Social Anxiety Phobia/Disorder

driftkingire · 28-05-2014 11:47pm

great post, thanks

Starfox · 29-05-2014 9:50pm

2scared wrote: »

Social phobia is torture. I've tried everything - medication, counselling, CBT, group therapy - and nothing has worked, not even a little bit. I have no friends, no job, no money. I live with my parents and I'm almost 30. I've never had sex; actually, I've never been kissed or even hugged. I feel direfully, achingly lonely. If someone was kind to me or even spoke warmly to me I would probably have a complete meltdown. At school I got straight As and now I'm nothing, trapped in a prison with no way out. People in jail have a better standard of living. I'm morbidly depressed and lacking in energy. I cloak my pain under a very unappealing facade of cynicism and misanthropy. I have constant anxiety about my financial future and I even fear homelessness. I can't believe this is what I've become. Every day is like 'Groundhog Day' without the humour. I can see no way out, not even suicide, which would destroy my parents.

I'm not sure what the point of saying all that was, but there you go. *screams*

You say you tried everything? but you didn't mention meditation? And this worked for me 100% I live in a world with very little SA thanks to it. I use Transcendental Meditation and it changed everything for me.

exercise is the antidote · 05-06-2014 11:04am

Has anyone ever tried hypnotherapy for social anxiety ?

driftkingire · 05-06-2014 8:09pm

never tried that, i dont like the idea of getting hypnotised to be honest, i think its a fear thing for me, being totally under someone else's control scares me a bit!

exercise is the antidote · 16-06-2014 10:00pm

driftkingire wrote: »

never tried that, i dont like the idea of getting hypnotised to be honest, i think its a fear thing for me, being totally under someone else's control scares me a bit!

Would be abit like that too but to get over social phobia, I would nearly do anything :-)

Starfox · 24-06-2014 7:58pm

Social Anxiety Ireland (SAI) have been just informed by the Mater Hospital CEO (Prof. Mary day) and management team that - following an extensive review of its services - that SAI has no role in its future vision for the Hospital. As a result of this SAI has been instructed to cease operations within the Mater Hospital premises within the next six weeks, all reference to the Mater Hospital has to be removed from our website and no Mater staff (on Mater paid time) is to be involved in it.

exercise is the antidote · 28-07-2014 1:46am

Is there any good forums or groups to join for social phobia.?!

driftkingire · 03-08-2014 12:51am

Starfox wrote: »

Social Anxiety Ireland (SAI) have been just informed by the Mater Hospital CEO (Prof. Mary day) and management team that - following an extensive review of its services - that SAI has no role in its future vision for the Hospital. As a result of this SAI has been instructed to cease operations within the Mater Hospital premises within the next six weeks, all reference to the Mater Hospital has to be removed from our website and no Mater staff (on Mater paid time) is to be involved in it.

well thats typical.

SIX PACK · 19-09-2014 12:15am

Just been browsing through this thread and pretty sure I have it myself sometimes around certain people that that I don't click with.

Wonder what the best cure is ?

driftkingire · 21-09-2014 10:30pm

SIX PACK wrote: »

Just been browsing through this thread and pretty sure I have it myself sometimes around certain people that that I don't click with.

Wonder what the best cure is ?

stay away from the people you dont click with. if you dont like them then there's probably a reason you dont like them. unless you work with them, then there's not much you can do about it apart from quitting which i wouldnt do unless i was desperate. if you think you have it go to your gp and he will probably arrange for you to see a psycologist to confirm you have it. there's loads of treatments available.

2scared · 13-11-2014 4:35pm

This thread seems to have become somewhat inactive. How is everyone doing? Anyone had any success at overcoming (or at least containing) this dreadful illness?

driftkingire · 13-11-2014 9:17pm

i think the best way to deal with it is to be proactive. if you get it into your head that everythings an insurmountable challange
then everything will be. make little steps, like exerciseing for instance. start exerciseing regularly,it costs nothing and is proven to
improve your mood and you will be activley taking steps to improve your situation. this in itself will improve your confidence even if
its only slightly. but isnt that how every recovery starts?. little steps, then build up slowly to what you want to be.

stop animal cruelty · 15-11-2014 10:54am

^^ all the above very true.

Im still not over it, dont know if I ever will be, but I know I'll always be improving. Ivcome very far since secondary school. You gotta change your thinking, you've got to accept and love yourself.

I found counselling brillant, I know the root of my cause, thats very important I think, I try not to beat myself up anymore if I encounter awkward moments, I just say fcuk it and try get on with things. The less you think about it, the more positive steps you take to overcome this, thats when you'll see change.

driftkingire · 15-11-2014 6:02pm

stop animal cruelty wrote: »

^^ all the above very true.

Im still not over it, dont know if I ever will be, but I know I'll always be improving. Ivcome very far since secondary school. You gotta change your thinking, you've got to accept and love yourself.

I found counselling brillant, I know the root of my cause, thats very important I think, I try not to beat myself up anymore if I encounter awkward moments, I just say fcuk it and try get on with things. The less you think about it, the more positive steps you take to overcome this, thats when you'll see change.

there will always be a certain amount of anxiety in everyones lives, its how badly it affects you that makes it a problem. your exactly right stopanimalcruelty its the
way you think about it and handle it that makes all the difference. well said.

stop animal cruelty · 15-11-2014 6:36pm

driftkingire wrote: »

there will always be a certain amount of anxiety in everyones lives, its how badly it affects you that makes it a problem. your exactly right stopanimalcruelty its the
way you think about it and handle it that makes all the difference. well said.

tooks me years, and l mean years to realise this....we need to take it easy on yourselves...beating ourselves up about it causes much more harm.
"
Once you've accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.
"
Just gotta keep going!

