| |
| Submit Your Article Link! |
|
|
| Self-Concept and Self-Actualization: Nucleus of Shyness and Social Anxiety Disorder
In the dynamics of the self-concept and in the tendency to self-actualization are found the primary causes of Shyness and Social Anxiety Disorder / Social Phobia. It seems that these conditions result from the introduction, in the self-concept, of the elements which obstruct self-actualization. This obstruction is damaging and experienced as discomfort inasmuch as it precludes that a given force, self-actualization, expands. We will detail each part. Self-concept What the self-concept is - the set of values and beliefs, conscious or accessible to one's consciousness, as well as attitudes and opinions the individual has of himself, of himself as regards others, the world and all that one's mind can reach. In the case of Shyness or Social Anxiety, the concepts must be examined:
Concepts as regards oneself - are predominantly depreciative. Examples: "I've got nothing to talk to other people about", "I am not able to face life", "I am ugly", "I am not knowledgeable", "I am not intelligent", "I feel unprotected, like a child", "It is awful when someone belittles me", "I cannot stand being rejected", "I am not nice to be with", "I have no presence of mind", "I cannot tell jokes or interesting tales", "Indeed I do have 'that' problem", "I am ashamed by 'that' problem of my parents". Many of these concepts - or similar concepts - fit neatly into what is known as low self-esteem or beliefs. Concepts of oneself vis à vis the other person - this "other" being perceived as stronger, more capable and intrinsically hostile. Examples: "People are ready to jump on me and criticize me", "Everybody has a boy/girlfriend, except me", "Nobody gives a hoot about what I say", "People may not actually come right out and say it, but they do not think well of me", "Everyone sees me as a child and will try to take advantage of me", "If I react, he / she will catch me from behind", "Other folks are always judging me", "They will make fun of me, depending on what I say", "If they do not laugh at me in my face, they will surely do it behind my back", "What if they discover 'that' problem?", "If I blow it or shoot myself in the foot, everybody will know about it", "No one look at me with respect". Previous experiences - For these concepts to be impregnated into one's self, the person will have gone through lasting experiences. Self-actualization Tendency to Self-Actualization - A concept created by Kurt Goldstein in 1940 and later widely used by Carl Rogers, it means a basic force which drives the person forward and onwards. This force has biological and psychological aspects. In the psychological field there are forces which drive us on in several directions. When these forces are obstructed, we feel discomfort. Social Anxiety Disorder and Shyness - Feelings Feelings experienced through Shyness and Social Anxiety - These are feelings one experiences when a situation brings up depreciative aspects of self-concept and the threat represented by the other person. Example: the individual whose self concept says "I have nothing to talk to other people about" and he faces someone whom he figures is about to criticize him - will feel discomfort in that situation. In fact, this discomfort is a set of feelings and emotions, threat and danger being rather common - this is known as anxiety. Then this anxiety arises from the obstruction of the force that drives the person to social integration. Anguish is also highlighted and in many situations it preceeds reactive depression, i. e., it preceeds the depression as a consequence of the situation. The person feels threatened in social situations or facing the prospect of such situations. In feeling the threat, he/she undergoes physiological reactions which prepare the organism for flight in order to survive. Flight is one's natural way out in Social Anxiety Disorder because, according to his self concept, the person has no weapons to fight off the threat. Although there is no physical risk, what is felt is at the same levels of physical risk and can be as high as the risk of losing one's life. It is a threat of psychological death, of no longer existing as a person, of disintegrated self. At a lower intensity level, one's impression is that of coming to suffer major losses. Instintictively, the person avoids threatening situations, i. e., avoids contacts with others. If alone or with relatives or with a friend, then there is no threat or it is lower. A natural consequence is the loneliness of solitude. Deadlocks - In many situations, flight is impossible. In other situations, the inner force, in the form of desire, of need, is very intense. What to do in such deadlocks? People find adaptive ways. Example: they develop behaviors in order not to allow that the hostility - which they think others harbor towards them - to come to the surface. Among such behaviors are common changes in one's tone of voice, the use of auxiliary verbs, the use of the verbal conditional tense, milder gestures, verbal economy. Through such actions, they judge that they control the hostility that they think exists in others. Concretely, they begin to speak in a lower voice, use expressions such as "I wonder whether you could?", "Perhaps you might be able to", "Could it be that you might do this?", "Were it possible, I would like", and they develop verbal mannerisms, speak little, beat endlessly around the bush before coming to the point, and so forth and so on. The person who is not able to make these adaptations or regards them as insufficient constantly feels that disintegration is about to take place. In other words, he or she lives in constant apprehension. It becomes evident that the dynamics of self-concept and self-actualization play a central role in the Shyness and Social Anxiety Disorder. To overcome them the person needs to change these dynamics. Ruy Miranda is a Brazilian Physician and a former University Professor. He obtained his doctorate in Psychiatry in 1965. In Social Anxiety Disorder website he offers a wealthy of free articles on Shyness and Social Anxiety Disorder / Social Phobia. He is author of the novel "The Saga of a Shy Fellow" which excerpts you may want to read at http://www.social-anxiety-shyness-info.com/novel/sample-online/index.htm Copyright © 2004-2005, Ruy Miranda, all rights reserved. You may reproduce this article as long as it is in its complete form and that the resource box is included.
