Social Anxiety Disorder

i have the same thing. i can't relax in public whatsoever. I've avoided going to partys and gatherings i've been invited to because i didn't want to have to interact with all the people i didn't know. not that i don't like people, but i just can't relax in a room full of people at all.


like when i'm riding the subway to work i'm uptight the whole time, looking at people. i can't just chill out without worrying about people looking at me and talking about me. i never know where to put my eyes and can't stop focusing my attention on people. then me being nervous i think makes other people nervous. or when i meet someone and they introduce themselves i can't remember their name 10 secs later because i wasn't paying attention to what they said i was assessing the whole situation.

I can look at myself from the outside and see that it is a stupid way to be and say who cares what other people think or say, but it's a lot harder to put that mindset into pratice when in public. I'm just on edge pretty much the whole time.

I used to smoke(which may or may not have contributed to this) and have thought about starting again just to mellow out, but i haven't. I have trouble getting a job too just because of the interaction factor. even writing this i see how stupid it is and irrational but it's a mindset i haven't been able to avoid yet.

i've had it since high school( when the teacher would start asking questions or asking people to read out load my heart would start pounding, my face would turn red and i'd start panicking) but i just read about social anxiety disorder for the first time at the beginning of this year. i wouldn't trust the prescription drugs that are available, which most of them they hardly even test.

i think masking it with anything(alcohol, drugs etc...) isn't going to solve the problem but i've definatley been at the point where i been willing to try anything. i haven't gotten rid of it but i can definately relate to the previous posts. as metioned earlier listening to the beatles is always helpful.

 

i have the same thing. i can't relax in public whatsoever. I've avoided going to partys and gatherings i've been invited to because i didn't want to have to interact with all the people i didn't know. not that i don't like people, but i just can't relax in a room full of people at all.


like when i'm riding the subway to work i'm uptight the whole time, looking at people. i can't just chill out without worrying about people looking at me and talking about me. i never know where to put my eyes and can't stop focusing my attention on people. then me being nervous i think makes other people nervous. or when i meet someone and they introduce themselves i can't remember their name 10 secs later because i wasn't paying attention to what they said i was assessing the whole situation.

I can look at myself from the outside and see that it is a stupid way to be and say who cares what other people think or say, but it's a lot harder to put that mindset into pratice when in public. I'm just on edge pretty much the whole time.

I used to smoke(which may or may not have contributed to this) and have thought about starting again just to mellow out, but i haven't. I have trouble getting a job too just because of the interaction factor. even writing this i see how stupid it is and irrational but it's a mindset i haven't been able to avoid yet.

i've had it since high school( when the teacher would start asking questions or asking people to read out load my heart would start pounding, my face would turn red and i'd start panicking) but i just read about social anxiety disorder for the first time at the beginning of this year. i wouldn't trust the prescription drugs that are available, which most of them they hardly even test.

i think masking it with anything(alcohol, drugs etc...) isn't going to solve the problem but i've definatley been at the point where i been willing to try anything. i haven't gotten rid of it but i can definately relate to the previous posts. as mentioned earlier listening to the beatles is always helpful.

 

sorry about the double post! it didn't go through the first time.

 

I just read your first post and sorry that you are deabilitated. sp? I had some similar experiences that were awful to deal with....at times my ability to talk just vanished.. I started on Paxil and it really helped.

Have you checked into county or state mental health clinics to help pay for Zoloft? Some medication have generics out such as Prozac and are much cheaper...check into them.

 

I know how all of guys feel because I too suffer from SAD. It's amazing how this disorder makes us have so much in common with each other. we should all make a plan to meet... but we probably wouldn't go through with it lol.

I just take each day one at a time because I would never surrender to medication. So, be strong.

 

Your description of being on a subway is exactly how I am. I have that same paranoia about not knowing where to look because you don't want to stare at somebody and then they have an issue. And you also don't want to look only at the ceiling or the floor because then you'll look like a nut. I hate going on the trains because of that. Thats why I always have to sit down with an empty seat across from me so I'm not forced to look at someone or forced not to look directly at someone.

 

It is really amazing to hear how others feel since I have been fighting these feelings all my life. At one point I couldn'g look people in the eye....it was awful. Then later at times I could not talk or feared stuttering....so I wouldn't talk. Then later, during dinners with strangers I would break out into a sweat and feel really embarrassed. Going into banks was a huge fear so I avoided them. Large grocery stores would give me panic attacks so I had to leave. All of these problems really raises havoc with jobs and families.

I feel better now since I have been taking effexor and lamictal. If the doctor prescribes the wrong dose then the side effects are really awful. Take less

 

Wow, so many of these things happen to me! At least i know what it is called now I have a thing about not answering phone calls from unknown numbers. Not knowing where to look was a problem sometimes when I used to get stoned a lot, part of why I stopped getting stoned! Things are a fair bit better now though, have got a talk to do in front of the whole class at college and im not the least bit worried about it...yet

 

I wish I knew what the remedy for SAD is. I've ALWAYS believed that I was the only one going through this, but I relate to everything everybody has posted so far:

I can't look people in the eye; hell, I don't even know where to look in general (the worst is when I'm walking down the street and somebody is walking from the opposite direction and we're about to pass each other-do I look at them? Do I look down? Do I look at some random object? Should I pretend that I'm getting something from my purse?); I am barely able to talk when I have to speak in front of a group of people or to somebody I don't really know (and sometimes I total avoid speaking altogether in fear that I might say something really stupid); when somebody does talk to me, I can't concentrate to what they're saying because I'm too busy being critical on myself; when I get nervous I burn up and feel really, really uncomfortable and fidget; I have a fear of commitment and also of abandonment; both work and school have suffered; I don't feel I'm nice enough to people, nor give enough compliments; people always ask me why I'm so quiet and why I don't smile more; I never go to parties or gatherings 'cause I'm too afraid that I'll be all alone, making me even more noticable and vulnerable, which would mean everybody will look at and talk about me.

Needless to say, I don't do well in public. And I've ruined so many relationships because of this. They don't understand what I'm going through. They don't realize the times I've cried over this and how it's ruining my life. Some think that all I have to do is just not care about what others think of me, as though I can get over this and move on at the drop of a dime. I'm too scared to talk to anybody about it because I don't want them to think I'm stupid, and I don't want to go on meds because I'm very sure that that's not going to solve my problem in the long run.

 

That actually happened to me a couple nights ago! I was at an Indian restaurant and there was this couple sitting at the table next to mine. Without consciously being aware of it I was staring at the woman's tea, which she was busy sipping. She noticed I was looking. I felt really embarrassed. I turned away really fast. A minute passed by and I did it again. For the remainder of the night I did whatever humanly possible to avoid that table altogether.

 

These phobias that I have last for awhile then morph into another tormenting one after many months. My brain always something for me......ick....For awhile I can't look at someone in the eye, then months later shaking hands is awful since my palms are sweaty, and it's really embarassing. I'm getting used to it and tell myself, it's just the way I am, so don't fight it. When I fight it, the phobia comes on really strong.

 

Heres a link to a video I found, might be interesting to some folk...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuTzg8vRzA8&mode=related&search=