Category: LGBTQQ

How to enter ‘flow state’ on command | Steven Kotler for Big Think

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znwUCNrjpD4
– Flow is often described as a state of kind of ‘effortless effort.’ We feel like we’re propelled through the activity. Everything else just seems to disappear.
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Time is gonna dilate, which is a fancy of saying it’s gonna pass strangely.
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Five hours go by in like five minutes. Occasionally, it’ll slow down, you get a freeze-frame effect, I mean, anybody who’s been in a car crash for example. Intuition tends to get turned up a lot.
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This is a basketball player in the zone, seeing the hoop and suddenly it’s as big as a hula hoop. And our frown muscles tend to be paralyzed. And what that frowning is, is a sign that the brain is doing work. This is a constant issue in my marriage where my wife thinks I’m mad at her or somebody and I’m like, “No, no, I’m just thinking.
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This is just me thinking. I’m in robot mode.” My name is Steven Kotler.
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I’m a writer and a researcher, and my latest book is “The Art of Impossible.” Flow itself, actually, the term is coined by Goethe, who uses the German word “rausch,” which means overflowing with joy.
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Nietzsche actually wrote about flow.
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William James worked on the topic, but Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is often referred to as the Godfather of Flow Psychology.
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He was very interested in sort of well-being, meaning of life, and he went around the world talking to people about the times in their lives when they felt their best, and they performed their best.
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Everywhere he went, people said the same thing. “I’m in this altered state of consciousness where every action, every decision I make, seems to flow effortlessly, perfectly, seamlessly from the last.” Flow actually feels ‘flowy.’ More specifically, it refers to any of those moments of rapt attention and total absorption. You’re so focused on the task at hand, so focused on what you’re doing, everything else just seems to disappear.
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But one of the things that athletes talk about a lot is what they call “the voice.” Often, when I’m skiing in flow, I will get directions- right, left, do this, do that, and it’s very quick.
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You either do what the voice is telling you to do or you tend to crash.
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The challenge-skills balance is often called the “golden rule to flow.” And the idea here is pretty simple.
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We pay the most attention to the task at hand when the challenge of that task slightly exceeds our skillset. So, to do this work and to get good at it, you have to get good at being comfortable with being uncomfortable.
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You wanna stretch but not snap. So there are a number of different things you can do to sort of prepare yourself and prepare the environment to drop into flow.
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The flow triggers are your toolkit.
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22 of them have been discovered.
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There are probably way, way more, but so far, researchers have identified 22. The most basic of flow triggers- complete concentration.
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You really wanna sorta start your work session if you can in relationship to your physiology.
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I like to wake up at 3:30, four o’clock in the morning. That’s when I’m most awake, most alert. I am married to a night owl.
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My wife doesn’t wake up ’til five, six, seven o’clock, eight o’clock at night.
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That’s when her brain comes alive.
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And then you wanna try to block out 90 to 120 minutes for uninterrupted concentration.
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Practice distraction management ahead of time. So you wanna turn off your phones, turn off email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, et cetera, all your messages, all your alerts.
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There was a study where they found that coders in flow, if they get knocked out by distraction, a knock at the door, a text alert, or whatever, it can take ’em 15 minutes to get back into flow if they can get back in at all.
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Flow only shows up when all of our attention is in the right gear, right now. One way to kind of explore flow triggers, there’s a cluster of them that are predominantly dopamine triggers. They drive focus, they drive attention, they drive alertness and excitement, and there’s a lot of different ways to get dopamine.
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Novelty produces dopamine.
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We see the same thing with unpredictability, complexity, the experience of awe.
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You look up at the night sky and you see stars everywhere and you know those stars are actually universes, and you get sorta perceptual vastness.
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If you’ve ever done a crossword puzzle or sudoku, you get an answer right, that little rush of pleasure you get, that’s dopamine. And then you usually get a couple of answers right in a row, that’s because the dopamine that is now in your system is amplifying pattern recognition.
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We get that same dopamine from risk-taking. And this could be physical risks, emotional risks, social risks, intellectual risks, possibly spiritual risks.
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We get the dopamine not as a reward for taking the risk, which is what some people used to believe, but now we know it’s to kind of drive motivation. Now, there are lots of different intrinsic motivators, but from a motivation standpoint, there are five and they’re all designed to be built into one another and work in a sort of specific order, in a specific sequence.
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The most basic human motivator is curiosity. One of the things we get from curiosity is focus for free. When we’re curious about something, we don’t have to struggle.
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We don’t have to burn a lot of calories trying to pay attention to it.
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Curiosity is designed, biologically again, to be built into passion. And think about, we’ve all fallen in love, how much attention you pay to the person you’re falling in love with.
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You can’t stop thinking about them, can’t stop staring at them.
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That’s a tremendous amount of focus for free.
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Now, passion is incredibly useful, but as a motivator, you can go one better, which is purpose.
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Everyone’s talking about, “Oh, I have a purpose,” and it’s this big altruistic thing and it’s good for the world, and all those things may be true, but from a peak performance perspective, it’s very, very selfish.
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Once you have purpose, the system demands autonomy.
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I want the freedom to pursue my purpose. And once you have that freedom, the system wants the last of the big motivators, mastery. Mastery is the skills to pursue that purpose well.
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One of the really incredible things about being human is we’re all built for peak performance. Flow is universal in humans.
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It’s actually universal in most mammals and definitely all social mammals.
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There’s a shared collective version of a flow state, a team performing at their best, a group performing at their best.
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This is called ‘group flow.’ In fact, studies have shown that the people who score off the charts for these characteristics, who score off the charts for overall well-being and life satisfaction, are the people with the most flow in their lives.
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We’re all capable of so much more than we know. That is a commonality across the board. It’s the largest lesson in 30 years of studying peak performance has taught me.
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And the way I sorta like to think about it, is motivation is what gets us into the game.
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Learning allows us to continue to play. Creativity is how we steer. And flow, which is optimal performance, is how we amplify all the results beyond all reasonable expectation.
Source : Youtube

