The Impact of Sex and MDMA on Social Anxiety Evaluated by Subjective Responses
By Caitlin Chheda
I have always enjoyed science, ever since I was 7 and read that over 6 billion bacteria live in your mouth. For a 7 year old, this was a scary thought. I refused to eat during meals. I never closed my mouth, as to let the invaders out. I stopped breathing through my mouth and relied only on my nose. However, I am proud to say that I am no longer afraid of being a home to my microscopic friends. Instead, I enjoy their company as they allow me to be immersed daily by science … Anxiety is the normal response of fear that occurs during threatening or stressful situations, but, if this feeling persists, it could be diagnosed as an anxiety disorder [1]. More specifically, social anxiety disorder is a common anxiety disorder. Social anxiety disorder affects 15 million adults, or about 6.8% of the United States’ population [26]. Symptoms for the disorder appear in both females and males around age 13 [26]. Females have been found repeatedly to be more likely than males to suffer from and be diagnosed with anxiety, including social anxiety [27]. People who experience this disorder feel symptoms of anxiety or fear in specific if not all social situation (e.g. meeting people for the first time) and doing daily tasks in front of others [1]. These people have a fear that they will be humiliated, judged, and/or rejected [1]. This disorder may be hereditary, but it is unknown why some family members may experience social anxiety while others do not [28,29] … Current studies have yet to examine the effects of MDMA on social anxiety in healthy human volunteers while also considering sex as a factor. Thus, this study evaluated prosocial effects of MDMA through the administration of modified questionnaires that addressed social anxiety, depressive experiences, and mood states with sex as a contributing factor …