Social Anxiety - Ugg

[eek MD]

Anyone else in here with this??

I swear, it's been getting worse for the last 6 years or so......Am making baby steps though....
I actually called a psychiatrist's office to try to make an appointment.... (something i've been struggling to do for years).....which i consider to be a success even though i hung up without making an appt after they started asking me questions about what i needed help with...

It's just so difficult wanting to go out to do things...(outside of work where i'm forced to go and deal with people to survive)....dying inside to go out and do things, but not being able to bring yourself out to do anything that involves actually having to make conversation with people.....

Not sure whether being online is a blessing or a curse........It gives me the chance to "be anonymous" and avoid having to say anything that would embarrass me to death........, yet if i wasn't online, i might be pushed even harder to change my behavior and be more outgoing.....*sigh*

Sorry for the rambling......just wondering if anyone else out there is in the same boat.... =)

[blueblitzkrieg]

1. I was diagnosed as having panic disorder...

but pretty sure it's social anxiety. I would drive down to the university to go to class but my anxiety would get so bad that I'd turn around and just drive home. Ended up flunking a couple classes and losing my scholarship, which sent me further into depression. I ended up pretty much housebound and very suicidal.

Calling the doctor was really hard for me too. I was so nervous about it, I'd call, hang up, call again, hang up, promise I'd do it the next day, then just repeat ad nauseum. Finally did it though and it was the best thing I could have done! Getting help was the hardest step for me. It was difficult in the beginning to talk to the doctor about all my problems and issues, I felt like a weirdo, but it got a lot easier over time. These doctors have pretty much heard everything before and they are not there to judge you.

Medicine and therapy did help me a lot to tackle the irrational fears. Still have trouble w/ avoiding stressful sitautions like in job interviews or speaking in class settings and so forth. Working on that though!!!!!!!!

Life is too short to be spent stuck in fear. Getting help is the first step. Maybe if you have a friend or family member ou can talk to about this stuff they can set the appointnment up for you and get you on your way. You can do it! GOOD LUCK!!! :hi:

[eek MD]

2. OMG, Job interviews definitely...

One of my biggest fears is that i'm going to get laid off......I got the job i have now before my symptoms were all that bad, and it's a job where i don't have to deal with people all that often......At the stage i'm at now, i can't imagine having to do an interview.....even dealing with day-to-day things has been a challenge.....
Thanks a bunch for the support.....=), and congratulations on getting help.....i know how difficult it is to do...

[EFerrari]

3. HI there, eek

When I was DXd about a hundred years ago, it was called panic disorder. Short version: I found a doc at Stanford doing a trial, he put me on meds and it worked really well! My symptoms abated so much I went back to school, applied to a university, even went to the Grand Canyon with my family and sat on the edge with my kids. lol

But the thing wasn't really gone, just sort of turned up a depression (?) so I shopped for a therapist, really shopped. And found one I felt comfortable with. We did a lot of work on a bunch of things and in the process sometimes my symptoms would come back.

At one point, I noticed that if I went somewhere, I felt much more at ease if I had "company". Sometimes I could do that for myself, sometimes not. So, I got a dog! (Running around handling life, I didn't look like a phobic person, I looked like someone with a dog. lol Hey, it worked :) And my dog has been a real angel in our lives.

There are really good treatments for social anxiety. I know you'll find one that works for you.

Beth
/dyslexic morning