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Big Think published a popular science article: social anxiety: There is no universal fix for anxiety. Can personality-based treatment help?
(Link to source).
It's about new research from Uppsala University, published in the journal PLOS ONE, investigates the ramifications of social anxiety.
“Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders characterized by a persistent and over-whelming fear of being negatively evaluated in one or more social or interactional situation. It is associated with considerable individual suffering, large societal costs and typically follows a chronic course if left untreated. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are first-line treatment options for SAD. Although these treatments are helpful, as many as 40–50% of patients have been reported to be either treatment resistant or not responding sufficiently”.Link to source.
In the article, social anxiety is defined as an inability to be in public, or, when you must go out, the sheer terror of being among others.
American Psychological Association (A.P.A.) define social anxiety as:
“fear of social situations in which embarrassment may occur (e.g., making conversation, meeting strangers, dating) or there is a risk of being negatively evaluated by others (e.g., seen as stupid, weak, or anxious). Social anxiety involves apprehensiveness about one’s social status, role, and behavior. When the anxiety causes an individual significant distress or impairment in functioning, a diagnosis of social phobia may be warranted”.The conclusion that lead author Tomas Furmark comes to: sufferers of social anxiety disorders exhibit different personality traits than others.
“three groups based on cluster analysis: prototypical social anxiety disorder (33 percent), whose members appear highly anxious and introverted; introvert-conscientious social anxiety disorder (29 percent), whose members are introverted but also have high levels of conscientiousness; and unstable-open social anxiety disorder (38 percent), with individuals scoring high on openness”.
“While the causes of each disorder differ, Fumark and his team identified specific personality traits that appear to be universal: high neuroticism and introversion, emotional instability, and a tendency to turn inward”.Even though triggers for social and general anxiety differ, they overlap a lot — both involve fear, worry, physical tension, overthinking, and avoidance. Both are also associated with depression, and aggression.
In Finland, where I reside, anxiety (and depression) are soaring.
~100,000 Finns are on sick leave because of anxiety (FPA/THL, 2023).
Finland has the highest rate of depression within the EU (Estlander, Bensow, november, 2023).
Anxiety and depression has a common precursor: neuroticism (Hirsh and Inzlicht, 2008), and is related to aggression, often manifesting as sudden anger or explosive outbursts (CHE, 2023).
Finnish women's relational aggressiveness (Crick and Grotpeter, 1995; Hyde, 2005) is the big issue (Helsingfors Police department (April 2022, Feb 2024)).
40% av Finnish school kids are victim of psychological domestic violence (Estlander, Bensow, november, 2023)
Psychological domestic violence has increased in Finland (Finland's child commissary November, 2023).
Then how do you cure anxiety, depression, and social anxiety?
SSRIs seem not to be the solution in the long run (Lustig, 2017).
Paradoxically, Furmark (2000) showed that people with social anxiety improved their mental health by socializing with other people.
The social aspect is consistent with Dunbar (2017) showing that eating and drinking together increase the release of endorphins (social happiness hormone), and Lustig's (2017) proposal that cooking and eating real food together increase the production of serotonin (mental harmony hormone).
A crucial factor, which was not part of the study, seem to be nutrients; our species evolved to consume bone marrow and meat (Aiello and Wheeler, 1995; Mann, 2018; McPherron et al. 2010; Thompson et al. 2019) which contains a plethora of micro nutrients (>20 vitamins, >20 minerals) tryptophan, choline, as well as DHA- and EPA-fats, which we need to consume together (from the same plate) in order to develop and sustain mental functions (Balehegn et al. 2019; Ede, 2019, 2024; Ylilauri et al. 2019; Österberg, 2020).
Also read:
Österberg (2024 a). Nutrition psychology. A list of nine popular science articles about food for physical and mental health (2019 – 2024).
Österberg (2024 b). Why is depression and loneliness and big issues in Finland? (Why isn't entrepreneurial thinking more prevalent?).
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Executive coaching for CEOs/managers and workshops to facilitate Organizational Performance, Learning, and Creativity for Problem Solving | Lectures: Nutrition for physical and mental health | Course/lecture: children's emotional and social adjustment and cognitive development | Language training - Swedish | Academy Competency | CV | Teaching skills and experience | Summary of research project | Instagram | Linkedin | YouTube-channel | TikTok | X
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