MORE RESOURCES:
Attraction - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How To Be Interesting Most people want to be liked appreciated loved and adored but why those same people are taken as boring while they try so hard?As you know by now, I like to make a point by telling stories and I have just the right story for YOU.This summer I had a cross country meeting in Athens, it was a very profitable year for me and I was one of the lead spokesperson. Millionaire Mindset: We Become What We Think About In studying wealth, we learn the power of using our mind to attract either success or failure. By visualizing what we want to happen - or conversely what we fear will happen - we employ a mental magnet that helps to manifest our thoughts. The Good Luck Recipe! Good luck was not part of my life for many years until; I discovered a formula that has proven to be effective for me and many others.Are you ready?Okay, then here it is:1. How To Improve Your Life Instantly! Your mind power makes what you focus on happen. You create what you think about and then live in that experience. Change Your Association Do you know any people who seem to attract bad luck?I had a friend years ago that just could not seem to get it together. He was in and out of jobs, had poor relationships, had no money, and had a bad attitude. Four Steps to Attracting More Good Luck The Luck Factor rips apart the notion that luck is something that just happens. Dr. Abundance is a Feeling This question and answer interview was done by Kathy Smith, one of Michael's loyal Virtual Assistants. Visit her website. Be Specific Are you having a difficult time pinpointing what you want out of life? If I were to ask you to tell me EXACTLY what you want out of life, would you be able to do it?The answer nine times out of ten will be a resounding, "NO!"Don't feel bad if you aren't clear on what you want out of life. The truth of the matter is most people have no idea what they want or what makes them happy. Your Default Settings Buy a computer--any computer--and it comes loaded with software automatically set to certain default settings. For example, the default setting for Word is Times New Roman 12-point. Dont Let Other Peoples Walls Fence You In "How's it going?" I asked the clerk in the new bookstore. "Well you know," she replied "it takes a long time to build a business. A Life of Adventure? In a conversation recently, a friend remarked to me: "Every man dies, but not every man lives." If you think about it, that is profoundly true and rather disturbing. 7 Ways to Drive a Man Wild It's unbelievable the amount of bad advice there is out there on how to seduce a man or if they give you advice they forget to tell you how to use it properly. So here are a couple of tips on what to do and what not to do to drive a man wild and an instruction manual. How to Make Self-Improvement Work Every Time! There is an inherent problem with the approach most people take to self-improvement of any kind. There is a presupposition that there is something wrong that needs fixing. Bad Luck ... Or Blessing In Disguise? There was a woman who was in such a hurry to go to the airport.She told the cab driver to step on it. So You Want To Win the Lottery If we all got everything we wanted, most of us would have won the lottery by now. So what happens when we notice that we aren't getting what we want, even when we've been using Law of Attraction to manifest a particular desire for an extended period of time?Wanting to win the lottery is a clear desire, therefore, you need to use Law of Attraction deliberately. The Keys To Faster Evolution Prosperity is management of positive energy. It's individual capacity to pour energy out in the world and re-circulate back in our life. The World According To Max The Cat Max jumped on my chest as soon as the first rays of sunlight streamed through the blinds."Are you awake?" he asked, licking his paw with infinite fastidiousness. Be Not Afraid, Ye of Midlife Millions of people face huge changes in their lives during the midlife years and most seem to be glad they made the changes, but only if they've faced their own longings for meaning with integrity. Midlife can be defined as anywhere from 35 to 60, but usually comes on around the mid-forties or later. Self-Divine-ation: Defining a Divine Future! In some of my counseling and coaching sessions, my clients ask me to perform a reading to tell them their future. In many cases, my response is, "why don't you tell me your future?" They stop and stare, speechless. The Power of Perspective You limit yourself. Yes, it is true.
|
.jpg)