2scared · 15-11-2014 9:58pm

Okay but every time I go into ANY social situation, my heart starts thumping wildly like I'm having a heart attack, and it doesn't stop thumping no matter how long I stay there. I can't think or speak clearly. I sweat. I jump at noises. My eyes dart back and forth like I'm about to be attacked. I get flushes of heat, cold extremities, and I blush when spoken to. When I'm finally back home and in the safety of an enclosed space with no other people, I am so exhausted by the non-stop surge of adrenaline that I can't do anything else that day except stare blankly ahead. If I have to go somewhere the next day, I won't sleep. I have tried three different SSRIs, Xanax and Beta Blockers, and all I got from any of them was side effects. How am I supposed to start small and work my way up when even the smallest thing causes such distress, and when repeating it multiple times has no positive effect but only reinforces the negative response?

Sorry, I know that is a bit of a diatribe, but I am close to giving up on fighting this thing and just staying in for good.

stop animal cruelty · 15-11-2014 10:01pm

2scared wrote: »

Okay but every time I go into ANY social situation, my heart starts thumping wildly like I'm having a heart attack, and it doesn't stop thumping no matter how long I stay there. I can't think or speak clearly. I sweat. I jump at noises. My eyes dart back and forth like I'm about to be attacked. I get flushes of heat, cold extremities, and I blush when spoken to. When I'm finally back home and in the safety of an enclosed space with no other people, I am so exhausted by the non-stop surge of adrenaline that I can't do anything else that day except stare blankly ahead. If I have to go somewhere the next day, I won't sleep. I have tried three different SSRIs, Xanax and Beta Blockers, and all I got from any of them was side effects. How am I supposed to start small and work my way up when even the smallest thing causes such distress, and when repeating it multiple times has no positive effect but only reinforces the negative response?

Sorry, I know that is a bit of a diatribe, but I am close to giving up on fighting this thing and just staying in for good.

have you done counselling or had any therapy?

2scared · 15-11-2014 10:05pm

Hi. Yeah I have. I didn't find it any good, but maybe I didn't have good psychologists. In some cases, they didn't seem to have a clue what I was talking about and I spent most of the time explaining the condition to them / trying to convince them that it was a condition.

Also, I guess my previous post was more of a rant than a diatribe.

stop animal cruelty · 15-11-2014 10:25pm

you need to talk/work with someone who can find the root cause of this. had you a bad upbringing? bullied at school? just v shy and embarressed about it?

Iv learned l just gotta put up with it, like l said the more lv accepted it, and the less l care what people thought, its become easier. l think it all comes down the self confidence, self esteem and self trust.

driftkingire · 16-11-2014 7:57pm

yes, usually there's an underlying cause for your anxiety. sometimes its just stress that has built up over many years that hasnt been dealt with properly. and you can excercise in the comfort of your own home without any pressure to look good or achieve a huge amount. i cant stress
enough how regular exercise can help with stress,depression and anxiety. a lot of hse psyciatrists are worse than useless thats true, but
there are good ones out there, you just need to keep looking. there is a medication for general anxiety disorder that is supposed to be
very effective. but i dont think i can recommend any medication on this site due to rules about self proscription. anxiety is not the same as depression so ssri's may not nessesarily work for an individual with anxiety!in some cases they might but i think there's a more spicific medication
available for anxiety available. go to your gp and ask him about it. it might make all the difference. but definitley try exercising also.

2scared · 17-11-2014 7:31pm

Hi again. Thanks for replying guys.

I already exercise a lot, which is useful (particularly for sleep).

I am going to try beta blockers over the next few days to see if they're any good at combating the physical symptoms.

As for the underlying cause, I think it's largely genetic. I wasn't bullied and I didn't have a bad childhood. Just extreme sensitivity, the panic response that can come from that, and lots of negative reinforcement that have made the fear response generalised and automatic.

Could you give me the name of a good psychiatrist?

stop animal cruelty · 17-11-2014 7:41pm

2scared wrote: »

Hi again. Thanks for replying guys.

I already exercise a lot, which is useful (particularly for sleep).

I am going to try beta blockers over the next few days to see if they're any good at combating the physical symptoms.

As for the underlying cause, I think it's largely genetic. I wasn't bullied and I didn't have a bad childhood. Just extreme sensitivity, the panic response that can come from that, and lots of negative reinforcement that have made the fear response generalised and automatic.

Could you give me the name of a good psychiatrist?

Don't know any psychiatrists, IMO your as well off the see a psychologist.

driftkingire · 17-11-2014 8:03pm

dont know what county your in but here's a number for a councelor in westmeath, i know its not a psyciatrist but its all i have
at the moment and could still help. 0879067505. also here's a great link with loads of info on anxiety http://www.anxietycare.org.uk/docs/home.asp

Starfox · 21-11-2014 5:16pm

Try and do less of the things that stimulate your mind, like drink too much coffee, caffeine, stay up to late, use your computer too long, your smart phone too long. Try avoid negative people. Like i said many times on this post meditation has helped me overcome so much of SA to the point where i am not anxious around people or thinking about some meeting in the future or what i said and 'didn't say right' after i am with people.

Social Anxiety Phobia/Disorder

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