People with social anxiety disorders that indulge in exercise and relaxing activities have a better perception of life, a new study finds.
The study was conducted by researchers from Queen's University. Previous studies have established that people with anxiety disorders should have a positive outlook of life if they want to overcome their current condition. Providing an explanation on how this can be done, the study authors found exercise and relaxing activities to be very effective.
"We wanted to examine whether people would perceive their environment as less threatening after engaging in physical exercise or after doing a relaxation technique that is similar to the breathing exercises in yoga (called progressive muscle relaxation)," study author Adam Heenan explained in a press statement. "We found that people who either walked or jogged on a treadmill for 10 minutes perceived these ambiguous figures as facing towards them (the observer) less often than those who simply stood on the treadmill. The same was true when people performed progressive muscle relaxation."
For the study, researchers used point-light displays, which are depth-ambiguous. Owing to this, people looking at the display can see it as either facing them or facing away. Often, people who depict the display as facing them are of the opinion that the display is threatening. In the study, researchers found that people who are socially anxious perceive these figures as facing towards them more often. This is quite an important discovery as previous studies have established that people with social anxiety disorders tend to focus more on the threatening aspects in their lives. Researchers also speculate that this could be one of the reasons why these disorders are prolonged.
"This is a big development because it helps to explain why exercising and relaxation techniques have been successful in treating and mood and anxiety disorders in the past," said Heenan.
Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, involves intense fear of certain social situations, especially those that are unfamiliar or in which people feel they'll be watched or evaluated by others. These social situations may be so frightening that victims get anxious just thinking about them or go to great lengths to avoid them.
Social anxiety or social phobia is actually quite common. Many people struggle with these fears. But the situations that trigger the symptoms of social anxiety disorder can be different, according to a WebMD report.
Some people confuse shyness with social anxiety. People with social anxiety may not be shy at all. They can be completely at ease with people most of the time, but particular situations, such as walking down an aisle in public or making a speech, can give them intense anxiety, according to Mayo Clinic.
The new research was published online in PLOS one. The study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIfAR), and the Canadian Action and Perception Network (CAPnet).
