A request for participants to complete a questionnaire.

[GayleO]

Hello,
My name is Gayle and I am currently undertaking some research on social anxiety disorder, as part of a Masters degree course.
The study is titled 'Social Anxiety Disorder: Understanding the barriers preventing full recovery.' and full details regarding all aspects of the study can be found on the link below.
I am currently looking for participants, who have a diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (either self-diagnosed or diagnosed by a healthcare professional) for my study and would really appreciate members participation.
Participation involves the completion of a three part questionnaire. All responses will be completely anonymised and of course participation is completely voluntary. Before completing the questionnaire you will be presented with a information sheet before being asked to give your consent. After completion of the questionnaire you will be presented with a sheet that re-iterates the aims of the study and provides contact details, should you have any further questions.
Thank you in advance for your help and please contact me if you have any questions; G.Overton@uos.ac.uk

https://forms.gle/BYoUfmRwGJmXrKSj6

[GayleO]

Just wanted to say thank you to those members that have completed my questionnaire.
If any other members could spare some time to complete it, that would be great !
Of course, participation is voluntary and all responses will be anonymised.
I am more than happy to answer any questions.
Thanks !,
Gayle

[Bluebear]

I have not responded but I may consider doing so.

[GayleO]

Thank you.
Perhaps it would be helpful if I gave further information about the questionnaire, which is in three parts. The first part asks demographic details and includes questions such as your gender, age and education. The second part asks about social anxiety disorder and includes questions such as any treatment that you have received, what in your opinion was the most effective treatment and your opinion about how social anxiety disorder is seen in society today. The third and final part asks questions about your satisfaction with the care and treatment that you have received and includes questions such as if you felt respected by healthcare professionals and if you had choices in deciding any course of treatment.
Therefore, the study is very much centred around the barriers that people who have social anxiety disorder feel that they face.
Obviously, participation is completely voluntary, but it would be good to hear members views.

[Bluebear]

I generally haven’t felt respected by the professionals.

[cammo]

Race/ethnicity question needs more options.

[GayleO]

Thank you for your feedback. I will ensure that this is noted.

[BritishPeace]

You assume social anxiety is something to be recovered from, it isn't

[Indigo_]

^ There are people on this forum who believe they have recovered from their social anxiety

[Moksha]

I've never liked the label "social anxiety disorder". For me, it just doesn't go far enough. Social anxiety is a symptom. We feel a surge of anxiety when interacting with people; the heart races, the body sweats, and so on. But why? That's the question. For me, anxiety is merely part of a deeper personality disorder. And the roots of that lie in my genes and upbringing. There is so much more going on than 'social anxiety.'

Professor Robert Plomin recently published a book arguing that genetics play the decisive role in life. Basically, you are your genes. He argues that 'neuroticism', meaning sensitivity, anxiety, vulnerability to depression, etc, is at least 40% inherited. The same is true of introversion. So if you inherit a neurotic, introverted personality, and are then raised by the wrong sort of parents, it creates an almighty mess. Social anxiety is just a symptom of that neurotic mess. As I've got older, the actual social anxiety has reduced. But the avoidance, the shame, the hypersensitivity, the dislike of people, the mental exhaustion from being around them, the extreme disgust at life and suffering, and countless other problems, all remain. 'Avoidant personality disorder' is far more accurate.

[Pink*Lady]

Done.

[Dougella]

^ But isn't the point about when something has become 'social anxiety disorder' that it's affecting the person's everyday functioning and quality of life? At that point a person's life becomes very different to someone's who doesn't have the disorder.

[Marco]

Originally Posted by Moksha

I've never liked the label "social anxiety disorder". For me, it just doesn't go far enough. Social anxiety is a symptom. We feel a surge of anxiety when interacting with people; the heart races, the body sweats, and so on. But why? That's the question. For me, anxiety is merely part of a deeper personality disorder. And the roots of that lie in my genes and upbringing. There is so much more going on than 'social anxiety.'

