental illness" frequently boils down to asking "are you functional?" If I miss a day of work because I'm upset my grandma died, that's behavior.  If, two weeks later, I still can't out of bed because I'm upset my grandma died...that's a clinical problem.

 

So if you're asking yourself "Do I have social anxiety disorder," you might be asking the wrong question.  It might be better to ask "I have social anxiety...but is it a disorder?"

[SinceThe70s]

22 hours ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

I guess it boils down to a couple things.  Are you functional in your everyday life, and are you content with your social competence/experience?

 

Often times I will be consulting with a parent who has concerns over their child’s social skills/shyness.  If I don’t see very obvious signs/symptoms of anxiety I will ask the parent “How does Johnny feel about this?”  Parents are often shocked by this line of questioning.  Some kids are completely content with only having one or two friends, and are completely functional in most other facets of their life.  It is the parents who want to change them.  Again, getting back to the notion of a “range of normalcy” with respect to an individual’s desire for social interactions. 

 

I know I’m viewing this through my narrow lenses as a school mental health practitioners, but I see parallels with SOME adults I know who are being treated for social anxiety disorder.

 

You sound like a great advocate for the kids. One of my sons falls out of the  "range of normalcy” socially. I think it bothers/worries his Mom and I but not him.

[Fetou]

14 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

It does.

lol

[Another Fan]

Lol sometimes the bathroom can be your friend in social gatherings to get away.  

 

Like me right now, I’m feel anxiety coming on but escape here for deep breaths without doing a number 2.  ?

[Royale with Cheese]

Just now, Another Fan said:

Lol sometimes the bathroom can be your friend in social gatherings to get away.  

 

Like me right now, I’m feel anxiety coming on but escape here for deep breaths without doing a number 2.  ?

 

Are you in a position where you can step out and maybe take like a 5-10 minute walk?

[mead107]

You are trusting the process.  ?

[Another Fan]

24 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

Are you in a position where you can step out and maybe take like a 5-10 minute walk?

Nah, just at lunch 

[PromoTheRobot]

On 7/25/2018 at 3:59 PM, Another Fan said:

Anyone ever gone through this here/have elements of it.  I’ve beaten it in the past but today was a little rough.  

 

I experience bouts of it. Hard to pin it down. Just feel out of place in certain situations.

[Royale with Cheese]

16 minutes ago, Another Fan said:

Nah, just at lunch 

 

My wife does have anxiety and she generally just puts ear buds in and listens to calming music.  If you have that availability, I would give it a try.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

On 7/25/2018 at 7:16 PM, /dev/null said:

 

This. When it comes to companionship/friendship, dogs are superior to human beings EVERY day.

 

They love unconditionally and are eternally loyal.

 

[Royale with Cheese]

41 minutes ago, joesixpack said:

 

This. When it comes to companionship/friendship, dogs are superior to human beings EVERY day.

 

They love unconditionally and are eternally loyal.

 

 

Yep.  It does bother me when people just don't like dogs.  I understand if you don't love them but I know people who straight up don't want to be around them or touch them.

Dogs are absolutely the best.  I just lost mine a few weeks ago and it still hurts.  I watched an old video of my son cooking smores for the first time a little while back and our dog was in the shot....got chocked up a little bit.  

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 hour ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

Yep.  It does bother me when people just don't like dogs.  I understand if you don't love them but I know people who straight up don't want to be around them or touch them.

Dogs are absolutely the best.  I just lost mine a few weeks ago and it still hurts.  I watched an old video of my son cooking smores for the first time a little while back and our dog was in the shot....got chocked up a little bit.  

Why would it bother you?

 

Maybe they have issues with dogs, were attacked as a youth...etc...

 

 

[Royale with Cheese]

39 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Why would it bother you?

 

Maybe they have issues with dogs, were attacked as a youth...etc...

 

 

 

I can understand if it's a big dog that looks intimating but the dog we had was a little King Charles Cavalier.  Sweetest little dog ever...about 14 lbs.  I married into that dog as my wife had it before we met.  I normally don't like (not to say dislike) dogs like that but this one was precious (can a straight man say that?  I promise I'm straight).  

 

When I lived in an apartment before my house, the family next door was just terrified of her.  When my dog was on a leash and waggling her tail as we were walking up the stairs, the mother was walking down.  She pressed herself against the railing and said "please get this thing away from me".  I was just like "okay?".  My dog didn't even touch her, she just got the wiggles when seeing another person.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Royale with Cheese

[ExiledInIllinois]

This story doesn't bode well for the dog haters:

 

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/877895002