Only feel like talking to people when i'm drinking.

LegacyUser

Every other time of the day, socializing is an effort. I'm even irritable with my parents when they try chat to me, I just don't ever feel like talking to people. I'm fairly certain I have social anxiety. I skip interviews sometimes because i'm too nervous. If I go into a chipper or coffee shop I rarely ever make small talk with people because I don't feel like it. I then feel like sh*t because I feel like nobody knows or cares about me, yet its my own fault because I don't want to socialize.

The only thing that ever helps is drink. I drink an above average amount, but wouldn't be as bad as other people my age. I have tried SSRI's but they just made me more edgy and gave me anorgasmia (inability to orgasm). When I was young, I was bullied a bit due to being intelligent, and I also got a bit of stick because my dad is very eccentric (he has a learning disability).

I thought I might be depressed but my doctor said I have low self-esteem and social anxiety. I'm getting sick of not being able to live a normal life. I have only one friend who I see every day and I talk to him a lot which keeps me sane. I just wish I had that desire to go out and chat to loads of people. I'm not sure if im even a natural introvert though or the social anxiety makes me too afraid to come out of my comfort zone.

I'm 25 and my life seems to be drifting away. I have achieved and done some cool things, don't get me wrong, I just always feel so different. I'm sick of being irritable around family and generally unsociable. It's hampering my social life, my career and I haven't been on a date in 3 years. I don't even have the money right now to go to a counsellor though. Anyone got advice or anything that would be appreciated.

celligraphy

Not really advice but I understand how you feel , I am the same its just awkward whenever I try to talk to anyone and I only end up making people silent . Your go can actually refer you to a counsellor if you ask and it will be free if you have a medical card .

I'm hoping to push myself to go to a book club before the month is out.

It's all about rewarding yourself after you do things , kinda like well done you talked great or being proud of yourself for going to the shop.

eviltwin

Have a look at Step Out Ireland, they organise social events for people with social anxiety. There is a course run by the Mater hospital too, a bit of a waiting list but it could be useful.

LegacyUser

celligraphy wrote: »

Not really advice but I understand how you feel , I am the same its just awkward whenever I try to talk to anyone and I only end up making people silent . Your go can actually refer you to a counsellor if you ask and it will be free if you have a medical card .

I'm hoping to push myself to go to a book club before the month is out.

It's all about rewarding yourself after you do things , kinda like well done you talked great or being proud of yourself for going to the shop.

The annoying thing is that i'm perfectly capable of holding conversations, I just barely ever feel like doing it. With family I'm just aloof and irritable and with strangers it's just hello and that's it.

Get involved in more activities that don't involve the consumption of alcohol or at least don't resolve around it. Check out meetup.com.

Push yourself into these situations, in order to force yourself to get better at it. It'll get a struggle, but you'll get there.

You'll always have that niggling voice of anxiety in your head, but it's just up to you to ignore it.

LegacyUser

So I have exactly the same problem. What I found was that I became an expert at avoiding conversations and created excuses for why I couldn't talk, eg im in a rush or im in the middle of something else. This meant i didn't have to try and talk to people and then because of this it became harder when i had to talk as i was out of practice.

Again, like u when i got drunk the confidence flowed and i would seek people to talk to in a bar and create the conversation. This worked until i needed more and more to drink to become that guy.

Im not sure if this helps u any but its just my personal experience. You're not alone.