Does anybody know about your phobia?

I just tell people because I figure it’s better than letting them draw their own conclusions.

If they write-me-off or look down on me from that point, to hell with them.

It's extremely liberating to tell people.

When you keep it a secret, you're telling yourself, "I should be ashamed that I have this". And then you start to feel the shame. But you shouldn't because you did not choose to have social phobia. Certain circumstances and probably genetics chose for you. You should never, ever feel ashamed of something that was put upon you against your free will.

Shame is honestly one of the most difficult emotions to cope with and often causes depression. If you trust anyone, anyone at all, you should tell them. Let go of that nasty emotion. SA is not a part of your identity, it is something you are suffering from, like the flu. Don't treat it as part of your identity. Let it go.

Close friends and a few others know about my issues.

I don't see point in telling anyone, no one will understand.

Nah...I don't really want to tell anyone about my SA. Would they even understand what condition that is? Probably not. They'd just dismiss it as shyness. Nevertheless, I still can live my life without telling, so...>>;

My good friends know, and my family knows. I'm not going to talk about it at work for fear that I will be treated differently. I don't want to be treated any better or worse than anyone else at work. I can imagine this would be detrimental to my recovery. Not to mention the gossip that would go around. By the end of the week, the story will be that I was diagnosed with anti social personality disorder or some other psychiatric condition completely unrelated to SAD.

The most I've confessed to is feeling uncomfortable when on the phone and approaching guys, but that could just be interpreted as shyness. Doubt they're onto me. I tend to avoid situations that might reveal any signs of SA - any excuse I can think of, got a whole list of them. If the situation can't be avoided, well, it's time to break out the booze. Not too much though; that makes things worse. :/

The only time I've been close to telling anyone was when I was very drunk, and the other person was pretty drunk too, thankfully! Think I would have felt really ashamed in the morning if I'd told them the whole story while sober...

Sinar_Matahari said: ↑

My good friends know, and my family knows. I'm not going to talk about it at work for fear that I will be treated differently. I don't want to be treated any better or worse than anyone else at work. I can imagine this would be detrimental to my recovery. Not to mention the gossip that would go around. By the end of the week, the story will be that I was diagnosed with anti social personality disorder or some other psychiatric condition completely unrelated to SAD.

Oh god. I hate when people say "you're anti-social" when I say I don't feel like socializing. This has happened to me so often. D:

People should be required to take a basic psychology course in high school. Sometimes, I think it's more important than health class just because I'm the type of person who deals with physical trauma better than emotional trauma.

I haven't really told anyone, most people think I'm a hermit that never ventures out into the wild. Unfortinatly they don't understand how traumatising a experience can be. So I hide it from everyone I know, even close friends. I'm sure they would try n find out what it is if I told them but I'll just try and get rid of this problem slowly.

I voted no, but it's not really my great miserable secret: For people who knows me it's pretty obvious that I have some kind of social issue when there is more than 3 persons in the room. They just don't know how deeper is the issue and that there is a name to it.

Only my Mum...

I could never tell my family I doubt they would understand and I wouldnt want them to worry.
I have told a couple of close friends and they have been amazing for those who havent told anyone It really helps to share even if its just one person you trust, Ive been able to truly relax and be myself with them for some reason I feel less presure now Ive been able to explain to them whats going on inside.

I think people can just tell for me

I think that telling people freely about it makes it seem less like a part of me (which I don't believe, naturally, that it is) and more like something that I am going against. I invite everybody to know about it so that they know this. A lot more people can relate than we know, also. Telling people, I sometimes hear that their sister, boyfriend, relatives of some sort have this also. Or, they can relate simply based on less extreme every-day shyness.