Loneliness is an Epidemic
Social anxiety is also prevalent among American college students. When anxiety becomes uncontrollable, overwhelming and persistent, an anxiety disorder may be undiagnosed. A University of Michigan survey found that 34.5% of first time college students were “anxious” as compared to only 3.5% in 1991. In 2016, 11.9% said that they were “depressed frequently” and yet only 34% of those students intended to seek counseling. On the bright side, 25% of undergraduates at Yale University register for a course on happiness with a professor who says “by increasing social connections, we are actually seeding change in the school’s culture.” The proof of a cultural shift at Yale is that 50% of undergraduates seek school based mental health counseling. Social Anxiety Disorder is the third most prevalent psychiatric disorder in the US and, while common and treatable, it remains severally under diagnosed.
Social anxiety impacts 15 million Americans and the average age for the onset of social anxiety are in the teenage years. Anxiety can impair learning, both psychologically and physiologically, when excess cortisol from the amygdala interferes with long term memory and higher level processing in the prefrontal cortex. Social anxiety presents as an intense fear of being judged. Sufferers will avoid social situations, which can result in physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeats, sweating and nausea. People with social anxiety are powerless without the aid of cognitive therapy or SSRI medication to change their behavior. Because excess anxiety affects the brain’s ability to process and store new information, treating this disorder is critical for young students; many schools teach deep breathing, meditation and mindfulness to encourage positive and flexible thinking, self-monitoring and self-regulation that can reduce the flight response.
