Social anxiety disorder-associated gut microbiota increases social fear

Methodology, Hype, and Limitations

• Several commenters note that 16S sequencing is correlational and doesn’t reveal mechanisms; it just shows patterns in microbiota composition.
• Concern that media will oversimplify this into “eat yogurt, cure social anxiety,” despite the study being about transferring SAD-associated microbiota into mice.
• Multiple people stress that this is a mouse study; they want clearer headlines (“In mice: …”) and are skeptical about how well such results translate to humans.
• Blinding and experimental rigor are questioned; one reader couldn’t find mention of blinding and worries about “wishful thinking” in microbiome research.

Interventions: Antibiotics, FMT, Probiotics, Diet

• Some propose using broad-spectrum antibiotics to “reset” the microbiome, possibly followed by diet control or probiotics; others report this made things worse or carries real risks (e.g., C. diff, IBS).
• Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is mentioned as a more plausible intervention than yogurt, and ongoing human trials for depression/OCD are cited.
• Debate over whether introducing “good” microbiota can outcompete “bad” ones or whether established microbes are too entrenched.
• Many personal anecdotes: probiotics often do nothing; occasionally specific products or yeast strains help; fermented foods (sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha) and fiber (psyllium, Metamucil) sometimes help gut and mood.
• “Psychobiotics” (mood-targeted probiotics) are discussed, with small, early studies and serious doubts about commercial claims and product quality.

Diet, Sugar, and Lifestyle

• Multiple users report strong links between diet and anxiety:
  • Cutting sugar or doing keto reduces anxiety for some; others describe immediate brain fog or anxiety from sweets or fruit.
  • Others find benefits from cutting gluten, lactose, or fructose, though they emphasize individual variation.
  • High fiber intake is linked anecdotally to calmer mood and better regulation (possibly via insulin or microbiome effects).
  • Alcohol is repeatedly cited as harmful to gut and mood.

Origin and Transmission of Microbiota

• Discussion on where gut bacteria come from: birth (especially from the mother), food, water, kissing, environmental exposure, and possibly bathroom aerosols.
• Speculation about correlations between early feeding (breastfeeding vs formula) and later social anxiety is raised but remains explicitly untested/unclear.

Evolution and “Gut–Brain” Explanations

• One line of argument: a microbiome-driven social fear response could be adaptive—sick individuals self-isolate, reducing disease spread or risk in unstable environments.
• Others counter that this is speculative evolutionary psychology or “just-so stories,” and that biology often behaves like messy, accidental “spaghetti code.”
• There is debate over individual vs group selection and whether such a trait would actually be adaptive for the host.

Mental Health Experiences and Treatment Frustrations

• Several users with long-term social anxiety describe powerful effects from MAOIs or ADHD treatment, reinforcing that anxiety can be strongly biochemical.
• Others emphasize CBT and therapy as effective for social anxiety, but express interest in microbiome-based treatments as a potential new avenue.
• Some note that gut discomfort and IBS-like symptoms strongly co-vary with their anxiety, reinforcing the gut–brain connection from lived experience.