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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Oddzilla on July 13, 2000, at 12:43:35
I can't post unless I start a new thread,so I put this here.
I filled out the survey but at the end reconsidered and did not submit it.
I thought the specific dates for onset of the various social anxieties were impossible to specify.I don't know the difference in mailing lists and newsgroups. Do they want to include IMs in e-mail or ICQ? Also I don't remember a question about how long people had been using the internet. I would think that patterns of usage would change with time.
Why did they want to know all the various medications prescribed and herbal products bought? There was no time frame or questions about what was helpful. I felt like I was filling out a marketing survey. And that was ultimately why I decided not to participate. I have mixed feelings about the onslaught of ads for various medicines, the Paxil ads for social anxiety in particular.
I would be interested in knowing who funded the study.
At the same time I would love to hear the personal internet experiences of people who might be described as socially phobic. I would share mine but then I would either have to change my name or quit posting. Fear of cyber intimacy?!
Cass your post was interesting. I've always thought of you as outgoing. Best wishes O.
Posted by noa on July 14, 2000, at 7:17:35
In reply to Social Phobia and Internet Survey, posted by Oddzilla on July 13, 2000, at 12:43:35
I filled it out, too, even though social phobia is not my diagnosis. I have definite social anxieties, and perhaps you could make a case for me having some social phobia, but less of the generalized type, more specifics.
Although, when I was younger, I definitely had more social phobia. I have gotten a lot more bold as I get older.
For the specific dates of onset, etc. I left it blank sometimes. Some of them, I could remember more or less, so I approximated.
I would be interested in knowing who funded it, too. And, how they are accounting for the non-randomness of the sample, ie, what limitations will having a non-random sample have on usefulness of the findings.
Posted by noa on July 14, 2000, at 12:49:32
In reply to Re: Social Phobia and Internet Survey, posted by noa on July 14, 2000, at 7:17:35
As I was standing in the deli waiting for my sandwich today, I made some observations. The deli was very crowded today, very busy. I noticed that I had positioned myself in a spot, partially "protected" by a shelf. And, I was anxious, and my hands were fidgety. I became aware of how anxious I was, and started thinking about the question of social phobia.
Because depression has always been my main concern, I have not focused as much on the social phobia perse. I guess in the first years of therapy, my social anxiety was a big focus, but since I am a lot less shy than I used to be, I don't focus on it as much.
I started wondering if this deli environment makes everyone anxious, or was mine more so than what the average person experiences. Then I reminded myself of how I know myself to hate crowds, and how I have avoided crowded situations for a long time. I used to worry more about my reaction to crowds, but once I started giving myself permission to avoid them, I guess I started thinking of it less as an anxiety/phobia issue, and more as one of preference. In other words, I came to respect my preference to not be in crowded situations.
So the situation in the deli today made me think of a few things. One, that I have achieved significant progress in self acceptance in terms of what makes me comfortable and uncomfortable, in respecting my own likes and dislikes and needs. Another, though, is that I probably am more anxious than the average person in some public situations like being in a busy restaurant or store, or waiting in line, but that I have learned how to deal with it sufficiently that I don't tend to think of myself as having a problem with it.
Except when it gets crowded. Then I am uncomfortable. I tend to avoid lots of public events because of this.
I guess it leaves me with the question of what is included in the definition of social phobia.
Posted by shar on July 14, 2000, at 23:02:19
In reply to Re: Social Phobia --more thoughts, posted by noa on July 14, 2000, at 12:49:32
Regarding the impact of a non-random sample, we always had a statement at the end of the article or presentation that the results should not be considered representative of the population in general due to lack of randomness, etc.
In my grad school, and the vast majority of social psych research I've seen at conferences and seminars, the sample is most often volunteer or self-selected. So, participants may share some common characteristic that differentiates them from people in general. For ex., willingness to give out info about themselves, higher level of self-disclosure. Usually not something that would really separate them as a unique group--which would mean that something about the survey or methodology really drew this particular type of person in (such as all respondents were fire-fighters, or all respondents ran marathons).
