A Place to Introduce Yourself

[anxious_andrew]

Hi everyone,

I thought i'd intoduce myself a bit! I'm a 26 year old guy from the south of England, I have had social anxiety problems since i can remember i guess! weirdly enough I really like being around people ( probably because of years of self isolation ) , but I am socialy inept and could'nt hold a conversation if my life depended on it!

Apart from shying away from people and having vertually no one to count on, I lead a typical life, work hard, live on me own and drive! not enough tho, The one thing I would like is some good friends, it gets harder to find them the older you get.

If anyone would like to get in touch...be my guest!

my e mail address is [email protected]

Andy

 

[sammiey]

hello i am new to, and new to the whole social phobia thing i only found out about it yesterday but it does explain my behaviour and why i have always been so scared. I think i have had it forever i went through school not speaking at all and would be ill most of the time, i have got better now but still find it very hard i thought i was being stupid and was just being shy i am really glad i am not the only one. I found out about this by being so frustrated yesterday and sure there was something wrong with me i left another job on my second day i was to scared to go back and have people watch me. I do not know how to use this website either so if anyone wantsd to talk i would be happy to i have no idea how to though

 

[joshueg]

Hello. I am Jose, from Spain. I actually registrated yesterday but today i have found this place for people to introduce themselves, and here i am.
I am 36 years old and suffer from S.P. I think i ' ve always had it but lateley it is getting more and more difficult for me to keep it under control.
Moreover, i work in a tourist office, therefore i have to deal with a lot of people daily and sometimes i really want to run away and forget all about my job, the place a live in, etc. Whenever i am speaking with somebody , i feel that i am being observed and then i start sweating and have difficulties to breathe. This sensation is very unpleasant.
Hopefully there are other persons here suffering from the same , so they can help me. Of course i will try to help anyone in this forum, too.
THANKS FOR EVERYTHING. BYE.

 

[ShyCrow]

Hello all

I'm a 30+ year old female, just joined up today. All I can say is it has been wonderful to read so many people have the same experiences as me, and not just youngster, older ones like me too. For so many years, in fact as long as I can remember i've felt a complete freak and isolated. Everything in my life is worked around my social phobia and fear of blushing. It's so great to meet you all and read your posts. I hope we can all be a great support to one another and move on from our problems.

ShyCrow x

 

[cuique_suum]

Please allow myself to ...um introduce myself

Hi all,

Another guest has become a member! I've been a lurker for a while now and I thought it's about time I signed up and got involved, so here I am.

Can't think of anything else right now to scribble down, so I'll talk to ye all later.

 

[powermetalniki]

I'm Niki, 18 year old social phob. I used to stay in my home hiding from society for sometimes up to three weeks at a time. I even left high school for a year. I used to be firmly against drugs/substances of any kind. For the past year and a half I self-medicated with marijuana, and only as of a few days ago decided to stop using pot to cover up my anxiety. I have been on Xanax/Klonopin for over a year and it has been a decent succsess and all, but obviously not enough to keep me away from pot. I am here to seek support during these times. Pot isn't the worst thing in the world, but I used it as a crutch to get to places that were otherwise unreachable, whether they were social gatherings, work, or school...but now I want to deal with my social phobia sober.

 

[Awkwardgirl]

Hello everyone,

I found this site today and,i'm so happy that i did.I enjoyed reading many of the posts here.I can relate to so many of you.I've had social phobia every since i've started kindergarden.I remember feeling very awkward around kids in my class.whenever i'd say something i'd feel very awkward and retarded especially if it came out wrong.I use to miss alot of school every teacher and principle i had knew about me.I am now a 26 year old girl still feeling the same way. I am unemployed finding it extremely hard to get out there in the world and make something of myself.Everytime that i do I always feel like i don't fit in, don't belong, and it seems like like everyone is more confident than me.which in turn causes me to stay home where i feel more comfortable and secure.I hate feeling this way.I feel like i'm never going to have a normal life and, it is so hard when nobody really knows how you feel.To family and friends you're just considered lazy and wierd. I'ts embarassing and shameful to be this way all the time.but, I am very glad I found this site because now i know i'm am not the only one living this way and, it sure helps to talk with people who walk in your shoes and know how you feel.

 

[Lightcloud]

Hi everyone. I'm a 16 year old from Massachusetts. It's only been about 2 years since I actually discovered I had SA and wasn't just a "shy, quiet" kid. I've been lurking around here for a while, but thought it'd be nice to post in some of the topics. I have a close knit group of friends, so I often don't feel as if my SA controls my life. Then again, whenever I am not around those I'm close to, it's a completely different story lol. I'm currently taking Paxil to cope with the depression that often comes with SA, and from what I've read online about the drug, there are alot of negative side effects, so we'll see what happens. I don't think things could get any worse though. Nice to meet everyone!

