Blog #1: Inquiry project
TW: MENTION OF SUICIDE.
My inquiry question is what’s the relationship between social anxiety and suicide?
Social anxiety is a fast-growing phenomenon which is thought to be unfairly affecting younger people. Just like any anxiety, it’s a mental health issue that could leave serious consequences if not treated properly. Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is an intense, uncomfortable and constant fear of being in social situations, being watched and judged. Though this is one of the most common disorders, public health initiatives are needed to raise awareness of the challenges associated with it, and how we could combat it. In many cases, social anxiety causes depression. If you have social anxiety, you may have trouble making friends or maining relationships. The fear of social interaction can often lead to isolation, the feeling of hopelessness, frustration and derpession. With more and more teens falling depressed and sucididal, there has been an upward trend in social anxiety in the average Canadian citizen. I believe that it’s important we discuss this topic as the collective being of our society is growing up faster and life just seems pointless at an early age. Social anxiety and suicidal ideation is a toxic cycle we all have to try and break, especially with covid, after quarantine, we’ve lost about all of our social skills and still trying to get them half back. It’s such and important topic and i can’t wait to look more into it.
links that might be helpful:
https://www.anxietycanada.com/disorders/social-anxiety-disorder/
Hi Ronnie,
this topic is so important to be researched and I really enjoyed learning more about social anxiety. I commend you on putting a trigger warning at the very top as this can be a sensitive subject for many people and it’s important to let them know what will be talked about in your blog post. I related with what was said about losing social skills in quarantine. Once I started going out with friends I noticed being more awkward, or not knowing how to continue a conversation. Overall, a really interesting paragraph to read and an important topic to research!
Here are some links you might find helpful:
https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/social-anxiety-and-depression
https://www.verywellmind.com/social-anxiety-and-depression-go-hand-in-hand-3024695
Good luck with your next blog posts and research and I look forward to seeing more from you!
Hi Ronnie. I completely agree with everything you mentioned in your post. Mental health issues are one of the worst issues plaguing modern youth; it almost seems like the number of youth experiencing mental health problems is at an all-time high. While this may be true, I believe that it is not the number of cases that have risen exponentially, but the awareness of their existence. Now that we know how mental health issues look like, we are noticing them at an increased rate. On top of this, in my experience, not all mental health issues cause depression and/or suicidal thoughts. I have known people diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder who were perfectly content; they just spent the majority of their time at home and alone. Great post!
Some sources that may be useful are:
https://www.developmentalscience.com/blog/2019/5/7/our-teens-are-more-stressed-than-ever
https://discoverymood.com/blog/todays-teens-depressed-ever/
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/22/why-do-more-young-people-have-mental-health-problems