A big Hi from County Cork in Ireland

Hi everyone,

I've been visiting this forum for a few months now, but this is my first day as a registered user.

I'm 26 years old and hail from a small town called 'Fermoy', which is in County Cork in Ireland.

I've been shy my whole life and started to develop full-blown SA in my mid-teens, when the anxiety got so bad that I started avoiding social occassions and, consequently, started losing friends.

The last 10 years has been a bit of a roller-coaster and I've had my fair share of peaks and troughs. I was on Effexor for the last 4 years, but I started to come off it in June 2006 and I finally quit it in October 2006. The Effexor helped with my Depression but only had limited impact on my Social Anxiety. I also gained a lot of weight while on the Effexor, which didn't help my already low self-esteem.

I've also tried CBT but, unfortunately, I didn't really connect with my Therapist. I'd love to try another Therapist, but there aren't a lot of CBT psychologists in Ireland. I'm currently trying to get into group CBT and I hope that this will be a big help.

Goodbye for now.

Hello We_Shall_Overcome. Welcome to the forum.

Hello

I'm from Galway aged 34 male.

Welcome to the forum!

Where in Ireland have you tried to get into CBT groups?

J

Thank you

A big thank you to Starry and Jayo for your kind welcome.

Jayo: To answer your question there are only 1 or 2 groups in Ireland that appear to be running Social Anxiety CBT groups.

The main group in Ireland is run by the Mater Hospital in Dublin. Check out the Group's website at www.socialanxietyireland.com. I am on the waiting list there, but the waiting list is really long. I could be waiting for up to two years before I get in. As I live in Cork, I'd also have to consider either moving to Dublin or at least take a sabbathical from my job if I am to be able to attend.

I'm more hopeful about a group in Cork that is being organised by the Out & About Association. The association mainly deals with Agoraphobia and Panic Disorder, but they are branching into SA on account of the number of SA sufferers who have contacted them looking for help. Check out the following website for information on this association: www.mentalhealthireland.ie. To find the info, click on 'Links & Support Services', then click on 'Anxiety/Panic Attacks/Phobias'.

They don't appear to have an organisation in Galway, but they do have an organisation in Limerick.