social anxiety?

Question

i am 15 and think i am suffering from a dieseae called a social anxiety sound familar?please if you have or know anything about it answer this!!

Answer 1

I had to be the shyest girl on the planet. Never late for school or any class because I could not walk into a room full of people. Only class I did not ace was Speech, because I refused to give a speech in front of people. Dances or Proms? I don't think so! Not that I did not want to, I could not.

My Dad, on the other hand, was a musician from the age of five. One of the great Swing Era musicians, he traveled all over the world and played with all the Big Bands...wrote and arranged music for them before he was old enough to vote. He could talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra were just 'some of the guys' to him.

He knew I struggled with that 'social anxiety' ... and he gave me the same advice some old timers gave him. Ready?

Imagine them nekkid on the toilet .. it takes all the anxiety out of the situation and replaces it with humor. And a good sense of humor will get you through when nothing else will.

Other than that .. it's a matter of building self confidence. And practice. Start with small groups..maybe a club at school or band. Pen Pals are another way..it helps you globalize yourself. Get a hobby where you can develop a high level of skill or confidence. Being really good at just one thing will help immeasureably.

That said .. you are probably wondering if I am over that painful shyness .. not really. But now I consider myself a 'very private person.' Could be, that is all that you are, too. And that quite alright. Don't stress on the psychological 'buzz words' folks are so fond of using!

Answer 2

Quite often medication is needed. There are medications that are designed to deal with this though. A General Practioner (family Dr.) can write these scripts, but I'd suggest seeing a Psychiatrist to get the type of effect you need. G.P.'s tend to over / under medicate and that won't help. It's not on purpose, but with so many new drugs, and new ways to use old drugs, G.P.'s are just a bit out of touch. Still, a G.P. would be better than self medicating with alcohol, etc.
After getting into the right meds. seeing a counsellor, would be the second step. It need not be a Psychologist, your school counsellor could do, if you are comfortable. Your comfort is the most important thing in this phase. Having a counsellor you are comfortable with makes a large difference in learning the skills & tools you need to deal with your problem. That's another reason the meds should come first. The meds will help you be more at ease than you might otherwise be, they may make the difference between finding a counsellor and getting the skills, and giving up because you aren't comfortable enough with anyone.
I won't tell you of things I've heard of people doing to combat this anxiety problem. Those who used do-it-yourself generally gained marginally and short term only. Those in a treatment plan were doing individual type plans, one size does not fit all!
Most of all, don't give up no matter how difficult at times. You have to beleive you can do it, and that you're worth it. You are!

Answer 3

social phobia or social anxiety I thought was just someones way of being overyly shy but as I searched this disease ive come to find out it is a widespread and devastating disease that affects a lot of people. Hopefully your just overly shy. If you dont think so then take a look at the following link for info and what you can do to help your problem. Good Luck.

Answer 4

Social Anxiety And Shyness Cure - http://tinyurl.com/hMJMDb7iuJ

Answer 5

I am single mum. I have been suffering for panic attacks for some 15 years now, though it was not until recently I understood what they were. They were progressively getting stronger and more frequent, stopping me from some days even leaving my house. I read this book and it all made perfect sense.

I am not saying I was not terrified of putting theory to action, I was more scared of that than the next attack! But I decided to view it as a game, one I had control of and could therefore not lose!

Answer 6

For what its worth, I have my own little personal theory about this in that I have struggled with it myself. I think lots of people get a little more tense in public situations than when alone or with family. It seems the people who have this disorder get stuck in a feedback loop. They initially have the normal response of slight stress that probably everyone has which has a healthy purpose to make us more alert and responsive. But these people are inward focused and begin to focus on how they are feeling which creates more tension which makes them study themselves more and worry more about whether they can act appropriately in the given situation which causes more anxiety and on and on it goes. I think the key to breaking the process is to break the loop. Go outward in your thinking. Make a conscious effort to get involved with others and focus your attention completely on them and what's concerning them. It will ease your self-consciousness, make you a better listener, be truly empathetic, and get you valuable practice interacting. You will get better and better at it. If you screw up and say something stupid, laugh at yourself and move on. We're all screwed up. Its those that stress about it that are more perceived as strange by other people. So the key is not to care; not to care how you are perceived. It really is a freeing way to live your life. Good luck!

Answer 7

Hi. I have suffered from GAD (general anxiety disorder) for about 19 years. My GAD led to Social anxiety disorder. This is pretty common. I know alot of good websites and online support groups for this disorder. One of them is : www.paniccenter.net
I recommend it. There is alot of useful information there and you can post and read what other people have posted. Best of luck to you hun! If I can answer any questions for you or if you'd like to chat just email me through my yahoo answers profile and I'll be glad to help you any way I can.

Answer 8

There are a lot of great resources on the web that can help people cope with, learn about and meet similiar people with social phobias.

its important to distinguish social phobia from other phobias as well as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Def....seek out a psychiatrist, and spill your guts. First of all ...it feels grat to finally tell someone, who you know is going to listen with a non-judgemental ears!

Prognosis...is generally good, there are agreat medications and support groups...LIFE CAN BE FUN AGAIN..GIVE MY SUGGESTIONS SHOT, if you want.

Good luck.
Sending you some love........(L).

Answer 9

Hello there! My finace suffers from it. He is getting better now. I read a lot about it on internet. You could try to find it on google. All I can do is suggest you to visit this site, i think it can help you very much!
www.socialanxietysupport.com

If you wish, feel free to conntact me on my mail address [e-mail] I will be glad to help anyway I can!

Answer 10

This is a very good blog, a beginner’s guide to abnormal psychology.
Short, clear and simple; and you can even post your question and contact the author regarding particular subject you are interested in, for FREE

http://sensitive-psychoworld.blogspot.com/