Hi, just looking to talk through things

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PoocHa25

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Hi all,

I'm very new to this posting my problems but I'm really hoping talking things through can help relieve some of this stress. A little about me. guess you could say I'm your text book picture of social anxiety. I had a panic attack for the first time about 6 months ago and didn't know what happened at the time. After researching I discovered I had a struggle with anxiety. I went and saw Doc, Theripist put on meRAB ect but I still felt like everything could fall down around me at any given moment. I just moved to a new city and was doing okay until today when I nearly had a full on melt down in a meeting at work. Sweating, diziness and the feeling of wanting to run far, far away. I know I have to accept that this is something I have to live with as there is so much in my life I still want and need to do, so I'm hoping there are some kind souls out there that would like to take the time to share expeirences and help work through some of the tougher times. Generally I'm an easy going type of guy and try to be out going but sometimes my mind can take hold and force me into feelings that aren't exactly pleasant. Anyway I have gone on too much. So please say hi and I'm looking forward to any conversations and stories that will be shared. :)
 
Hello there,

Well i suffer with anxiety,social,health and have panic attacks when things just get too extreme.

The social anxiety is horrible and just so erabarressing,i too dread meetings at work or anything in which eyes are on me.I cant pay at shop tills so always go shopping with someone,sometimes i cannot write,eat,drink or anything in front of people,its awful.I mean the shakes,fast heart rate,dry mouth,the feeling of just wanting to run away and cry,but then later you think about it and just feel so down and exhausted.............

The best thing to do is face it head on.
Im still trying to do this.You have to try and figure out what it is that you fear.With me i think its the fear of people seeing my symptoms,so i guess thats the fear of being anxious in front of others i dont know.Yes try and figure it out and maybe work from there possibly with the aid of a therapist.Together you can change the negative thought process which is causing the attacks.

Good luck and takecare.
Bless
 
hey guys....its nice to hear from fellow SAD (social anxiety disorder) sufferers (although obviously wish you guys didn't suffer). In the least it provides comfort that we're not alone in this battle because sometimes, for me anyway, it gets very overwelming fighting it all alone.

anyway I don't have any advice or quick fix as I'm still in the early stages of doing anything about it. I'm pretty much just erabarassed about it and will take some time to suck up the confidence, and possibly money, to get professional help.

what i DID want to ask about though, was if any of you know WHY or possible causes for you're own particular anxiety. I'm sure many of us are just born with it (pardon my ignorance of the science behind it) but maybe for others it was a social learning process. I mean for me personally, I can definetly think of possible reasons why I would have it. I'm TOTALLY self-conscious about the way I look, sometimes for justified reasons. Without sounding vein, I'm actually a nice looking boy, but my teeth/jaw alignment/bite is off and I'm looking into braces/orthognathic surgery right now to fix it. As a result, I find it very uncomfortable to close my mouth, my speech, in my own opinion although never brought up by anyone else, has a bit of a lisp, and I don't have great chin/jaw features which make me very self-conscious. Lots of times I'll force my chin out to compensate, anyway hopefully the surgery is supposed to correct some of these flaws. Other than that, my hair is starting to go, and is bordering on that stage where people are gonna start to realize I'm in fact balding. I'm only 23 and already have a receeding hairline, and thinner hair, but if my crown/back starts to show bald patches (and it IS thinner there) I will probably lose a lot more confidence :(. Also one more thing, I tend to have chronic fatigue, and lots of brain fog, so articulation at times is strenuous for me, which couple with my SAD cripples my self esteem when speaking in front of people.

Anyway sorry for that long essay. The bottom line is I'm wondering HOW MUCH these insecurities play a part on my SAD, and maybe SAD stems from many of these things in different people?? Although a part of me disagrees, because I even remeraber in grade 7 doing a speech in front of the class; I was one of the cutest boys in the class and it was at the age where the pretty girls were starting to really like me...anyway I should have had a ton of confidence but I got pretty intense anxiety even then. So I've had it all my life, and it's frustrating to try and find causes for it (which would obviously hint at solutions).

So hoping to hear maybe about other peoples insecurities and if they play a part in their own SAD. Like I always dream that if my teeth and jaw were fixed to the point my side profile was more normal looking (ie. no over bite, perfectly aligned) AND i had my temples restored to where it was as a teenager...I always get sad because I think NOTHING in this world would stop me. I'd be the most confident person ever and just enjoy life like I should be now. It's crazy how I let these relatively small things control the quality of life I have. It's really sad. Something has simple as a straight/lowered hairline instead of receeding...can ultimately change how happy you are and your decisions, people you meet, how you interact with family and frienRAB. hopefully I'll grow out of it.

/rant...sorry. anyway still hope to hear about others possible root causes or was it with them their entire life etc.
 
My situational anxiety started at 16 when I was the butt of jokes from other kiRAB in high school and one of them even attempted to run me over with their car in a parking lot.

It changed to situations where finances or physical danger brought it on (blood test results or others being off and worrying about something fatal going on with me).

Right now I am dealing with the scare of going 30 to 40 miles up a narrow mountain road in the snow for a Friday Thanksgiving get together. Last year when we went, it was blizzarding and by the time we started back down, we slipped on frozen snow and almost went through a guard rail and down an erabankment. I am absolutely terrified to go tomorrow.

The social part comes in for me when we are all around the dinner table and I feel everyone is looking at how I chew and swallow. I have no matching molars and have to chew differently than I did when I had all of my teeth and sometimes have trouble swallowing.

Lindaru :)
 
just to address your thanksgiving traveling anxiety. That sounRAB to ME, like it's real and not a figment of your imagination or random anxiety. I mean I would advise you to simply not go if it scares you that much. I obviously don't know how bad it is, but clearly you've had problems and scares in the past. I know it would be really hard to explain to family that you're not coming because of the drive, but honestly thats a real danger. Social anxiety as horrible as it is and how it ruins lives, it's not a physical threat to my life to get up in front of people and speak. But driving up a narrow mountain road in bad weather sounRAB pretty unsafe and scary to anyone. Anyway good luck with your decision, but if you really feel just better not going, I'd suggest that. If they truly love you they should understand.
 
Jonathon . . . thanks and I totally agree but it is not up to me. This is my husband's family and they all are of the hearty pioneer type stock (I was raised a city girl).

Unless I was hung up in traction or something, I would not be able to get out of going. Husband is the one who does the driving and we have always been expected to be there. They all think there is no real danger (probably because none of them has ever had that close of a call before). Even husband thinks it was no big deal and laughs when I tell people about it. :(

Lindaru :)
 
Hi I'm new to the boarRAB but I'm not new to anxieties, including social. I'm sorry to hear you're having abit of a rough time of it at the moment, but believe me I can certainly relate. I have had social anxiety for as long as I can remeraber, seriously. I'm a twin (the less dominate one at that) from a very, I mean very poor family. While growing up not only did my sister and I practically starve but we were physically and emotionally abused, so I believe that because of my past I became afraid of everyone. Please, please, please, don't any of you think that I'm asking for attention nor am I belittling your reasons for your anxieties. This is just why I think I have mine. Everyone suffers with this not just me we just all have different reasons why we do that's all. I don't want to take any more time, but my social anxiety is pretty severe and I'm slowly making progress. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer but please know I would much rather help others so I'm here if anyone neeRAB an ear and believe me I do understand. Thanks for reading and it's nice to meet you.:)
 
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