I Think I Have Social Anxiety?

Question

I Have Been Shy Ever Since I Started Primary School Thats Were It All Started I Kept Pretending I Was Sick Because I Had To Do A School Play Or Something To Do With Talking In Front Of People And I Was So Anxious I Asked My Friends If They Were To But They Didnt Seem To Ever Be As Anxious About Talking In Front Of People Or Anything To Do With Talking Infront Of The Class So I Started Skippin School ALOT Im 14 Nearly 15 Now And Its So Bad That I Dropped Out Of School I Dont Even Go Out Anymore My Mum Asked The Doctor Wat Was Wrong With Me An She Refered Me To A School That Only Went On For 2 Hours I Was So Anxious I Dropped Out Of That To. I Hate Eating IN Front Of People I Dont Kno And I Basically Have Most Of The Symptoms If My Mum Asked The Doctor Again She'd Put Me Back Into That School And That Did'nt Help At All Please Help I Dont Know What To Do I Just Want To Be Like Any Other Teenager An Go Out With My Friends An Have Fun But This Anxiety Wont Go Away.

Answer 1

You DEFINITELY, I repeat DEFINITELY have Social Anxiety - no question about it. I went through the same things.

They need to have you start working one on one with a professional, then gradually move you up to higher feared situations.

Social anxiety can cause these feelings, which can also lead to severe depression,
http://www.socialanxietyinstitute.org/ds...

There is hope; I've been there, and still am there, it is a long, hard struggle. I recommend
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cognitive_b... worked best for me, with mild anti-anxiety meds. I suffered from social anxiety for over 15 years. I've tried 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.... 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 2

Social anxiety can be devastating, as you already know. There are medications you can take to ease the anxiety, and counseling to develop tools to combat the anxiety. Forcing you to go into situations that make the condition worse won't help! If you have a school counselor, ask him or her if there are any resources about social phobias or social anxiety, and if he or she can refer you to a counselor or therapist. If you are comfortable speaking with your Mum, tell her you would like more help than she has offered and you'd like to talk with a counselor or a psychologist. You have a right to feel better and there are treatments for what you have! You don't have to spend your young adult life feeling so bad. Take action, okay?

I hope you feel better soon. My husband has anxiety and he is feeling better with treatment.

Answer 3

Hi Glam, you are not alone. I am suffering with the same thing. There is some things you can do that will turn your whole life around. Please email or maybe we can chat sometime soon.
God Bless

Answer 4

I'm sorry but i'm no expert on social anxity but maybe there is something that can help you.