Social anxiety - A cure without medication?

Question

Social anxiety - Can I cure it without having to stay on medicaton?

examples:
- Not geting off at the right bus stop-simply because peaple are sitting at the back of the bus. It is easier for me to wait until they leave!
- Very very quiet in a group. It's so extreme that I don't even know how to leave because I'm not sure if they know I'm even there.
- I avoid going out a day time as much as possible. In the evening there are less peaple walking around.
- Ask somebody what the time is on the streets? -No way man!

The prozac helps- but I don't want it anymore. Can I work on my social anxiety without it? I feel very dependent - I am dependent-when I stop it all gets worse.

Is there a cure without needing medication?

Answer 1

the cause of social anxiety in most cases is over analyzation of things you are doing. you need to stop thinking about it so much and become comfortable with yourself. this may not sound right, but take for example someone who has been doing their job a long time, it's a difficult job but they've done it so long they don't even think about it anymore. one day, someone comes and watches them work; they start becoming conscious of all their actions and think about everything they do, and, in the process, screw things up

some people might tell you to praise yourself when you manage to talk in front of someone, but, while that is sometimes effective, it seems as though the cause of your anxiety is over-analyzation.

try meditation to calm yourself (by the way, meditation only works if you believe it does, if you think it's bogus, it won't work). without thinking about it too much (this is the reason why people are more social when they're drunk) go up to someone and talk about something simple. don't bother to notice if you're stuttering or rambling or whatever, just 'feel' as though it doesn't matter. dismiss any awry thoughts that may arise. when it is over, don't analyze what just happened, just take it in and 'feel' a sort of 'silent pride'. and if you make progress, don't bother to analyze it, it might break the flow, so to speak

i can relate to your problem in many ways, to a certain extent, i have social anxiety. if you would like to ask me another questions, email me at [e-mail]

Answer 2

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) worked best for me. I suffered from social anxiety for over 15 years. I've tried meds, individual therapy, and group therapy and studied psychology for 10 years, as a profession, but also with the hope to cure myself.

Depending on your comfort level, you could go to a psychologist that practices CBT and specializes in anxiety disorders, seek a group therapy, or create one. Usually those that do attend the group therapy are a bit more high functioning because as you know, it can be difficult to speak in a group.

Another idea is to see if there are any local research studies being conducted that you could participate in.

The program that finally worked the best for me is this one: http://www.socialanxiety.us/findinghelp.htm and I was lucky enough to have a structured behavioral group to go along with it. Sometimes the people that actually attend this program come back home and form groups.

Any questions, let me know ... I can't tell you how much this has improved my life!

Answer 3

I was so shy as a kid that I was labelled mentally retarded (developmentally disabled in today's lingo) even though that was far from the case. What I did really helped me, and nowadays, most people cannot tell that I am shy. Well, nobody can tell. If I had not dealt with it when I was young, I would have been in the same boat that you are in.

So. . .as a kid, I signed up for theater productions during junior high. In senior high, I signed up for debate and speech teams, and model united nations and (i think it's called?) student congress. So then I could fake that I was confident pretty good.

As a young adult, I lectored in my large Catholic church. I became a board member of a club, then president (and you had to get up in front of a lot of people for that, too).

Then I went to graduate school and was a teaching assistant and was on the graduate student council. More talking in front of others.

I had to force myself to do these things, because I was so shy, but on the other hand, I was pretty good at it, so my help was needed. I was absolutely terrified, and could never sleep the night before i did it.


So, practice, practice, practice. You can learn some specific skills by FORCING yourself to ask someone on the bus to move, do it over and over, until you can do it confidently. FORCE yourself to ask someone the time of day. FORCE yourself to ask a salesperson for help with something. Those kind of ritualized interactions are the easiest to start with, they are over quickly and then you can have some time to recover from your fear. The fear will be less and less each time. It's not much different than working on a fear of snakes, you have to increase your exposure more and more and gain confidence as you see that nothing bad happened.

Good luck!! With hard work, you WILL do WELL!

Answer 4

If you are a natural person you should try cognitive behavioral therapy. It was the only thing that has helped me with my horrible health anxiety. Read here https://tr.im/0a4vd

Your thinking determines your quality of life. Your thinking is what causes you these feelings:

Anxious, fearful, stressed or depressed
Constantly worried, or angry about something that is happening in your life
Struggling to overcome obsessive and negative thoughts.

If you change your thinking, you will change your life. This is the basic idea behind CBT for anxiety. The Cognitive part is where you learn nee methods and ways to change your same old habits and thinking patterns. If you keep thinking and expecting the worst – You will continue to suffer.

Answer 5

Hi David ,

You are someone I can perfectly relate to . Its great to see someone who has similar problems and Y! answers is a great way to release the tension . First of all I am also a terribly self-conscious person and I would never find it easy to look at someone or ask something to someone in the streets , and I prefer nights to days - the calmness of the night is very inspiring .
I dont do any medications now , and I try to avoid social situations mostly . One of the rays of hopes that I see is to do god Yoga and Pranayama Excercise . www.divyayoga.com is a good site and I bet the Video cd's wud do a world of good if you are interested in Pranayama . It is basically a method to breathe in a controlled manner ... now if you ask me how it wud hlp u in social situations , breathing is the rhytm of ours lives... when u feel tensed ur breathing goes faster , when u are relaxed u breathe slowly ...A controlled breathing exercise brings some sort of Rhytm in you and makes you less Socially Anxious .
Btw , keep this in mind " Dont really care about what other think" its a pile of garbage ...and dont load into onto urself .. think more about how u acn serve society and help ppl etc...
Good Luck... keep asking!!

Answer 6

Eliminate Social Anxiety And Shyness : http://tinyurl.com/pNIpysHF1U

Answer 7

i too suffer in the same way. I am terrified of people and cant even talk to them on the phone. unfortunately a lot of times I just don't know how to communicate with people I have nothing to talk about or no one is interested. the best advice i can offer you is to seek the teachings of Buddha (in particular the eightfold path). they may not have cured me but they have certainly changed my life. i have learned to be happy and confident because i know i am doing the right thing and being a good moral person. this has helped me to be more outgoing. i still avoid people but the more outgoing i am the better i feel. my interactions with others still tend to be discouraging but i learn from them. best wishes