Do you wish this had never happened?

As strange as it might seem, I feel I wouldn't take back my social phobia for anything in the world. Before I started getting panic attacks I would go out every day smoking and drinking, I was a self harmer and on the verge of suicide.
I realised through my social anxiety that I was ruining my life with something I could easily have avoided, and now something I cannot avoid is here and the past seems so pathetic.
I'm feeling positive right now. So I think I'm going to go for a walk, If I have a panic attack then I have a panic attack eh? No one around to see me so why should I be self concious in the first place?!.
CYA GUYS!
Did you're social phobia make you or break you?!

I understand what you're saying. Some days I hate my stuttering and it's related issues...other days I am thankful for it and wouldn't have my life any other way. I hope someday to be to the point of being thankful for it and it's related issues everyday.

Enjoy your walk

I had a huge history of pain and suffering from cowardice and fear from bullies that i still greatly fear to experience again... And still fear it till today... I wont wish anything cuz what happened happened but what i regret most is the fact i never had the guts to even stand out for myself in high school and the 1st 2 years of college.. I wish i got the courage i have today earlier on in my life, i would've been a whole different person..

SA and depression gave me a purpose in life, to help others suffering the same thing. I hope to become a clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety disorders treatment.

Before I got this way I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life and was basically in limbo.

I don't think I would change anything. Sure I have some regrets about the past that SA may be responsible for, but I don't dwell on the past too much. SA may have even helped with some situations. My teenage years are one of them. I would have liked to more sociable during those years, but not so much as to be drawn into the "dramas" that I saw going on around me.

I would do almost anything to be "normal"....although Im a lot more severe than just social anxiety.....either way Id do a lot of some genie came to me and said "Ill make you normal!"

I hate when people say they just want to be normal, but hey, if that's what they want. I don't - I'm glad that I'm strange. I'm grateful for my social anxiety, even though it's so hard.

Did it make me or break me? Definitely both.

The short answer is yes.

illumination86 said:

I hate when people say they just want to be normal, but hey, if that's what they want. I don't - I'm glad that I'm strange. I'm grateful for my social anxiety, even though it's so hard.

Did it make me or break me? Definitely both.

Click to expand...

This. Who's wants to be boring like everyone else? My SA helped mold my personality. So my biggest weakness is my greatest strength, which is so ironic my head could explode.

bleh I just wish I was never born.

illumination86 said:

I hate when people say they just want to be normal, but hey, if that's what they want. I don't - I'm glad that I'm strange. I'm grateful for my social anxiety, even though it's so hard.

Did it make me or break me? Definitely both.

Click to expand...

yah Im so happy I cant go to movies or restaurants or travel....definitely so glad Im "different"

I wish SA had never happened to me, but that being said I don't feel sorry for myself that it has.

illumination86 said:

I hate when people say they just want to be normal, but hey, if that's what they want. I don't - I'm glad that I'm strange. I'm grateful for my social anxiety, even though it's so hard.

Click to expand...

When I think of people being "normal", they are able to freely express themselves socially. Ironically, all people, normal or not, are different, and each person has some unique qualities in their personality. The difference between "normal" people and "strange" people is that normal people are able to bring that personality and their unique qualities out of themselves. The problem with SA is it prevents me from doing that. It has hidden away my personality, it made me lifeless, and as a result has made me incredibly dull and uninteresting. So if you ask me, I would definitely want to be normal, if not better than normal.

Did social anxiety make me or break me?
I have to say that it has broken me, but that doesn't mean I can't get myself back together.