Understanding Anxiety – A Psychiatrist Explains Symptoms, Medication Options and Therapy

Fear is something that everybody experiences. We all have fear, and fear is a normal response to a threat. The difference with anxiety is that anxiety is more diffuse. It’s not specific to a threat. It’s more global and it’s more vague and general. A fear of elevators could be rational if you know that the elevator reached the maximum capacity or you know for sure that it’s been failing or is shaking strangely, that’s rational, and avoiding that is normal. But anxiety would be for someone to be afraid of elevators, even though it’s a perfectly functioning elevator you know has been recently installed and checked and technically is flawless, and you still have anxiety about that.Anxiety disorders are a large family with several individual disorders, but it’s important to know that sometimes they happen together or you may have one and a little bit of another one. But the most common are panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, we have also generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and the last one is selective mutism. It’s a rare disorder that is mostly seen in children. In psychiatry, probably the most successful group of illnesses or disorders that we can treat successfully are anxiety disorders. The treatment of choice is therapy. Multiple therapies are validated by research that can be effective. In addition to that, we can use medications that are just as needed, for example, panic attacks.Many people use a type of medication called benzodiazepine. There’s a family of anti-anxiety medications. They can work for someone who has only sporadic attacks, but not for someone who has chronic, what is called generalized anxiety disorder, because it’s easy to become dependent on those medications. The other mainstay type of treatment in terms of medications is antidepressants, specifically the so-called serotonergic antidepressants. Some of them, for example, are sertraline or paroxetine and these medications increase the transmission of serotonin in the brain and can alleviate some of the symptoms of anxiety. When we are thinking of treatment for anxiety disorders without medication, we have therapy, but also we have self-help. So we can do a lot with self-help. Probably the most effective are all kinds of activities that tend to reduce the activation of the stress response system in the body. So the stress response system releases several chemicals, like cortisol and adrenaline, but also changes the heart rate, breathing, and so forth. And so there are many activities, including meditation, yoga, tai chi, and sports in general, aerobic exercise, that can down-regulate the activation of the stress response system.In addition to self-help, another type of non-medication, non-pharmacological treatment for anxiety disorders is therapy. Counseling. And several types are specific for anxiety and they’re being developed through research and they are highly effective. One of the most common and most well-known is cognitive behavioral therapy, which is a systematic training of the patient to identify certain thoughts and beliefs that can be challenged, and the challenging of switching reframing, and changing those thoughts can alleviate anxiety. The main coping skill for anxiety is avoidance. Unfortunately, avoidance is the worst thing that we can do because it will perpetrate and make it chronic.The more we avoid something, the more powerful that fear becomes, or that anxiety. Therefore, one of the treatments for anxiety is to try not to avoid the triggers, is to expose ourselves as much as we can tolerate that. For example, if public speaking is a source of anxiety, some of us can get trained and go to Toastmasters, and go to a setting where we feel safer and slowly and progressively expose ourselves. Because the brain learns not to react. With more practice, we lose that fear. If you believe that you have an anxiety disorder, I would say the first thing to do could be a screening for that. That could be done by your primary care physician or yourself. One of the most common tools to screen for anxiety disorder is called General Anxiety Disorder-7.GAD-7. And that’s widely available in the public domain on the Internet. And if you have a suspicion of an anxiety disorder, I would go to your primary care doctor. Alternatively, you can go to a therapist because this, can be very effective and the therapist would be prepared to tell you, “I think you need medication in addition to therapy.”.

