Can social anxiety always be cured?

Answer 1

Hi. Yes, this is long-Sorry! It depends on the person, really- how bad you want to change, and how much you beleive that you have the power to. Now you have to understand that the process I went through didn't provide immediate freedom and results from my problems. It took time to accept what I had to do, and then more time to reprogram my brain into thinking this way, after living a life of anxiety and depression for so long. It is the answers that sound simple, but it is the process that you have to be patient with. Just don't give up! In the beginning, I started taking anti-depressants and anti- anxiety meds. But they majorly screwed with my head. One of them( I can't remember the name- I took Paxil, Xanex, Celexa, and one other I can't remember.) messed me up so much I had trouble walking in a straight line. I feared that my boss was going to give me a drug test-because I appeared drugged or drunk-one of the two. I got off the meds, and my problems were still there. That's when I realized that these problems were in ME. Medicine couldn't help me, only I could. Then I tried to turn to religion to find joy. I began to tell myself that this is just how God created me, and it was for some greater purpose.I tried to be happy with this-but it was only surface happiness. I was just accepting that depression and anxiety was just who I was, but deep down I still hated myself. It didn't feel right. It wasn't until I was 21 that I realized that I was this way because I was choosing to be.That was the hardest thing to overcome, because I didn't want to blame myself. I wanted to blame my parents, God, the kids in school, anyone. If I was to blame, then I would have to be the one to make a change, and I was scared to. But overtime I did accept it. I was to blame. No one is making me this way but myself. Yeah- I was never good enough for my parents, yeah the kids in school made fun of me- but I didn't have to let them control my life anymore. I wanted to be in control. I started moving toward the things that brought me joy. If it brought me joy- I accepted it. If it didn't, I turned away from it. Slowly I began to find who I was again. I found the things I enjoyed doing again. I learned that I can't please everyone, so I stopped trying to, and I learned to please myself again, and in the process I've made others very happy as well. The root cause of anxiety is really just nitpicking things to death, and overanalyzing things. I used to think that everytime someone was laughing, they were laughing at me. Or everytime I overheard the word "stupid" in a conversation, that they were talking about me. I walked with my head down constantly.I couldn't function in social situations, even around relatives, I would freeze up, because I felt that everyone was judging me. I stayed holed up in my room all day. First of all, rid yourself of caring what others may think about you. This doesn't matter. If you lose your friends, you will make more who are more like minded with you. If you are ridiculed, lets face it, there are always going to be people who disagree with your choices. Even if we changed ourself to please THEM, there would be others who disagree with THOSE choices. It's a never ending battle trying to get everyone to agree with the way you are, because everyone is different, and it simply is not possible. Think about what makes YOU happy, not others. It is YOUR life, and you are the one who will be dealing with all the choices you make, not them. In the end, their opinions do not matter.So get rid of the fear of being ridiculed. If you fear failure, remember that you will always be a failure if you do not even make an attempt. It is better to give something your all, and be 2nd best, than to not try at all, and be left with nothing, not even the experience. In the end it is the experiences of it that you will remember, and be proud of. Next, after you rid yourself of your fears, you need to start to remember the true you. I had spent so much time suppressing myself, and trying to please others, that I had forgotten who I really was. To do this, you simply pay attention to those little tugs you feel, and go with them. You may not know where it is leading you, but to ignore them, you will be missing out on a great number of opportunities and experiences. When you feel the tug, you are either being pulled toward something that will bring you ultimate joy, or you are being pulled away from something that will not bring you joy. Listen to yourself. Your true self already knows who it is. It is always trying to get us to remember. Its the outside influences that make us forget. Ignore the outside influences, and begin to listen to yourself. You will begin to discover a whole new side of you that you never knew existed. And you will be truly happy, because you will be truly yourself. I still have my off days. I cry sometimes- I still beleive in letting out your emotions rather than bottling them in, I get angry sometimes, but I always get snapped back into reality when I remember that I am in control- me and only me. I don't have to do this. I don't have to be this way. I can be happy. It gets easier and easier the more you do it. It's still becoming easier for me every day. I don't know if your experience is the same as mine, but from what I went through, I found that this is the only way to truly rid yourself of anxiety, and depression as well. The first response was right, though. EFT does work. It's been proven to.And it's easy to do.I realize I repeat myself alot, and alot of this may be things I have already told you. But don't give up! You can do it, and it does get easier, trust me.

Answer 2

Not always, it depends how much effort you put into curing it.

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.

I recommend a mild anti-anxiety med in addition to CBT therapy.

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

Answer 3

Overcome Social Anxiety And Shyness - http://tinyurl.com/ZD3jxApexl

Answer 4

In America today the pharmaceutical companies are turning every issue into into a medical problem to be treated with drugs. Social anxiety is not a medical condition.

Social anxiety used to just be called shyness. Shyness is an emotion comprised of extreme self consciousness, fear of rejection and shame. Anxiety is just another word for constant fear. Those emotions FEEL so painful. You feel SO SELF- CONSCIOUS. You don't want to feel them so you try to ignore them, or push them down. Unfortunately, the harder you fight them and try to overcome them, the worse they get. There is psychology quote, "What you resist, persists."

You cannot OVERCOME shyness and/or anxiety by fighting against them. However you can RELEASE all the emotions that are keeping you stuck and the issue will go away.

Emotions are ENERGIES IN MOTION in our bodies.

Every time you don't allow yourself or you aren't allowed to fully experience an emotion, to feel it, and to move through it, the energy of that emotion becomes stopped and blocked in your body. It remains blocked until you go back and re-experience that emotion. Then the energetic block is freed and cleared. Virtually all of our physical ailments come from energetic blocks in our bodies, energetic patterns that are connected to our emotional patterns

One good way to release the emotions of shyness and anxiety is to use EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or Emotional Tapping. In EFT you apply gentle acupressure tapping to specific body points to release blocked emotions. EFT is easy to learn (you can learn the basics in 15-30 minutes). You can use EFT anytime, anywhere for any emotional or physical issue. One basic round of EFT takes about one minute. EFT works QUICKLY and painlessly.

Please download the FREE EFT Instructional manual from the EFT website (www.emofree.com).

I learned how to use EFT last year and now use it everyday. EFT really works

Answer 5

yes, it can be, ive been their myself . im not saying that i dont have it still but little by little ive overcome social anxiety