Character Flaw or Valid Medical Condition?
- Thread starter BombCat
- Start date
shep
Well-known member
Hi Bombcat, I have never been diagnosed but through my own feelings, research including the forums on this site and others, I know that I also have a mild form of sp. I'm 60 now and have managed it, so far, without drugs but I tend to avoid most of the social situations where I feel uncomfortable. For those I cannot wiggle out of, the anticipation of the event is often worse than the actual event. Anyway, it is my belief that there is a great deal of incentive for doctors, in general, to prescribe drugs and that incentive is not your health and wellbeing. I know that some of the drugs today has been a great deal of help to some of us but if you are only mildly affected, I would be very careful before taking them. Fortunately, we now have sites like these where you can gather lots of information before making decisions for yourself. I believe I was about 40 before I found out what my problem is and I am especially troubled by those who are seriously debilitated by this and hope that these sites are a great comfort and help for them as they are for me.
symbiosis
Active member
I agree re medication - there is LOTS of money to be made by the medical profession from prescribing drugs for depression and anxiety..... Of course medication can be very helpful in lots of cases, but I'm sure many people can use their own considerable inner resources and counselling etc to make progress. I went to a GP a few weeks ago to discuss a depressive episode of 2 days I recently had - although it was quite severe the clinical benchmark for prescribing anti-depressants is two weeks duration...... But, of course, the first thing he recommended was anti-depressants.... yikes!
Anonymous
Well-known member
:?: what actually do ya mean? Are you asking about qualifieng for a disability type thing??? or, well, see when i just went in it was just cause i was having bouts of vertigo (spining, light headidness, etc) and they couldnt account for them. They asked if id see a psyk so i did. lol, from there, all heck broke loose. Little by little, they've wormed a bunch of stuff out of me and it's fine and good, except they do push the meds and are quite disgruntled with me for not taking um. Now with this ocd, they REALLY want me on drugs, but im still fighting it. They flat scare me as anything ive ever taken for anything, works wrong on me. I do have lots of phobias, but im retired (yippie, lucky me!!! 
) so can handle things differently....So, anyway, what did ya mean?
) so can handle things differently....So, anyway, what did ya mean?
BombCat
Well-known member
For example, my situation, i have just graduated and fear going out into the working world. Even though i have faithfully applied for some positions, fears of dealing with strangers, future employers and colleagues do hold me back from going after jobs and dreams i would like to pursue. Now i even find it hard to leave my house, meet friends and others these days.
What i mean by character flaw or valid medical condition is as follows. Lots of people, including myself, would brush me off as simply being lazy and not wanting to find a job and that all these invisible fears are just nothing. Thus being lazy would be deem as a character flaw.
I'm still unsure where i stand. Am i truely having depression/social anxiety or not?
What i mean by character flaw or valid medical condition is as follows. Lots of people, including myself, would brush me off as simply being lazy and not wanting to find a job and that all these invisible fears are just nothing. Thus being lazy would be deem as a character flaw.
I'm still unsure where i stand. Am i truely having depression/social anxiety or not?
Orlando
Well-known member
Bombcat,
I was just thinking that it sounds like you want to prove to others that you are depressed or anxious. It is hard to find deep meaningful personal answers outside yourself. It is like asking someone else, "Do I like the color blue?" These are your feelings. I think you should respect them. If other people think that you are lazy or have a character flaw, that's their problem. They don't understand the pain and anxiety that a person with social phobia or depression (mild or major) expereinces.
I was just thinking that it sounds like you want to prove to others that you are depressed or anxious. It is hard to find deep meaningful personal answers outside yourself. It is like asking someone else, "Do I like the color blue?" These are your feelings. I think you should respect them. If other people think that you are lazy or have a character flaw, that's their problem. They don't understand the pain and anxiety that a person with social phobia or depression (mild or major) expereinces.
Orlando
Well-known member
Bombcat,
I found a website that will give you the criteria that USA doctors use to give a diagnosis of Social Phobia. When you get to the website, scroll down until you get to the section marked, "Criteria." Basically, the doctor or psychologist would ask you questions based on these characteristics of social phobia. Read them and see if they fit you.
The website is http://www.psychologynet.org/socphob.html/
-Orl
I found a website that will give you the criteria that USA doctors use to give a diagnosis of Social Phobia. When you get to the website, scroll down until you get to the section marked, "Criteria." Basically, the doctor or psychologist would ask you questions based on these characteristics of social phobia. Read them and see if they fit you.
The website is http://www.psychologynet.org/socphob.html/
-Orl
Anonymous
Well-known member
Orlando said:
Orlando wins the prize for Insight of the Day!
This is great! I can think of lots of situations I need to apply this line of thinking to.
Re: the topic at hand: My opinion is, it's a character flaw IF you only "don't feel like" being social. If you "just can't" be social due to serious psychosomatic symptoms or serious mental distress, I'd call it a condition. The government bureaucrats holding the disability purse may see it differently, however.
Money distorts all...