HH,social phobia, thearpy ?

Hi There
just wondering if anyone has ever had counciling,therapy or seen a psychiatrist regarding there HH. The constant worry of sweating, basing your life round this disease, where you can and cant go takes its toll on the mind and im just wondering if anyones addressed it professionally ?
I'm really struggling socially and i feel this disease is turning me into a recluse. going out to a bar or to meet friends is almost impossible and i havn't eaten in a restaurant for about 4 years, this isn't normal !!! I real similar stories of peoples days revolving round HH and i dont know if mentally i can ever get over it.
Any thoughts, ideas or just advice ?

Thanks

Hello,

I'm new to this forum. I am 35 years old and married (with one kid) and I have pretty much been dealing with sweating since I was in college. I have no doubt that it is tied to social anxiety and it has affected my life in a number of ways. Socially, I always tended to prefer staying home. I would go out with friends to bars and such sometimes, but most of my friends already knew me as "running hot" so it was OK. It is when I have to meet new people that I truly feel like I'm being looked at, and just the very thought of having to meet people made me sweat (all from my scalp and face). Everytime I would have an episode, it would get worse and turn into a full blow panic attack (subways during rush hour were the worst). And interviews - yikes! Absolute terror for me. I am smart and attractive and energetic and yet I have never let myself progress very far in my career because of hyperhidrosis.

Anyways, back to your question - yes. I went to see a therapist. Twice. It was helpful for me to talk about my situation on a weekly basis, but I can't say it has truly helped me manage my nerves enough to not sweat. I was taught to think of something positive, and something cool and to pinch my fingers on my left hand at the same time so that whenever I felt the sweats coming on, all I'd have to do is pinch my fingers and it would stop. Didn't really work for me. I went on Celexa for awhile, but that totally wiped out my sex drive so got rid of that. I did get beta blockers which helps alot, and I have Secure Wipes as well which also helps. This forum is interesting because there is a ton of other options I haven't tried which I will look into.

So therapy did not help with my sweating, but it did help in the sense that I had someone to talk to about this and it did make me feel less alone. I hope this forum does the same thing.

Hope that helps.
cavegirl

im new to this forum but ive been plagued with axillary hh since i was in high school. I get paranoid about sweating and feel like people are staring at me or talking about me. I litterally can have beads of sweat rolling down the inside of my arms from my pits when its bad enough. im constantly going to the bathroom to see how bad it is and once it gets bad i keep my arms pinned to my sides which makes them even worse. this makes me very uncomfortable and frustrated when i go out, which sucks cause im in college and this is all i want to do on the weekends. but i get too anxious when im out and cant handle being around a lot of people. anyway i scheduled an appointment for therapy coming up in another week so ill let you know how it goes.

schvitz, you sound like you're my doppleganger. I'm almost the exact same way. I feel like I'm different from other HH sufferers because I'm literally OBSESSED with checking my underarms, applying more deodorent, wearing certain shirts, etc etc etc. I don't go out when I feel like I'll sweat a lot, I remember in high school I'd do the same stuff you did.

I think it's called Body Dysmorphic Disorder. I ordered some 5-htp in the mail to try to up my serotonin levels and see if it has a nice effect, but otherwise I think I'm screwed if I can't fix this myself.

yep Im same as you guys does my head in
whenever out Im thinking about whats coming up and how will effect how sweaty get ...like if out drinking and want to go to a bar or a club
and Im constantly going to bathroom to check and also dry and cool myself/armpits down
lots of things wont do because of it

Yeah i was starting to think i was the only one who was this way. I sweat when im nervous about it. But i cant not be nervous about it unless i get completely housed like verge of black out drunk. This has been ruining a lot of my nights out and probably my liver. I can also get it controlled after I work out too because then I feel like its okay for once to be sweating and im calm enough that it goes away (helps that i dont have any pit stains thanks to sleeveless t's.) Although ive been getting swamp ass playing any sport now. Makes it hard to shoot hoops and then go lift when u leave a streak on the equipment. Doesnt happen as often as the pits but on occasion it can happen when im anxious or thinking about it. But im not sure if i only get it when im thinking about it or just when i get hot. some days i can work out pretty hard and have nothing but only if im in the gym at like 6am and no one is there. Other days I can be in a cold class room for an hour stand up and feel like i have it though. Thats why i finally gave in to go talk to the therapist I will see if it does anything at all after weds