 

[yuanhuang]

hi darren here

 

[yuanhuang]

hi darren here

 

[Tanya_S]

hi darren and lightcloud!

welcome to the forum!

 

[yuanhuang]

thanks Tanya_S

 

[Tanya_S]

thanks Tanya_S

right thats how i know u or was it the other way round :?

 

[geyser]

Well, I'm a 23 year old male, living in Texas. I can't really pin-point when I developed SA...I've been this way as long as I can remember. I can recall as early as 4th grade, teachers trying to bribe me into playing with the other children with free A's. School was a nightmare, I skipped so many classes I was nearly held-back twice.

I'm a 4-time college drop-out. I guess I thought each school would somehow be different. I haven't had a job in almost three years. I have no friends, and am currently living with my parents.

A few years back, I finally decided to see my doctor about my anxiety. I had everything I wanted to say memorized. I didn't make it past the "What seems to be the problem today?" before breaking into tears. I don't think I managed more than 5 words total the entire visit. I ended up on lexapro and xanix, however I didn't improve. I never managed to work up the nerve for a return visit.

I really hate that people see me as rude, or uncaring. I hate letting people down because of my irrational feelings. One of the few friends I have recently got married, we've been friends since 3rd grade...and I couldn't even go to the wedding. I would love to participate in life instead of watching others enjoy it.

Sorry that was more then I had intended to type.

 

[justsomebloke25]

I'm 25 and male from the UK. And my sorry tale starts when I left school and lost contact with all my friends. So basically I never had anything to do or anyone to do it with so I gradually became more and more isolated and withdrawn. So 7 years later here I am, socially phobic and miserable. I work so I do get contact with people but I never have anything to talk about because I never do anything so making friends is hard. I've only recently realised that SAD is what makes me feel this way and that there are others like me. I really want to sort myself out but with no-one to support me or spend time with, I've been finding it difficult.

so anyway, that's me. Hello everyone

 

[Tseng]

Hi, I'm Ryan im 19, from Wales and was diagnosed with social phobia 3 years ago although I've had it for about 6 years. I have always been shy but I started to have a lot of trouble talking to people during highschool, I was bullied a lot which had a massive effect on me. When I'm in a social situation I start to sweat a lot and my mouth becomes dry, I find it very difficult to say more than one or two words and sometimes I stutter a bit. I can never look some one in the eyes when I speak to them and I constantly feel anxious whenever i'm somewhere where social interaction is likley to happen. It got so bad that I was unable to go to school at all and as a result I didn't take any of my exams. Since then I have attended various colleges but have been unable to cope due to my anxiety and rarely stay for more than a week. I have seen a few therapists in the past but none have really bothered to help me. I'm so glad I found this site, until now I felt like I was the only one suffering with this which made me feel even worse.
Fourtunatly I cope much better that I did a few years ago, but I find it impossible to make friends and so spend most of my time on my own. Anyway lets just hope we can all give each other support and help to over come these problems.

 

[Sonne]

I don't know why it's taken me this long to join a forum like this because I've had social phobia for a while now.

It's good to see that there are a lot of others like me that I can relate to. In a way, it's kind of... comforting.

So hello everyone! The name's Samm.

 

[scatmantom]

Hey every1

Im a 20 year old student who has had anxiety for about the last 10 years.
I have only really started gettin help over the last 12 months...and Altho I have made progress...i still have a long way to go.

Its cool to find a forum with so many regular posters on it. Hopefully I can help other people by telling them how ive dealt with various problems.

Tommy

 

[princesspea]

Hi

Hi everyone this is the first time I've posted on a forum like this. I joined SA support a while back and I've been lurking,reading posts and it helps that there are others out there esp in ireland that suffer from similar problems. I live in Dublin and am on a waiting list see a pyschologist as it's about time I tried to deal with my 'issues' because at the moment my anxiety around other people seems to be ruling my life. It's gotten so bad that I start to sweat, tremble and shake when I have to go out in public and even getting a bus or going to the shop has me in a state. Social situations are v difficult esp meeting new people as I know they'll instantly think I'm a wierdo or some kind of freak. I gave up my job a few months ago as I couldn't bear to be in the same room as my co workers and I used to get so wound up that I'd vomit in the loo and be in constant state of panic and be totally freaking out and It was so obvious to others that I was in bits. I'd get called nuts or told that I was off my head and I couldn't stay in that situation any longer. So at the moment I'm kind in a state of limbo knowing that I have to make changes in my life but scared at the same time. It's fabulous that there is a space on the web like this and hopefully I'll get to know a few of you

 

[Ayla]

Hi. I'm from Edmonton. I just recently decided to look up what social anxiety/phobia was on the internet and found out that, OMG, that's whats wrong with me. I've been this way as long as I can remember - I think my grandmother and my mother have it too; I think I was just born this way. Realising that this is actually a real problem and I don't just have a pathetic, annoying personnality is....well, I think its going to change my whole life.