Many people experiencing negative stress simply do not have adequate forms of social support available. They may not have the assertiveness skills necessary to feel comfortable asking for help from others. They may feel depressed enough to start to withdraw from others (a normal symptom of depression), further decreasing the amount of social support available. This social support deficit is both a vulnerability factor for further stress problems, and also a self-fulfilling prophecy (where isolation begets further isolation). We talk more about how to cope with stress by building up levels of social support in a later section on Socialization.