Are you Living in shame?I mean do people know about your SA?

[TAMPA-BAY]

Well since I have social anxiety this time of year is rough. I doesnt help either that my birthday is around valetimes and in this part of the world we have the best weather this time of the year so there are lots to do outdoors.

I have lots of family and know lots of people but they are all on the extreme side of shyness. I mean extrovers. I ve tried to meet them half way but after a while I got tired of being the one to alwayse give consesions.

I have alwayse acepted other people for who they are but they rarely if ever return the favor. They are alwayse trying to fix me in stead of just saying that i ve taken a different path.

In all fairness I understand that I have kept this disorder as a secret as if its something to be ashame of so no one knows the problem and in all fairness to them they are working blind. I mean they did not identify the problem or are not knowledgeable on anxiety disorder.

I ve thought about coming out this yr and do something like holding a press confrense LOL but who knows. It doesnt look like there is much public awareness on this. I am realy weighting the consequense of telling the world cause if i do it might stop the speculation but then again it might just bring me into the spotlight which is the last thing I need. sorry for the novel of a coment. I'll try to leave room for the others.

 

[recluse]

No one knows that i have s phobia, i think instead they just see me as being shy but it's worse than merely being shy; Shy people can live normal lives but this is different...It's disabling in a sense. People probably find me weird because i am a loner and because of my awkwardness around people. I wish i could tell someone like my parents that i have this problem but i fear telling anyone, because there is a stigma attached to mental illness and that's sad. I just want someone who is not social phobic to be in my shoe's just for one day so they can feel what we feel.

 

[EveM]

Well my family and a couple of other people only know about my blushing (hard to hide really ) but I don't know whether they've figured out it can be a symtom of social anxiety and put it together with the fact that I dodge a lot of social situations. I think they just think I'm shy. I remember when I was at school, I had a hard time going because I felt so embarrassed by the blushing and my form tutor actually asked me "are you scared of people?" and I just said no. I'm not ready to admit it to anyone, let alone her!

 

[shon]

A few of my family members know. I told the ones who I knew wouldn't judge me. Except I was kind of in a "fed up" mood a couple of months ago so when my dad called, I casually mentioned that I have a social phobia. He told me I shouldn't be that way and I should just "get out there" and change it. I'm 31, I didn't just fall off the dumbass truck. If it were just a personal choice, I would not still be this way! I know people who don't have it will not ever understand.

Nobody I know has a problem saying anything to me because I'm open-minded and I accept people for who they are. Yet I have to act a certain way and not be myself around them because I know the acceptance doesn't go both ways. It's a very lonely way to be :?

 

[M1tCh]

Only a few 'net friends' know what i'm going through; although, i've made a couple of futile attempts to communicate my feelings on the subject to family, but they don't really understand...I don't expect them to.

Nobody I know has a problem saying anything to me because I'm open-minded and I accept people for who they are. Yet I have to act a certain way and not be myself around them because I know the acceptance doesn't go both ways. It's a very lonely way to be

Well stated, mate.

Furthermore, I also find that people dislike me if i don't go along with their every whim and that they outright abhor any kind of dissent whatsoever.

Does anyone else have problems with others wanting to control you to an exorbitantly psychotic degree?

 

[maggie]

No one knows that i have s phobia, i think instead they just see me as being shy but it's worse than merely being shy; Shy people can live normal lives but this is different...It's disabling in a sense. People probably find me weird because i am a loner and because of my awkwardness around people. I wish i could tell someone like my parents that i have this problem but i fear telling anyone, because there is a stigma attached to mental illness and that's sad. I just want someone who is not social phobic to be in my shoe's just for one day so they can feel what we feel.

good post :!: same for me...and i agree with what you say about wanting them to be in our shoes for a day..it'd be the only way they could even begin to understand :roll:

 

[ljwwriter]

I've definitely felt my share of shame for being social phobic. I mean I've always seen myself as socially inept and the years have rolled by I can't help but feel shameful because of that.

