Segera Hadir: Obat Untuk Mengatasi Fobia Sosial

Meski namanya terdengar berat, rasanya banyak orang yang mengalami fobia sosial ini; mereka yang disebut ‘pemalu’, yang sulit bergaul dengan orang baru, lingkungan baru, atau berbicara di depan orang banyak. Tapi jangan kuatir; sejumlah peneliti dari Zurich University sedang mengujicoba sebuah obat yang bisa mengatasi hal itu.

Obat ini, yang diekstrak dari hormon alami tubuh bernama oxytocin, mengurangi aktivitas salah satu bagian otak (amygdala) yang berkaitan dengan rasa takut dan bahaya. Walhasil malu-malu kita berkurang dan rasa percaya kita terhadap orang asing meningkat. Bahkan dalam sebuah eksperimen, rasa percaya para subyek yang diujicoba tidak berkurang meski orang asing itu diketahui telah melakukan sesuatu yang merugikan kita.

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk A nasal spray which increases our trust for strangers is showing promise as a treatment for social phobia, say scientists from Zurich University. They found that people who inhaled the “love hormone” oxytocin continued to trust strangers with their money – even after they were betrayed. Nicknamed the “cuddle chemical”, oxytocin is a naturally produced hormone, which has been shown to play a role in social relations, maternal bonding, and also in sex. “We found that oxytocin has a very specific effect in social situations. It seems to diminish our fears. “Based on our results, we can now conclude that a lack of oxytocin is at least one of the causes for the fear experienced by social phobics. The hormone could also be a candidate for treating patients with autism, he says. “Autistic people also have a fear of social situations and have problems interacting, so it is very likely that oxytocin could help,” he said. Drug trials are under way and early signs are promising say the scientists.