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8 Signs You’re Mentally Breaking Down

 Upbeat music, Instructor, Hey, Psych2goers, Welcome back to our channel. Thank you for your love and support. Your ongoing support helps us further our goal to spread awareness about mental health and psychology. So thank you Now onto the video. Do you feel tired foggy and have trouble concentrating, Or maybe you, ‘ve, been feeling depressed? Haven’t been, getting enough sleep or, too much, sleep While these symptoms, can happen to anyone, once in a while piled: together they can make for some classic signs. You may be mentally breaking down, You may have heard of the term mental breakdown or nervous breakdown. You may have even been guilty of using these terms casually, They’re no longer used as clinical terms by the medical community And a nervous breakdown is not considered a mental illness. Instead, it’s generally viewed as a period when an overwhelming amount of stress affects an individual’s ability to function. This stress can be physical or mental, And the symptoms of a mental breakdown can subtly sneak up on you and grow out of control. If you don’t catch the signs early enough, to help better your mental health, let’s catch these signs early on and see if we can figure it out together. If you’re mentally breaking down, Sign number one, you sleep too much or not enough. Do you find yourself suffering from insomnia? Do you spend your nights tossing and turning with no relief, Or maybe you’re, getting too much sleep? Do you think to yourself? I’ll just lay my head down for one more minute And then you wake up to the lights of your clock. Reading 5 00 pm. Oh boy, Who hasn’t had too much sleep at some point in their life right? We most often sleep in on the weekends after a long week of work or when we’re sick, But the thing is our mental health can be sick as well, And our sleep patterns may be affected because of it. You may be using sleep as an escape from reality, So sleeping in seems much easier to handle than the difficulties of reality, Or maybe you begin to exhibit symptoms of insomnia because your brain is too overactive at night with stress, You could be playing out situations or Scenarios in your head that you’re stressed beyond belief about Try instead to unwind before bed Odds. You’ve heard it before, but a good book and a cup of tea is a good place to start. If you can’t seem to sleep lately, The less stimulation, the better Just don’t watch TV or get on your phone before bed. We need to first wean ourselves from an overly active brain to a calm one by choosing less intense activities to transition to sleepy time. If you go from sprinting to an immediate stop, you’re likely to fall, You might first slow down, walk, and then stop to a finish. It’s the same with going to bed kind of Number two: you show signs of anxiety and depression. One of the most and signs that you’re mentally breaking down is showing symptoms of depression or anxiety. Maybe you feel you’re tense. All the time dizzy or find yourself ruminating on stressful ideas or situations, or maybe you find yourself suddenly crying for no reason or feeling an intense emotion like guilt. These signs are important to catch early on as they could pile up leading to a mental breakdown. If you already suffer from anxiety and depression and notice, your symptoms are worsening, these could be signs that you’re mentally breaking down as well Number three brain fog, Brain fog. What is that, While it’s, not a medical condition, it’s a term that’s often used when one exhibits, several symptoms related to their ability to think. Perhaps you have difficulty concentrating, Or maybe you’ve been extremely indecisive or disoriented. These past few days or weeks, Even memory loss is a symptom of brain fog. Number four is poor hygiene. If you suddenly find yourself neglecting your hygiene, it could mean something is going on. Poor hygiene can be a sign of self-neglect. You may just feel that you, don’t have the energy or don’t feel the need to take care of yourself as much anymore. A sudden lack of hygiene can be linked to depression or mental disorders. It’s best to recognize when something is wrong early, so you can seek out help Number five you withdraw from social events and friends. Have you found that you’re just not so up to hanging out with your friends this weekend next weekend or the weekend after that? Maybe you dread going to that, get together with your friends this Saturday, And the task of getting ready, sighs pain’s taking your heart Well withdrawing from your friends and social events, could be an added sign that you’re mentally breaking down. Humans need socialization, And when this is compromised, our mental health can pay the price Try getting back to socialization. Slowly, if you find it difficult to Reach out to friends through text, or share a funny or insightful video, then maybe a phone call Isolating ourselves can be one of the biggest mistakes to our mental health that we can make. So after this video call your mom text, your friends call a mental health helpline if needed, reach out, and share this video with your uncle Larry, He’s not doing anything. Just don’t mentally isolate Number six difficulty breathing. Do you often and feel this tightness in your chest or find yourself breathing rapidly? Maybe you’ve been taking quick, rapid breaths more than usual, as a response to stress. Go ahead, pay attention to your breathing right now I’m waiting. Are you breathing calmly and relaxed, or are you having difficulty breathing? This is another sign of stress And another sign that you may be mentally breaking down. Stress can get the best of us. Anxiety has a way of finding us when we least expect it Our breathing. Can often identify if we’re, indeed suffering from anxiety, And taking the time to slow our breathing and relax may even relieve some of the stress we carry day to day Go ahead. Take a deep breath In one two: three Out one: two three sighs Feel better. I know I do Number seven, you feel physical pain as well. Maybe you’ve happened to notice that you’ve been suffering from one too many headaches per week. More like seven per week per day And that stomachache can’t seem to go away. Physical pain can often show up when we’re severely stressed. This can be in the form of a light headache every day to a blaring migraine That feeling of a knot in your stomach. That could be stress too, Of course, if these physical symptoms of pain persist and feel like something more than just stress, it’s best to talk to a doctor right away, But if you still feel the emotional pain persisting as well, that is just as valid A reason to seek help from a mental health doctor And number eight you suddenly eat too much or too little Sudden changes in appetite can be a sign of stress as well. The stress hormone cortisol can suddenly cause us to crave certain unhealthy foods high in fat and sugar. So when we’re extremely stressed, bring up the family, size, bag of potato chips, and a tub of ice cream, Hey every one of us can overeat on a bad day now and then, But when this becomes every night odds, are there’s some Suppressed stress you need to confront, Remember we may neglect self-care due to stress, which means we may not want to put in the effort to prepare a healthy, breakfast or dinner, Be aware of this and try to tell yourself that simply spending some time in the Kitchen, making your favorite healthy dish can have some serious benefits to your mental health. Try some deep breathing! As you put your dinner together, You can try staying in the present by focusing on the task at hand to distract yourself from ruminating on those worrisome. Thoughts Make another healthy sandwich for a friend to share while watching a movie, But then once the movie is over turn off the TV and wind down with a book, Your sleep will. Thank you for it later. So do you exhibit any of these signs? Did you practice your deep breathing along with me, or maybe you’ll, reach out to your mom or a friend and share this video? Do you have an Uncle Larry Feel free to. Let us know in the comments And remember whatever struggles you’re going through. We and the many Psych2goers are here to listen. If you found this video helpful, don’t forget to click the like button and share this video with someone who might need it Subscribe to Psych2go and hit the notification bell icon for more content like this, And as always thanks. So much for watching As found on YouTubeAnxiety disorders, phobias, and chronic panic attacks affect millions of people all over the world. Often, treatment consists of medications used to reduce anxiety, but these medications don’t work for everyone. Many people are too afraid to explore the real reason why they have anxiety or they’re too embarrassed to seek medical attention. Instead, they suffer for years struggling to learn how to cope with this condition, alone. More often than not this results in the person avoiding many of the places and activities they once loved because they’re so afraid they’ll have a panic attack in public. If you’re tired of trying new medications that don’t work or you’re looking for an all-natural approach to anxiety treatment, the 60 Second Panic Solution program can help.download-z2

Should You Take Xanax For Anxiety? (Benefits/Side Affects)

 Alprazolam also known as Xanax, belongs to a group of medications called benzodiazepines Benzodiazepines act on the brain and central nervous system, CNS to produce a calming effect, People use and take Xanax to help them with their anxiety and panic disorders. Xanax is the number 1 prescribed psychiatric medication in the United States. If you’ve been prescribed Xanax for your anxiety or panic disorder, you may feel normal after your first dose. You may also feel relaxed, quiet, or tired, depending on your dosage. Xanax is prescribed in doses that are available in milligrams depending on the symptoms. You experience anxiety or panic disorder. You may be prescribed a high or low dosage. The dosages are 0 25 mg, 0 5 mg 1mg, and 2mg. The effects of Xanax become more significant. The higher the mg you take. Doctors always recommend that first time, Xanax users start with the lowest possible dose until they know exactly how it will affect them. Higher doses can be fatal and you should never take more than what your doctor has prescribed. The effects of taking Xanax should be mild, but detectable. If you experience any of the following symptoms, you should seek medical attention immediately: Extreme drowsiness Muscle weakness, Confusion, Fainting, Loss of balance, and Feeling lightheaded Xanax is taken orally and absorbed quickly into the bloodstream.  Some people experience the effects of Xanax within 5 to 10 minutes of taking it, and everyone should feel the effects of it within an hour. Why Xanax is so popular for people struggling with anxiety and panic attacks during a panic attack or anxiety attack. You can take a Xanax and within a few minutes you should start to feel the symptoms of your attacks fade away. The effects of Xanax are brief. Most people feel the strongest impact for 2 to 4 hours after taxing it. However, you may feel a fuzzy feeling for several hours after that It s also possible to build up a tolerance to Xanax. If that happens, then you may notice it takes longer for you to feel the effects and the effects may wear off more quickly. Xanax has a half-life of about 11 hours, which means by that time your body will eliminate half of the dose from your bloodstream. So should you take Xanax for your anxiety, As you’ve heard, and seen in this video Xanax is extremely beneficial in removing the symptoms of anxiety and panic. Attacks such as a racing heart feeling out of control and restlessness. If you think Xanax could help you, please see a doctor and get a prescription, never self-medicate or take it recreationally.As found on YouTubeThis solution reverses kidney disease! Guaranteed to be effective or your money back: Beat kidney disease. Just by following a simple treatment plan, you can reverse kidney disease. No matter how old you are! Just listen to what people who have tried this solution have to say. “Thank God I came across your solution by accident! Dad’s kidney function decreased from 36% to 73% in just two months. He’s 90 years old! His doctor said people his age shouldn’t have kidneys that efficient!” Graeme Asham, QLD, Australia, And this… “No more dizzy spells! My creatinine has gone down from a staggering 1800 to 1100. My blood count has greatly improved and I’ve been taken off my blood pressure medication. Your solution works! ” Joe Taliana, 55, Malta Simply follow the scientifically backed solution and restore your kidneys, fast! => This solution reverses kidney disease! ← https://www.facebook.com/100000332115031/videos/590895892954739/ яαℓρн ℓєαмαи

7 Signs It’s Social Anxiety, Not Shyness

 (light upbeat music) – [Narrator] Hello, Psych2Goers and welcome back. All right, so how do you know it’s a disorder and not a trait? Who wouldn’t be a bit awkward when walking into a room full of strangers? Shyness is a trait. It’s the initial awkwardness that precedes forced small talk. The mere dislike of the spotlight, but it’s not distressing. Social anxiety, on the other hand, is the pervasive, intense fear of being judged, humiliated, rejected, or embarrassed in a social setting that leads to anxiety or avoidance. Although shyness and social anxiety share similar physical symptomatology, some traits differentiate them. And please remember this video is meant to be informative and should not be used as a rubric for self-diagnosis. If you have any personal questions or concerns regarding this topic, please consult a licensed professional. With that said, here are seven signs that you’re not just shy. Number one, avoiding or escaping very public settings. When you find yourself in new surroundings, do you open up after a while or stick to a familiar group of people? Or maybe a bathroom nearby or leaving early seems like a better sanctuary? Although a shy person may feel uncomfortable at a party where they don’t know anyone, someone with social anxiety will avoid public settings altogether. This symptom can devolve into agoraphobia. Public situations such as dining out at a restaurant, dating, or returning an item to a store can be harrowing for someone with an anxiety disorder, where there are opportunities for rejection or embarrassment. If avoidance is not possible, those who have social anxiety may try to escape the whole situation by using extreme avoidance and escapist tactics or safety behaviors. The problem with safety behaviors is that they provide the illusion of surviving the event. However, you still feel guilty for not controlling your anxiety. Number two is feeling very self-conscious in front of others. Do public settings make you feel uncomfortable? Does it feel as though people are watching and judging you? You might not even have everyone’s attention, yet you still have an inexplicable fear that at some point something will happen and everyone will start judging you. To someone who doesn’t suffer from social anxiety, this might sound illogical, but that’s the thing. Social anxieties sometimes don’t have logic. They can arise at the most random moment and make you suddenly feel as though the spotlight has fallen on you. Some physical symptoms involve sweating, heart palpitations, and panic attacks. Number three is fear of physical symptoms that may cause you embarrassment. Can you feel a certain set of physical symptoms kicking in as soon as you step out? Do you constantly cool your burning cheeks with the back of your hands? One way social anxiety can pass shyness is through physical cues. Both have physiological similarities such as blushing, sweating, rigid posture, and trembling. However, for someone with social anxiety, their bodily response can make them anxious. These physical symptoms add to the workload of stepping out into society. You constantly worry about how others might judge you for displaying these outward symptoms. Even having your mind go blank for a few seconds can make you feel like you left a poor impression. Number four, fear that others will notice that you look anxious. Are you quick to avert your eyes after a quick greeting? Are you more comfortable looking around while interacting with others? While shyness can be the initial driving force, it wears off with time to the point that you become comfortable holding steady eye contact. On the contrary, social anxiety does not wear away after the first few moments of interaction. As you feel its presence, all the while you are reluctant to engage in open interaction. Since your social anxiety is a tangible experience for you, you fear that it’s also noticeable for those around you. Thus, producing more anxiety. Number five, having anxiety in anticipation of a feared activity or event. Is the mirror your trustee audience months before a public event? Before a big event, like a presentation, it’s normal to feel a bit anxious. If it’s shyness holding you back, it can diminish over a while. However, if you experienced social anxiety, you might think for months about all the things that could go wrong. In some cases, these thoughts can accumulate in your mind and lead you to avoid the event or situation. This behavior can be particularly damaging if it’s school or work-related. Having an honest support system can help alleviate the worst of the jitters. Number six, a past negative social experience. Is there a rigid memory of things going awry in a social setting? When you first experience a setback at a social event, it tends to take root in you in the form of dread. However, if it was just shyness, the next time you encounter such a setting and come out unscathed, some of that dread chips away. But when you’re socially anxious, no amount of chipping away is sufficient. You are always expecting the worst possible consequences. You lose interest in even working on basic social skills. Although the definitive cause for social anxiety is unknown, researchers believe that underdeveloped social skills can lead to social anxiety. Being teased or bullied for being socially awkward can lead you to fear further social interactions and exacerbate social anxiety. And number seven, spending time after a social situation analyzing your performance and identifying flaws in your interactions. Do you mull over conversations way into the night? Are you constantly thinking up how you should have responded long after the topic is over? Sometimes we revisit past moments to learn from them and become better. But obsessing over a past detail usually ends with insecurities creeping out from the corners of your mind to make you feel inferior. However, for someone with social anxiety, obsessing over a small detail does not feel like a choice. Social anxiety is about seeing yourself through the lens of someone else. Hence, you might be prone to dwelling on and analyzing past interactions, especially conversations. The trigger is in the part of the conversation that you keep replaying. Only when you figure out a better response can you let it go. Letting go is a difficult step and it might take some time to learn. Everyone experiences anxiety to varying degrees. Hence, professional advice tailored to meet individual needs is essential to ensure positive results. Your apprehensions are by no means a reason for you to swear off from society. By seeking appropriate support and help, you can soon view the outside world as your conquered battlefield. Have you ever had the two mixed? What has helped you cope with social anxiety? Feel free to leave a comment down below with your thoughts, experiences, or suggestions. If you found this video helpful, be sure to hit the like button and share it with those out there, pondering the two. Don’t forget to subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell for more new videos. Thanks for watching.As found on YouTubeShow me the simple steps to overcome shyness & cure social anxiety ➫ The Shyness and Social Anxiety System was created by Sean Cooper, a former social anxiety sufferer. Learn how to overcome your quietness, erase your insecurities and be confident around people using proven psychology.

Anxiety Disorders (Series 1)

 Hello, welcome, back to Mind Matter with Dr. Ogochukwu Ojiaku. Last time we discussed Prejudice, and discrimination around mental illness, and how we can fight stigma and support individuals with mental illness. If you have not watched the last video already, please endeavor to do so, in other to stay up to date. Today we will be discussing anxiety disorders. This is going to have multiple series. Anxiety disorders are among the most common of all psychiatric illnesses. It is a mental health diagnosis that is characterized by feelings of worry, apprehension, and intense fear that are strong enough to interrupt one’s daily activities. I wanted to discuss anxiety today because many people are unaware that anxiety can be a mental health disorder that requires professional intervention. Of course, Anxiety is a normal human emotion. However, there are different levels of anxiety disorders there is; Mild, moderate, and severe levels, and then there is panic disorder. Mild and moderate levels of anxiety are normal levels actually, these two can be motivational (For instance, if you have an upcoming exam, this is the type of anxiety that motivates one to study harder to be successful on the exam), (In the mild level of anxiety: vital signs are normal, however, there are often increased awareness of one’s surroundings; in the moderate level of anxiety, there is mild increase in heart rate, a moderate increase in muscle tone, a subjective feeling of worry, or apprehension and narrowed perception); then we have the severe level of anxiety and Panic disorder these two levels are considered pathological, which means they are abnormal. The severe level of anxiety causes the pupils to dilate, diaphoresis, increased muscle rigidity, causes urinary frequency, diarrhea, and sweating profusely. Panic disorder on the other hand causes significantly increased symptoms. However, today, we’ll be focusing on the mild, moderate, and severe levels of anxiety. In our future series, we will address the different types of anxiety which will include panic disorder. Anxiety is considered pathological • When it is disproportionate to events, • When it is sustained over a long period of time • When it impairs one’s function • And when it is unrelated to any identifiable event or situation in a person’s life. This type of anxiety interferes with perceptions, memory, judgment, and motor responses, so they require professional treatment and therapeutic intervention. Initially, anxiety present as several physical illness states. People experiencing anxiety may complain of, chest pain, heart palpitation, sweating, and even feel as if they’re about to have a heart attack. Of course, we want to make sure that the Individual gets proper work up, to rule out cardiac-related issues or other possible causes of their symptoms.Often, anxiety is diagnosed or correctly identified after unnecessary assessment and diagnostic evaluation, this is due to the high level of somatic symptoms of anxiety disorder. Research has shown that untreated high levels of anxiety predispose people to other serious health problems; therefore, with that said, the first step to seeking treatment is to talk to your medical provider to make sure that your symptoms are not due to other physical problems. Of course, If anxiety is diagnosed, a mental health professional can work with you to design the best treatment plan for you. Sadly, many people with anxiety disorder do not seek treatment, because they are unaware that anxiety is treatable. As stated earlier, anxiety is among the most common psychiatric illnesses, it is distinguished by the degree of anxiety experienced by the client, the duration of the anxiety, the severity of the anxiety and the behavioral manifestation seen in the client experiencing the anxiety. It is important very important to know that Anxiety ranges from acute state to chronic disorders and they are often associated with physical symptoms such as chest pain, chest tightness, weakness, and shortness of breath) In the future, we will explore the different types of anxieties that exist, which will include: panic disorder • Agoraphobia • Specific Phobia • Social Anxiety • and Generalized Anxiety Disorder If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or mental health emergency, please call 911, you can also call the crisis line number (866-903-3787) or go to the nearest emergency room for treatment. Our email address is located in the description please feel free to send us your general questions. We will randomly select questions to be addressed in our future videos. Please like, comment, subscribe, and share this video with your friends and families. Thank you for watching. I am Dr. Ogochukwu Ojiaku. Thank you. .As found on YouTubeShow me the simple steps to overcome shyness & cure social anxiety ➫ The Shyness and Social Anxiety System was created by Sean Cooper, a former social anxiety sufferer. Learn how to overcome your quietness, erase your insecurities and be confident around people using proven psychology.

Dating With Anxiety: 8 Struggles

 (lively music) (dinging) – [Narrator] Hi, Psych2Goers and welcome back to another video. Thank you so much for all the love and support you’ve given us, enabling us to venture further into everyday psychology. So let’s begin. Awkward silences, clumsy stumbles, and even mistaken names. Sound familiar? They’re all part of dating, whether you have anxiety or not. The true difference comes before and after the hiccup. Did you spend all day practicing what you would say? Are you going to come back to this small moment in time again and again when you think about dating? When you’re struggling with anxiety, it can be incredibly frustrating to have an extra obstacle to navigate when you’re trying to focus on finding love but you’re not alone. There are countless resources available both on and offline to help you learn, find support and cope with anxiety. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet someone who can relate. Before we begin, please remember Psych2Go is not a medical professional and these videos should not be used in place of a diagnosis. With that said, here are eight dating struggles people with anxiety face. One, thoughts turn into obsessions so quickly. Have you ever been so preoccupied with dating that it feels like you run into couples wherever you look? It turns out there’s a science behind this phenomenon. Karen McDowell Ph.D. told Healthline that anxiety stems from the way we think so, she began, “If you fear that you’re unlovable, that your date will not like you or that you will do or say something awkward, your brain will go into overdrive, trying to confirm its suspicions.” Two, your fears try to end things before they even begin. Self-sabotage can sound as subtle as I can’t ask her out. She’s way out of my league. If you’ve given up on something before you’ve even tried, stop. The anxious thoughts that make you hesitate are to protect you from potential region or embarrassment. But by avoiding dating altogether, you’re guarding yourself against opportunities and connection too. Three, what are you supposed to say? Does your mind race through what-ifs during introductions? Do you rehearse your hello for the 100th time until it sounds just right? Even though this can be an awkward moment to navigate for even those who don’t struggle with anxiety, meeting someone new can often be a trigger for anxious individuals. They might lose their train of thought altogether. What does a person even say to someone they’ve just met? Four, you can’t stay present when you’re together. Do you find yourself ruminating in the past or worrying about the future? Time travel might be a cool concept in science fiction movies but when you’re trying to have a rom-com moment, it just doesn’t click. Connecting with someone requires you to be in the moment and attentive to the other person but this can be difficult when your brain is swirling with input. If you can relate to this, don’t be too hard on yourself because there’s a reason your mind wants to do it. Five, spending a night out means spending a night stressed out. Leaving home makes a lot of people anxious. But for some, this can severely impact their social life. Mayo Clinic defines agoraphobia as a type of anxiety disorder in which you fear and avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless, or embarrassed. While this fear of stressful situations might keep you indoors and isolated, you are not alone. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, over 40 million people suffer from some type of anxiety disorder in the US alone. So you’re bound to find someone who’d be excited to spend a night with you. Six, anxiety’s physical symptoms can ruin a date night. Fewer things could ruin date night faster than an anxious thought, which spirals out of control. If you experience physical symptoms of anxiety, such as dizziness, heart palpitations, or sweating, you know just how real the struggle can be.These symptoms come on fast and can be extremely debilitating. Think of something along the lines of stomach trouble on a first date. As embarrassing as it can be in the moment, remember that everyone has times when their body and even their mind turn against them. Seven, you always assume things won’t end well. Are you a glass-half-empty kind of person? Has it become only too easy for you to find the worst-case the scenario in any situation? When anxious and intrusive thoughts have been around for a long time, they begin to become so habitual that they’re automatic. It’s easy to imagine relationships crumbling to pieces or first dates ending so badly you’ll never show your face again. But if you’re able to give it time and lots of practice, imagining second dates and a happy love life may not be so hard either. Eight, it’s hard to get to know someone when communication is so scary. One of the most frustrating things about anxiety is that it stops you from pursuing things you want deep down. Even though what you want is to connect with them, you still may seem nervous or even fearful around the person you’re interested in. In some cases, anxiety can stop you from expressing your feelings or communicating with anyone at all, which makes the frustration grow further. Do any of these apply to you? Leave a comment down below about your experiences. Also, know that you’re not alone in this contradictory struggle and there are so many understanding people in the world who want to know you, support you and maybe even go out with you. We hope we were able to give you a little insight into the inner workings of an anxious mind during dating. If you find this video helpful, be sure to hit the Like and Subscribe button and share it with those out there juggling anxiety in dating. Thanks for watching and we’ll see you in the next video.As found on YouTubeShow me the simple steps to overcome shyness & cure social anxiety ➫ The Shyness and Social Anxiety System was created by Sean Cooper, a former social anxiety sufferer. Learn how to overcome your quietness, erase your insecurities and be confident around people using proven psychology.

8 Signs You Might Have Social Anxiety

 Hey Psych2Goers And welcome back to another Psych2Go video: Do you find it hard to socialize with other people? Do you feel overwhelmed at the thought of going to a social event? It can be very easy to confuse social anxiety and shyness since they share many of the same characteristics While shyness is a personality. Trait social anxiety is a mental illness. Before we begin, we’d like to mention that this video is created for educational purposes. Only and is not intended to substitute a professional diagnosis With that being said, here are eight signs. You might have social anxiety. 1, You’re, always self-conscious. One aspect of social anxiety is the extreme fear of being judged According to Kocovski and Endler. If you have social anxiety, You’ll constantly worry about the way you look or act and what others think of you. Your greatest fear is of embarrassing yourself in front of others. A shy person, on the other hand, will only worry about being judged in certain situations like in public speaking or when meeting someone new 2. Your anxiety feels out of hand. There are times when it’s normal, to feel shy or nervous around other people. For example, when you move to a new school or have to perform in front of an audience, But social anxiety is irrational and unwarranted. You may feel distressed about things as simple as making eye contact with someone using public transportation or eating in front of other people. The fear is always there. The fear is always there 3. It interferes with your performance. Have you ever called in sick to work when your anxiety became too overwhelming, or have you kept quiet when you were having trouble in class Social anxiety can impact your performance in many ways with the constant fear of people’s judgment, You may even be afraid To do well to avoid drawing attention You don’t pitch ideas at meetings, raise your hand in class or join clubs because of how much anxiety it creates 4? It affects your relationships While it’s hard to make friends. When you’re shy, it can feel almost impossible when you have social anxiety For a shy person. It’s usually about breaking the ice and going through the initial awkwardness of meeting each other. But having social anxiety can complicate your relationships, You feel tense and uneasy around people, no matter how close you are or how long you’ve known them.  5. It doesn’t go away with familiarity. It’s normal to feel shy at the beginning of a new relationship, But, as you get to know each other, the tension will start to subside This isn’t the case. If you have social anxiety Instead, you always experience fear, distress, and embarrassment. Whenever you’re around other people, Doesn’t matter, if it’s your parents, siblings, or best friend, you always feel uneasy and stressed unless you’re alone, 6, You overanalyze everything. Have you ever said things to yourself like I took too long to reply and now she doesn’t like me, or He didn’t, say hello this morning, because he’s upset with me? Social anxiety can make you obsess over your social interactions. You may spend a lot of time and energy analyzing other people,’s, facial expressions, body, language, and tone of voice to see if they mean what they’re saying or not. 7. You avoid social situations. Are you often absent or very late to social gatherings? It’s a serious matter if your social anxiety leads you to avoid social situations altogether, You decline, invitations refuse to speak in front of people, and would rather sit in the corner to avoid being noticed and mingle with anyone else. It doesn’t matter if it’s a normal day at work or school, your birthday party, or even your wedding day And 8. You have physical symptoms. Do you feel nausea, dizziness, or chest palpitations when you’re in social situations, Just like most anxiety disorders, social anxiety is often accompanied by physical symptoms. Some common ones are sweaty palms shortness of breath, lightheadedness, and trembling. While these are also the same signs of someone having a panic attack, You’ll be able to tell the difference if you only show these symptoms when anticipating or being out in a social setting, Do you relate to any of these symptoms? Above, Let us know in the comments below, If you do, you, ‘re, definitely not alone. Nor are you bad for feeling this way, The references and studies used in this video are added in the description below. If you find this video helpful be sure to like subscribe and share this video with those who might benefit from it as well, Thanks for watching and we’ll see you in the next video Continue reading 8 Signs You Might Have Social Anxiety

Tips for self-care during stressful times

 Stress shows up differently for different people, each of us copes differently and it’s also important to recognize that everyone,’s, circumstances are unique. Some of you may be able to go home for spring break to visit loved ones, and some of you may not due to travel restrictions or limited resources. During this time, you want na be mindful of what forms of self-care work for you. Some forms of self-care that you may practice may be focused on mental well-being, physical well-being, or social well-being. Examples of mental well-being and self-care include limiting your social media exposure. You want to take time to unplug, Make sure to stay informed, but don’t overload on social media. Other forms include focusing on what’s within your control and avoiding excessive worry. Some tips for managing worry, include scheduling, and worry time, Write down your worries cross off what’s not within your control, and throw it away That’ll help you feel calmer, less overwhelmed, and more in control. Another way to practice self-care is to focus on physical well-being. Moving your body by engaging in physical activity. You may want a go for a walk and get some fresh air When you do that. You want a focus on your surroundings, Use your five senses to be in the present moment That’ll help you feel more grounded and calm. You may also want a check in with yourself and your breathing, Make sure you’re, taking deep, full breaths. Other ways to focus on physical well-being include sleep, Develop a sleep routine, that’ll be relaxing and calming, For example, 30 minutes before bed do not use any electronics. You may want a take a warm bath Write down five things. You’re grateful for it. Listen to a guided meditation relaxation practice Drink some tea, Whatever it may be, find something that is relaxing and calming That’ll. Allow you to get better sleep. Nutrition is important too. You want na eat balanced meals, Make healthy food choices because that’ll boost your mood and make you feel more energized. You also want a stay hydrated Social wellbeing is important as well. While you may want to isolate and socially withdraw during this time. Given the circumstances, it is very important to stay connected, Find creative ways to stay connected to your loved ones. For example, you may send them a note or a message expressing your gratitude. Your appreciation Make a weekly phone call or FaceTime call to your loved ones. You may also engage in random acts of kindness That also help to boost our mood and lifts our spirits. During this time, I want a emphasize the importance of practicing kindness. We want to be kind towards one another. We want a check our assumptions and ways to do that are remaining curious and being compassionate towards others, What they may be going through and how we may be able to support them. .As found on YouTubeAlzheimer’s Dementia Brain Health ➫➬ ꆛシ➫ I was losing my memory, focus – and mind! And then… I got it all back again. Case study: Brian Thompson There’s nothing more terrifying than watching your brain health fail. You can feel it… but you can’t stop it.