Social Anxiety Forums

deadinsideangel · Posted: Tue March 18, 2008 Post subject: Hi

Hi everyone.

I've had social anxiety for 11 years now. Sometimes I can deal with the anxiety fairly well, (at least manageable), but I've had 2 times where it has really been bad. So bad, that I didn't want to go anywhere; just stay at home. Lately, the anxiety has been getting worse.

I just needed to come here and talk with people who understand. Because right now, I don't think anyone in my life understands. I mean I know they try to, but I guess maybe you have to experience it to understand. I'm sure you all know the things people say when trying to help - (such as, you just have to deal with it and people aren't talking about you). I can say they aren't talking me, or they aren't laughing at me, I can do the self-talk all day. But, I guess the part that no one gets is that doesn't take the anxiety away.

Josh · Posted: Tue March 18, 2008 Post subject:

Welcome to the forums deadinsideangel

I agree with your last sentence. There's no quick fix - otherwise we would have done it already.
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Bravetailor · Posted: Sun March 23, 2008 Post subject:

It's interesting how much of a phenomenon SA has become since 1997. So many of us want closer connections, yet at the same time society is becoming more and more impersonal. E-mails and electronic devices in place of real human contact, etc.

The problem is that we as people are defined partly by ourselves, but also partly by our interactions with other people. If you take out that part of the equation, we're all missing something as individuals. And when you lose that part, getting it back is double hard because you can't get it back without shocking your system.

I think there will come some days where I will panic in a public setting, right when people are talking to me. In fact, it HAS happened to me, so I can't ever believe it when people tell me that they're not thinking about me, because if I'm meeting someone and suddenly freeze up and run outside (which I've done), then obviously they will be thinking something about me.

But the rewards are I almost always get more comfortable with something the more I do it. The key is to make the first step. It's also the hardest step, because sometimes you only get one shot to get something right.