Before when I had social anxiety I used to be afraid of talking to people. I was always afraid they would judge me. When people would approach me my heart started pounding and I felt a sort of clenching nervous feeling in my diaphragm area.
I’m great now, I function like anyone else. I can speak to people and not think anything of it. My heart doesn’t pound anymore. And therapy helped me realize how to interact better with people. The heart pounding issue I needed medication for. I used to be on Zoloft and that helped me.
I have the same thing and it is not something that just gets better all of a sudden. It takes time to really work at not being so anxious about things. Right now, I can confidently say that I am far better than I was a few years ago, but I can not say that all of my social anxiety has gone away. It does feel really good though to not have to worry so much about social situations that I am in. Now, I am much more at ease whenever I am talking to anyone.
I started to try and get better by going to a psychologist. They helped me realize a lot of good ways to deal with the anxiety. My anxiety level slowly improved over about two years and I slowly started to put myself into social situations that I would previously avoid. I was able to interact with people without being so anxious and this cause me to start making friends and everything just sort of fell into place.
I hope you can figure some things out. Just remember that you are a good person and that people see that and accept you. Try not to get too worked up about certain social situations. Take charge and you will overcome any fears your anxiety might produce. You’ll be fine if you deal with this. Trust me, I’ve been there :)
It really is a very odd experience. I have been going through this for sometime myself, so I think I know what your saying.
I am on medication plus therapy. The one thing you have to ALWAYS remember is that when it comes to ANY psych medications for this type of disorder, they are meant to establish a baseline of stability for you. They are not going to cure your fears.
Therapy is the key. The medication allows you to better understand what is being suggested by your therapist, and allows you to initiate those suggestions on your own, in your own time. And eventually you will.
Now….How does it feel? I don’t remember feeling anything when I was first able to start interacting with the public again [and I still have a long ways to go]. But my point is, you will start being more social and interacting people without even realizing it. At least that’s how I noticed it.
I would think about it after I got home. "My God! I just went to that event and spoke with and interacted with all those people and handled it well" Then I would "Feel" great about it.
But when I started, it was a great accomplishment for me just to go grocery shopping alone and maintain while I was in the store. Now going to the store isn’t even a thought anymore, and I used to DREAD even that. I would go late at night when I knew it wouldn’t be as busy, get what I needed and get the hell out, shake in the car all the way home etc…..It SUCKED!!!!
So believe me, I know what your going through, but YOU have to make it happen, and it will take time. Don’t wait until you virtually home bound, get some help ASAP, and DON"T be ashamed or embarrassed! I know it’s hard. I "white-knuckled it" driving to my therapist for weeks before I actually started feeling better. But YOU WILL start to feel better and enjoying things.
April 28th, 2011 - 12:58
Before when I had social anxiety I used to be afraid of talking to people. I was always afraid they would judge me. When people would approach me my heart started pounding and I felt a sort of clenching nervous feeling in my diaphragm area.
I’m great now, I function like anyone else. I can speak to people and not think anything of it. My heart doesn’t pound anymore. And therapy helped me realize how to interact better with people. The heart pounding issue I needed medication for. I used to be on Zoloft and that helped me.
Best of luck!
April 28th, 2011 - 12:58
I have the same thing and it is not something that just gets better all of a sudden. It takes time to really work at not being so anxious about things. Right now, I can confidently say that I am far better than I was a few years ago, but I can not say that all of my social anxiety has gone away. It does feel really good though to not have to worry so much about social situations that I am in. Now, I am much more at ease whenever I am talking to anyone.
I started to try and get better by going to a psychologist. They helped me realize a lot of good ways to deal with the anxiety. My anxiety level slowly improved over about two years and I slowly started to put myself into social situations that I would previously avoid. I was able to interact with people without being so anxious and this cause me to start making friends and everything just sort of fell into place.
I hope you can figure some things out. Just remember that you are a good person and that people see that and accept you. Try not to get too worked up about certain social situations. Take charge and you will overcome any fears your anxiety might produce. You’ll be fine if you deal with this. Trust me, I’ve been there :)
Hope this helps :)
April 28th, 2011 - 12:58
It really is a very odd experience. I have been going through this for sometime myself, so I think I know what your saying.
I am on medication plus therapy. The one thing you have to ALWAYS remember is that when it comes to ANY psych medications for this type of disorder, they are meant to establish a baseline of stability for you. They are not going to cure your fears.
Therapy is the key. The medication allows you to better understand what is being suggested by your therapist, and allows you to initiate those suggestions on your own, in your own time. And eventually you will.
Now….How does it feel? I don’t remember feeling anything when I was first able to start interacting with the public again [and I still have a long ways to go]. But my point is, you will start being more social and interacting people without even realizing it. At least that’s how I noticed it.
I would think about it after I got home. "My God! I just went to that event and spoke with and interacted with all those people and handled it well" Then I would "Feel" great about it.
But when I started, it was a great accomplishment for me just to go grocery shopping alone and maintain while I was in the store. Now going to the store isn’t even a thought anymore, and I used to DREAD even that. I would go late at night when I knew it wouldn’t be as busy, get what I needed and get the hell out, shake in the car all the way home etc…..It SUCKED!!!!
So believe me, I know what your going through, but YOU have to make it happen, and it will take time. Don’t wait until you virtually home bound, get some help ASAP, and DON"T be ashamed or embarrassed! I know it’s hard. I "white-knuckled it" driving to my therapist for weeks before I actually started feeling better. But YOU WILL start to feel better and enjoying things.
I’m no doctor, but I can relate.
God Bless