Social Anxiety Disorder | What Is It?

Take a moment to consider how you've been feeling lately. Do you experience persistent fear and avoidance of social or performance situations? Unlike people with everyday shyness, patients with Social Anxiety Disorder become sick with fear over the belief they could do or say something to embarrass  themselves. As a result, some people suffering from social anxiety disorder avoid all socially related situations, significantly limiting their life, work, and relationships.

What Are The Symptoms?

If you have social anxiety disorder, you often have an extreme fear of a situation in which you have to meet new people or could be scrutinized by others. As a result, you experience intense anxiety in these feared social situations-or you avoid them entirely. Often you get physical symptoms such as blushing, sweating, shaking, trembling, tense muscles, shaky voice, dry mouth, or a pounding heart.

When you have social anxiety disorder, you can feel very anxious in the presence of others. You might think other people are very confident in public and you are not. Just blushing can feel horribly embarrassing to you, and you might feel like everyone's eyes are always on you. You might feel anxious about giving a speech, talking to a boss, or dating.

Most people with social anxiety are aware their feelings are irrational. Even if they do manage to confront what they fear, they often feel anxious beforehand and intensely uncomfortable through the situation. After it is over, these feelings might continue because they worry about how they were judged or what others thought or said about them.

Support And Medication

Doctors use a set of questions to help determine whether you have social anxiety disorder. These questions focus on fears and anxieties surrounding being in social situations. They might also explore other problems, such as  depression, which often accompany social anxiety disorder.

Treatment can involve medications, talk therapy, or both. Often, ongoing treatment is recommended to prevent your social anxiety disorder from returning.

Am I Suffering From Depression?

Take a moment to consider how you've been feeling lately. Have you experienced feelings of sadness, loss of interest, sleep problems, or difficulty concentrating? These and other symptoms, when experienced nearly every day for at least two weeks, may indicate that you are suffering from depression.

Depression is a medical condition leading to persistent feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, guilt, agitation, and indecisiveness. Some depressed people are physically depressed as well -- constantly tired and sometimes lacking in appetite.

Who Gets Depression?

You might feel you are the only one who has ever felt hopeless and helpless. But this isn't true. You are not alone. Many people suffer from depression.

In Singapore, over 150,000 people suffer from depression in any given year. Although depression can affect people of all ages, symptoms often appear for the first time in people in their mid 20s. As many as 25 percent of women suffer from depression serious enough to seek treatment at least once in their lifetime. In fact, nearly twice as many women as men suffer from depression every year.

Having another mental health condition, in addition to depression, is the rule rather than the exception. Many people who suffer from depression also have anxiety symptoms or coexisting anxiety disorder (i.e., panic disorder). Many people with panic disorder have or will develop depression at some point in their lifetimes. Depression is a serious condition, and your feelings can change with treatment.

What Are the Symptoms?

Depression is not the same as having the occasional "blues" or feeling sad every once in a while -- and then bouncing back to your old self. Depression can be mild, moderate or so bad it affects every part of your life -- your body, your feelings, your thoughts and your behaviours. It can have an impact on your family relationships, your friendships and your ability to work, play or just get through your day. At its worst, depression can even make you feel like you don't want to live. These thoughts and feelings are not your fault -- they can be part of depression.

When the sadness persists or keeps returning, when everyday things like sleeping, working, spending time with your family and simply enjoying life continue to be difficult, it is not "just the blues" -- you could be dealing with major depression.

Some of the signs of depression include:

A sad or empty mood lasting for two weeks or more and/or loss of interest or pleasure in most activities you once enjoyed, along with several or all of these additional symptoms:

1. Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, guilt
2. Difficulty concentrating, making decisions
3. Changes in sleep habits (such as insomnia or oversleeping)
4. Significant change in weight or appetite
5. Fatigue, loss of energy, feeling "slowed down"
6. Agitation
7. Frequent thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts

Support and Medication

Depression can be treated and you can feel better. Some people find comfort just by learning depression is a medical condition.

When you are treated for depression, you may see both a medical doctor and a therapist, depending on the course of treatment your doctor decides is right for you. You may need medications as well as counseling or talk therapy. Many see some improvement in their symptoms within weeks of starting medication.

Most people feel better after receiving treatment for depression. People who don't receive treatment are more likely to have recurring episodes of depression.

It is likely to take several weeks of treatment before you notice a change in how you feel. You might need to continue some kind of treatment -- medication or therapy -- even after you feel better to help keep you from having recurring episodes of depression. Ask your doctor how long you need to stick with your depression treatment -- and follow the advice you are given.

Who and How Seroxat CR Helps

If you currently receive treatment for depression or panic disorder, or if you think you may be experiencing symptoms, it's important to understand that these conditions are not simply "all in your head" and should not be dismissed or viewed as a character flaw or weakness. Depression and panic disorder are medically recognized psychological conditions - and Seroxat CR can help.

The exact cause of these conditions is not completely understood. Research has shown that depression and panic disorders could be linked to a chemical imbalance in the brain. A family history of these conditions might also play a role in their development.

Seroxat CR, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), is commonly used to treat depression and panic disorder. Seroxat CR is effective and generally well tolerated. Benzodiazepines are another class of drugs used to treat anxiety disorders. Unlike Seroxat CR, benzodiazepines are not indicated for the treatment of depression. In addition, they are potentially addictive and should only be used long-term with caution.

With continued treatment, Seroxat CR helps regulate the balance of a chemical called serotonin (a natural substance that acts as a "messenger" between nerve cells in the brain).

Seroxat CR is anti-cholinergic, meaning that it can cause dry mouth and constipation.