I try to reassure myself that it's really nothing to be ashamed of, especially in such a fast-paced, high strung world where it seems inevitable that you'll be plagued by some kind of anxiety at some point. I've just had to accept that I'm not the right type of person for this socially-intensive society and a lot of the time I'm just going to have to be an independent soul. Not necessarily lonely, but certainly not surrounded by high strung, stressed out co-workers, family, and friends either.

 

[AgentR]

Nobody knows that I have SA. No family nor friends know about it and if I was to tell them, they would just say "Oh don't be dramatic, you're just shy and have low confience.

 

[InDeepshit]

My old friends don't know, they probably just see me as a bitch.. my family knows, but they don't know how disabling it is, and everytime i hit a low they're asking me what's wrong :!: So i'm pretty much isolated with this except for when i'm on here.

 

[jchase79]

My family knows about my SA and Depression and are generaly supportive of me. I only have a couple friends... I have told them but I don't think they grasp the issues I struggle with every day. I've started working again but I don't feel comfortable telling my coworkers. People get that glazed over look like I'm speaking a foreign language or that I'm some sort of freak.

 

[Kat]

My family and my fiancée know about my SA. Do they understand it? Well..I don’t think anyone can fully understand unless they experience the exact same symptoms and ways that you need to deal with it when it happens. I notice a lot of people think that you need to face situations to overcome this condition but considering what I have done in that aspect I don’t really think that is something that works for me. I really wish it did though but I think it has the opposite effect. I notice also when they say certain things to me like “when you get in anxious mode” it’s not meant to be ignorant but I am pretty much in that mode when I am around people but they just don’t notice it because I pretend not to be. I had an incident a couple of days ago where I couldn’t hide the fact that I was feeling anxious and usually I can by pretending that everything is ok that is something I try to do to draw less attention to myself because when I am anxious people usually ask “are you ok?” Which causes more anxiety and that is what happened a few days ago. I ended up breaking down and crying over the smallest thing cause basically as soon as I leave the house I am at breaking point and if someone draws too much attention to me or I feel like I made and ass of myself which happens a lot because my concentration is basically gone when I am out in public so if someone talks to me I will say some thing really goofy back and people will say don’t worry you’re just having a bad day but in the back of my mind I know it is not just that and feel like crap for the rest of the day and for the next time I have to go out . I am kind of glad in someway my family saw that I was anxious that day I broke down after someone had mentioned something about my clothing even though what they said wasn't really offensive and if I was feeling comfortable I wouldn't of reacted like I did but I am glad they were there to see it because by hiding it, it’s effective it draws less attention but by covering how you feel up people don’t realize how it effects you. I also think that people think you’re just being cute and don’t realize how much damage it does to a person.

 

[SilentType]

Yeah, people know about my SA, but I don't know if I should have told anyone or not. People just don't get it unless they've experienced it personally or professionally. Now that people know, they try to accommodate what they think it's like to be me. Nobody really has a clue, and I end up being more agoraphobic because of it. I'm done complaining though, that's one thing I'm not gonna do about t this ailment out loud. Only when I'm ranting in forums like this .


Peace

 

[Cool_Un_Cool]

Well, my sisters and some of their friends reference my shyness.
I am kind of use to that now, though.
I try to hide it by acting like a typical Ceech & chong Guber.

 

[dyingtolive]

even if they knew they wouldnt understand... maybe unless... when u tell them u tell them not to comment until they listened to an educational CD that u give them along with ur coming out. will that work?

but if i come out.. it will be useless if it didnt come with being Completely honest with all My disorders, and history. Now thas just might start chaos.
is it worth it and when is the right time

 

[Strong_Silent_One]

Hi to all.
I have told my closest family -except from my nefews - and i would advise everyone to do so. They should know. And they will trytheir best to help you on your troubles.... although certaintly they are not psichologist, so they'll probably not know how to approach the problem really.
As for friends, many of my recent friends know it, but i wouldn't advise you to do so, cause having your folks trying to help you is one thing, but having your close friends helping you makes you feel even worse, cause you feel like an affraid child who is not able to face things, and that is no good at all. It makes your self steem go to hell.

 

[Strong_Silent_One]

a typical Ceech & chong Guber.

8O translate plz!! :lol: my english dictionary seems to have forgotten about commonly used street jargon quotes :lol: