There has been a distinct lack of “Joe-ness” being exuded here the past few weeks. It’s taken me 24 years, 10 months and four weeks to realize the root of my problems: social anxiety disorder and depression combined with my natural introverted personality. It’s certainly impacted my personal, academic and social life. The best thing I’ve ever done was truly face my fears and seek treatment.
A fall 2006 National College Health Assessment lists depression and anxiety disorders among the top 10 impediments to academic performance for students. Diagnosing and treating these types of disorders is difficult as it relies on the ill to come forward and confront their fears.
I cloaked it in “writer’s block.” My inability to create was rooted in feelings of perfectionism and a fear of failure. By lying to myself and dwelling on that false basis, I was careening down a set of tracks in a vain search for creativity.
Whatever your excuse is, confront it.
Although proper diagnosis and treatment should only be done by mental health professionals, introverts do have an advantage in preliminary self-diagnosis due to their inner directed demeanor.
Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung popularized the concept of extroverted versus introverted personality types. Pure extroverts would be categorized as the social butterfly – affable, talkative, outgoing and part of a large social circle. Conversely, introverts thrive in solitude and prefer activities such as reading or thinking to themselves. Introverts are not necessarily shy or anti-social. They enjoy the company of others – just in a more controlled setting. A 1999 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry examined blood flow in the brains of 18 healthy subjects. The results lend credence to the possibility you may be wired from birth for a certain personality. Introverts had increased blood flow in areas of the brain associated with planning and abstract thought. Extroverts exhibited more blood flow in areas of the brain associated with emotive responses, explaining their desire for extra sensory stimulation.
It’s akin to skin color: you didn’t choose it, so don’t fight it. Accept it and use it to your advantage.
One form of psychotherapy is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It works to change irrational beliefs and emotions into more rational thoughts and behaviors. Sufferers of social anxiety disorder are constantly clouding their minds reviewing past conversations, practicing future ones and catastrophizing even the most well intentioned social cues. This results in a string of social gaffes akin to acting out an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where you are Larry David.
If you are so caught up in the vicious cycle of depression and anxiety that you cannot bear to talk to a mental health professional, then I can heartily recommend Dr. Thomas A. Richards’ “Overcoming Social Anxiety” tapes. His method is remarkably effective in identifying the negative thinking and rationally explaining how to overcome it, all in the privacy of your home. This particular therapy – and cognitive-behavorial therapy and Dr. Richards’ therapy in particular – works so well because it disabuses the notion that the brain is like a computer. Old ways of thinking and habits are systematically broken down, and new strategies are gradually developed to foster a better mindset.
Medication and other drug assisted therapies are not something to fear. Being completely upfront and honest about your symptoms to your doctor is the best way to be prescribed the correct medication. There is no reason to feel any stigma or apprehension in taking medication. Many times it is the only way to jump start therapy or take the edge off. Self-medicating is not the way to recovery.
Relaxing is hard work, and it is the only way to tackle those issues around the world. You won’t be the only Lexapro, Wellbutrin or Xanax pill popper out there. Each day you limit yourself is a day wasted. Shouting “Carpe Diem!” will not cure you, only being honest and having the courage to seek help will.
—-Contact Joseph Ruchalski at [email protected]