Social Anxiety and the Amygdala

Much of our social anxiety is caused by a brain area called the amygdala. In this post I describe how the amygdala works to increase our anxiety and the treatments that we can continue with the restructuring and reconnection our amygdala.

In many social situations, fear affects the brain region called the amygdala. Studies have shown that the amygdala plays an important role in our emotional reactivity, especially in our response "fight or flight" when the brain senses danger. Studies have found that an overactive amygdala is often correlated with high levels of social anxiety and social phobia. In theory, a more active amygdala triggers the increased sense of fear, worry, worry or fear.

Sometimes the amygdala may be conditioned to have a strong emotional response to stimuli, which overrides our logic or reason. We can rationally understand that fear is not based on reality, but the reaction of the amygdala is so strong that we feel the fear anyway.

Neuroscientist Daniel Goleman coined this phenomenon amygdala hijacking. Other researchers on emotion, and Joseph E. Ledoux, developed this concept, describing it as "emotional reactions and emotional responses can be formed without the conscious participation and cognitive ... because the shortcut from the thalamus to the cortex amygdyla avoid altogether."

The neocortex is generally associated with the "thinking part" of our conscious brain, so that our response through the fear of the region, so often feel that emotions arise from a deeper part of our brain that is out of our consciousness.

That's why Sean Cooper, author of "Shyness and social anxiety the system," says the logical thinking is not enough to overcome social anxiety.

Many people may try to overcome their social anxiety with arguments only in their heads and trying to establish healthy beliefs (and they can certainly help!), But they are rarely enough to go rewire our brains to the experience less anxiety.

Fortunately, there are other methods you can use to help change the structure and reactivity of our amygdala. Some of these options:

Drugs. There are many effective medications on the market that have shown positive results in the evolution of the structure of the amygdala. Reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) such as citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro, Cipralex) fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft), have proven effective in treating social phobia. Seeing a psychiatrist to help you determine if medication is right for you.

Meditation. Daniel Goleman has theorized that meditation helps ReWire connections between our amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Our prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that makes us stop and think of a situation and on the other hand, the amygdala is often considered the opposite of this: it is more impulsive and its activity is unconscious. But by rewiring the connections between these two brain structures, it is possible for us to control more aware of our emotional reactions. By participating in the weekly meditation, a person often develops stronger sense of relaxation and serenity, they are great fighters for social anxiety.

Exposure therapy. Exposure therapy is an important part of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which encourages individuals to gradually expose themselves more to social situations and become accustomed to such environments. Often, participation in most social situations, we find that our earlier fears and concerns were unfounded in fact. And when we give our amygdala new experiences to learn (and in response to rewire), then our anxieties can often decrease over time.