I don't think there's any question that SA is just a symptom (or perhaps symptoms) of something deeper. I think this lies at the heart of why SA sufferers can't always relate to each other because the cause and effects of their anxiety may be quite different.

[Moksha]

^^ Herman Hesse ^^

I also loathe the word "shy." It's so patronising, dismissive and humiliating. Little girls are shy, not 6ft + middle-aged men! In any case, I've never thought of myself as shy. In certain situations I can be very confident, even arrogant. I wouldn't even describe myself as suffering from a social anxiety disorder; yet I can't work or form serious relationships. Which begs the question what the **** is wrong with me? I know people are wary of labels, but they can help to clarify things. I suspect that an experienced psychiatrist, after months of analysis, would diagnoze something like this: "a shame-based, avoidant-paranoid-depressive-dependent personality disorder, characterized by extreme introversion and fear of intimacy."

[GayleO]

Just wanted to say thanks again for those members that have completed the questionnaire; it is much appreciated.
It is good to hear your comments and this is really what I set out to do with the research. It was never intended to make any assumptions about social anxiety disorder, it was just to explore the issues that people with social anxiety disorder feel that they face.
Thanks again.

[Selkie]

Hi Gayle, I am glad someone is doing this research!
I have experienced both some very good and pretty unhelpful therapy.
In my opinion, therapists can't always differentiate between paranoia caused by social anxiety, and actual difficulties in relationships caused by SA symptoms. E.g. if you go into work and are very quiet, it may not make you that popular (people might not hate you, but they might not be clamouring for your friendship either), but some therapists will assume that you just can't tell you're popular/liked because of the negative thinking caused by SA.
Sorry, couldn't help adding because I've been very frustrated by some of the experiences I've had..

[GayleO]

Hi,
Thank you for your comment; it is lovely to hear, from someone who has social anxiety disorder, that there is some value in doing the research.
Thank you also for sharing your experiences. It is always great and interesting to hear about social anxiety disorder, from the perspective of the members.
The questionnaire is still available for anyone else who wishes to give their perspective. Like I have said, obviously completing the questionnaire is completely voluntary, but it is good to hear from as many members as possible!
Thank you.

[GayleO]

Thank you.

[firemonkey]

Survey wasn't set up in a way that I could respond. I've had social anxiety symptoms since my early teens but never a specific diagnosis for it. This is because more serious dxes were given priority.

[GayleO]

Yeah, I do understand that the questionnaire contains a number of questions regarding treatment. However, please feel free to answer self-diagnosed (if this was the case) and go onto answer any questions that are relevant to you. Such as, how you feel social anxiety disorder is seen in society today and if there is anything that you would like to see improved in your experience of having social anxiety.
Obviously, it is entirely up to you. Just thought that I would point out that there is no requirement to answer all questions. So, if you wish to give your views by completing the questionnaire, please do.
Thanks.

[gregarious_introvert]

I have completed the questionnaire but many questions didn't have applicable options and it would have been useful to have spaces in which one could explain one's response further. I feel that simply ticking boxes will have given a misleading appraisal of my experiences with social anxiety disorder.

[GayleO]

Thank you and thank you for your feedback.
I agree that it would have been useful to have options on the questionnaire in which responses could be explained further. In fact, this was initially the intention. However, because of the time constraints that I have on completing this piece of research I have had to input categories in order to keep it manageable. I do understand that just ticking options does not necessarily give an accurate picture of an individual's experience of having social anxiety disorder. This will certainly be noted as a limitation of the research.

[GayleO]

Just wanted to say that I have been really pleased with the amount of members that have chosen to complete my questionnaire.
All responses are valuable to my research, as it is always interesting to hear members views.
I am always happy to answer any questions !,
Thanks.

[GayleO]

Hi,

With only a few weeks to go before I stop collecting responses for my research, I just wanted to promote my questionnaire for one last time.
So, if there are any new members to the forum that would consider participating, that would be brilliant, thank you.
Again, participation is completely voluntary, but would be much appreciated !.
and I am always happy to answer any questions.

Thank you,
Gayle