BRAVE 40 Day Health Challenge recruit Olivia Fitzgerald brought show viewers to tears when she opened up on an overlooked issue many people face.
The mum-of-four told clinical psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy that her biggest challenge so far is facing others.
Olivia admitted: “I definitely think about what other people think about me.”
Dr Eddie discussed how the Limerick woman needs to have a kinder voice towards herself.
He explained: “So that’s called mind reading. You are trying to think what the other person’s thinking about me. And that’s an anxiety type behaviour.
“It’s a big feature of social anxiety. Sometimes, people in social situations, are always trying to figure what the other person is thinking about me.”
Dr Eddie discussed how these thoughts can be an indicator of social anxiety – and how many people just ignore it.
Social anxiety affects nearly one in eight adults in Ireland, according to Social Anxiety Ireland.
He said: “It’s actually one of the most missed of all the anxiety presentations.
“There’s 13 per cent of people, a huge amount of people with social anxiety.
“There’s very good website called socialanxietyireland.com.
“Some people have very specific social anxiety say like giving a best man speech or something like that.”
Social anxiety was the last anxiety disorder to be “discovered”, which was only formally recognised in 1979.
It continues to be last in terms of public and professional understanding.
Olivia admitted she sometimes had thoughts that she “wasn’t worth it” and hopes to “change that mind-set” during the 40 Day Health Challenge.
Dr Eddie said: “It’s so brave of you to put yourself forward for the 40 day health challenge when this is not your comfort zone.
“Everything you do here is outside your comfort zone, and that is total respect from us. Everything you do, all respectfulness.”
TREATMENT
Experts at Social Anxiety Ireland said exercise has been studied as a possible treatment option for anxiety symptoms – both as an extra treatment coupled with medication or psychotherapy, and as a stand-alone treatment.
The disorder most often surfaces in adolescence or early adulthood, but can occur at any time, including early childhood.
Dr Eddie said: “No matter what you do in this 40 Day Health Challenge, if you come away with all the things, but not the internal peace, then there’s a sadness then for everybody, really.
“We want to see that [peace], and that’s going to be slow. But that starts with compassion.”
The psychologist advised there’s “super strong evidence” to achieving self-peace through journaling.
He said: “What I’d like you to do is transcribe the comments that people did, whether privately or publicly, what they said to you into your journal.
“So I’d like you to do that so and I want you then to look at that.”
POSSIBLE CAUSES INCLUDE:
According to Social Anxiety Ireland, there are a number of possible causes for the condition.
Genetic Causes: As the condition is more common in families (appears to run in families). There is ongoing research which attempts to find out how much of this is genetic versus acquired learning (if family members are anxious, the offspring will learn that behavior). A specific social anxiety ‘gene’ has yet to be discovered.
Chemical: Scientists are currently undergoing research into what natural body chemicals might be playing a part in the development of social anxiety disorder. Serotonin, a brain chemical, may play a key role when its brain levels are not right or if the patient is extremely sensitive, some scientists suggest.
Brain: Some experts believe the amygdala (part of the brain) may play a role in fear response, resulting in an excessive reaction in patients with an overactive amygdala.
Demographic: Mediterranean countries have lower rates of social anxiety disorder compared to Scandinavian countries. This could be due to warmer weather as well as a higher population density in the Mediterranean countries. Warmer weather may reduce avoidance and increase interpersonal contact. Others suggest that the factors may be cultural.
Negative Experiences: Children who experience teasing, bullying, rejection, ridicule or humiliation may be more prone to social anxiety disorder. In addition, other negative events in life, such as family conflict or sexual abuse, may be associated with social anxiety disorder.
HOW TO WATCH THE EPISODES
THE latest episodes of the 40 Day Health Challenge are now available at the 40dayhealthchallenge.ie.
Readers can also follow all the action and get the latest updates, meal plans, exercises and mental health tips from Thesun.ie and Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio during the 40 days.