The researchers could probably fashion a control group of sorts by giving the survey to a group of students to find out how "people in general" scored on some items, and then do a sort of cross-group comparative analysis.
Generally, everybody ignores the issue of self-selection and continues on with their next study.
That's been my observation at least.
S
Posted by Cass on July 16, 2000, at 0:21:58
In reply to Social Phobia and Internet Survey, posted by Oddzilla on July 13, 2000, at 12:43:35
> Cass your post was interesting. I've always thought of you as outgoing. Best wishes O.
Hi Oddzilla,
I am actually much bolder than I used to be. I am sometimes really surprised when someone refers to me as outgoing. I guess I've made a lot of progress. However, feeling too self-conscious is a big problem for me at times. When I feel too self-conscious, I tend to louse up whatever I'm doing. I'm not in the flow of things, so things just go wrong. But my social anxiety has eased up in part because I now try to socialize with people who have similar world views to my own. The more I am true to myself, the less I socialize with people who I feel are shallow, insensitive or arrogant, in other words, people who I feel out of place with and whose company leads me to feel demoralized. Lately I've felt much more confident in my own goodness and much more appreciative of the goodness I find in others. I know that the cure for social anxiety is more complicated than just being true to oneself. I don't want to sound preachy or simple. I just think that the recent strides I've made in social housekeeping has added to my recovery and has added to my sense of well-being in general.
I'm curious about what gave you the impression that I was outgoing. It might be hard to put your finger on, but if you can, will you tell me?
Best wishes to you too.
Cass
Posted by Oddzilla on July 16, 2000, at 18:33:20
In reply to Re: Social Phobia and Internet Survey » Oddzilla, posted by Cass on July 16, 2000, at 0:21:58
I wasn't thinking of anything in particular when I wrote that it was just an overall impression. Maybe I should have said socially adept or at ease. You seem to post to a variety of people and in a variety of moods, from playful to serious to very candid about painful issues. And you posted LOLs to my lame jokes a couple of time which of course is a way of reaching out to another person. I guess that's what I meant.
Interacting with people online is almost as stressful as face to face for me especially in realtime. And of course on message boards anything you post is exposed to the public censure forever (as if anyone really cares). I think if I could convince myself to really roleplay and practice socializing it might carry over to real life, but I'm just not very flexible.I like to sort of get to know people like on this board but I could never think of them as real friends. That may just be me. But something about being with people in person is different. Even sitting next to a stranger on an airplane and talking or listening seems more like friendship.
I read another depression board for a while and everyone was constantly announcing they loved each other and sending out massive "cyberhugs".
It just all seemed slightly bizarre to me, although it would have been very comforting if I could have bought in to it.On the other hand I do care about people here and really miss them when they stop posting, but if they announced they didn't have money for their medicine, I wouldn't send them any. But for the stranger on the airplane, I would probably at least chip in to help. O.
Posted by noa on July 17, 2000, at 6:40:24
In reply to Re: Social Phobia and Internet Survey » Cass, posted by Oddzilla on July 16, 2000, at 18:33:20
> Interacting with people online is almost as stressful as face to face for me especially in realtime.
I find chatting online a bit stressful. It is somewhat chaotic--lots of conversations happening at once, hard to follow. But this is in line with my problem with hating distracting environments.
Posted by noa on July 17, 2000, at 6:42:00
In reply to Re: Social Phobia --more thoughts, posted by noa on July 14, 2000, at 12:49:32
One more thought about social phobia. At work, right now, I have to make a lot of phone calls, and have been quite avoidant of it.
It has gotten me thinking about how anxious calls to people I don't know have always made me.
I haven't thought of myself as having social phobia, but the more I think about it, I guess I do.
This is the end of the thread.
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