Individuals with social phobia have too much serotonin

I know nothing of the AHA's methods or qualifications, but in my view bad policies purportedly based upon science usually come from lack of these, in addition to lack of scientific literacy. Alternatively, from a predefined goal, i.e. a political agenda.

I'm curious: in what way would you blame elitism in those cases?

I know you probably wrote your post in good faith, and you appear sympathetic to the posts you've replied to in this subthread.

I can see how you would jump to the assumption that there is something "wrong" in the person's life, as this is a universal reference point; Something bad happens in your life, and you feel bad about it.

But the fact is that most mental illnesses generally aren't a results of anything like what you've described.

There's no meaning behind them, and they're not rational - which is one of the reasons why they are described as illnesses.

This, in addition to severity, is some of the difference between an anxiety disorder and an anxious mood.

So the assumption made is basically dependent on your healthy perspective, and does not take into account the experience of people affected by mental illness.

If you really don't know much about mental illnesses (as you say in your post) I urge you to try to read up, as ignorance and stigma (which is to some extent a result of the former) are huge problems, even though mental illness is very common and affects around 20% of people, depending in the source (NIMH says 18.6 percent of all U.S. adults had a mental illness the previous year in 2012 [0]).

[0]: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/any-men...

There are truly a lot of reasons why exercise contributes to good mental health. One of them is that it helps produce the correct balance of hormones in your system, which in turn also impact the correct balance of neurotransmitters. It's very easy, especially for us coders, to forget that we're sitting all day. Sitting all day is far from natural and has a tremendous amount of health impact. Exercise is extremely beneficial.

>> Previous studies have led researchers to believe that individuals with social anxiety disorder or social phobia have too low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. A new study, however, shows that the situation is exactly the opposite.

> It's stuff like this that is destroying the reputation of science in general.

the actual paper contains no such language of course, let me quote the introduction:

> Anxiety disorders are debilitating psychiatric conditions that impose a considerable burden on patients1 and society,2 and social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common of these conditions.3 The neural underpinnings of excessive social anxiety are not fully characterized, although serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) has been suggested to be involved etiologically.4,5

> However, only a few studies have used molecular neuroimaging to examine serotonin dysfunction in SAD directly. A single-photon emission tomography study6 found increased serotonin transporter availability in the thalamus, but not in the raphe nuclei, in patients with SAD relative to healthy control individuals. Also, a positron emission tomography (PET) study7 showed that SAD is associated with reduced serotonin 1A receptor binding. Somatodendritic serotonin 1A autoreceptors in the raphe nuclei, which inhibit serotonin synthesis and release,8 and postsynaptic serotonin 1A heteroreceptors, which convey inhibitory signals in the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and insula cortex, were downregulated.7 In addition, functional neuroimaging studies of SAD9 have demonstrated heightened, fear-induced neural reactivity in the amygdala, which is densely innervated by serotonin,10 with alterations in the hippocampus, ACC, insula cortex, and striatum.9,11 Moreover, the first line of pharmacologic treatment for SAD consists of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs),12- 14 which reduce excessive amygdala reactivity, restore initially suppressed ventromedial prefrontal cortex response to emotional challenge,15- 18 and attenuate resting brain perfusion in the ACC and insula.19 Thus, findings from molecular and functional neuroimaging and treatment studies indicate that serotonergic neurotransmission in the amygdala, raphe nuclei, striatum, thalamus, hippocampus, insula cortex, and ACC may be compromised in SAD.

> Given the inhibitory role of serotonin 1A autoreceptors on serotonin synthesis,8 previous findings of decreased autoreceptor binding in SAD7 may indicate increased serotonin formation and enhanced serotonergic activity. On the other hand, because blocking the serotonin reuptake with SSRIs attenuates social anxiety symptoms12,13 and because posttreatment dietary depletion of the serotonin precursor tryptophan reverses the anxiolytic effects of SSRIs,20 the notion that increased serotonin availability is pivotal for anxiety reduction also has support. Indeed, whether anxiety conditions such as SAD are best characterized by serotonin overactivity or underactivity remains a matter of debate.5

For me, it's a lot of accepting what I can change and putting things I can't in to perspective. Treating others as I'd like to be treated. And really, trying to find peace without creating conflict.

Think of it as a form of meditation, without the sitting and relaxing part. It is hard to explain because there are many layers to the technique, but keeping different aspects of your life in isolation is another important factor.

Bad day at work? When you walk out of your office, throw it away. Argument with your partner? When you leave your house, don't dwell on it. Stop beating yourself up about things... materialism isn't jut about physical objects, it's also about your environment. If you feel self entitled, you feel like things conspire against you more frequently. Accept that you're no better than anyone else, learn to love the incomprehensible..

There's no magic fix. Accept that. Drugs can mask your symptoms, but they can't fix the underlying problem if your attitude towards life doesn't also change.

This is all pretty vague I know, but without trying to sound like psychobabble - take what you can from my suggestions and reject what you doesn't work. And never let anyone tell you you're cured or still ill... you're cured when you feel cured. You will relapse, but if you fall back to your mecanism to survive all should fall back in to place.