Hello out there, another new member!

[Elwood44]

Hi, I'm new to this site so I thought I would introduce myself. I've been "like this" for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I was called "really shy" then as I got older it turned into "what's wrong with him?". Now in my 30's I find myself still feeling lilke I'm living in a self-imposed prison. I finally sought treatment several years ago and got officially diagnosed. I've been down the path of medication and therapy. I've been on more meds than I cared to be and am on medication now. I've had bad experiences on antidepressants and fairly decent experiences. However, it has helped me overall. I haven't been in therapy for at least a year. I'm sick of being this person. I have maybe one friend at this point. It's very odd to crave human interaction and to fear it all at the same time. (Anybody else ever find that most of your friends are extroverts?). I even went into the virtual world of Facebook to try and socialize. I feel I am just as much a human skunk online as I am in person. Well, that's enough about me.

 

[Helyna]

Welcome!

 

[rylie]

yaaaaaaay hello!

 

[Rigil]

Hi, I'm new to this site so I thought I would introduce myself. I've been "like this" for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I was called "really shy" then as I got older it turned into "what's wrong with him?". Now in my 30's I find myself still feeling lilke I'm living in a self-imposed prison. I finally sought treatment several years ago and got officially diagnosed. I've been down the path of medication and therapy. I've been on more meds than I cared to be and am on medication now. I've had bad experiences on antidepressants and fairly decent experiences. However, it has helped me overall. I haven't been in therapy for at least a year. I'm sick of being this person. I have maybe one friend at this point. It's very odd to crave human interaction and to fear it all at the same time. (Anybody else ever find that most of your friends are extroverts?). I even went into the virtual world of Facebook to try and socialize. I feel I am just as much a human skunk online as I am in person. Well, that's enough about me.

Hello Elwood,
I'm 38 myself, and started having problems with SA in my teens.
The statement you made about meds kind of touched home.
When I finally got to a doc, I had no understanding of my dilemma.
My doc, fresh out of school and a native of Thailand probably could have.
He had a poor understanding of the English language, although he spoke very clearly.
This caused him to take the phrase "I feel like everyone stares at me" as "People are watching me. I can feel them."
That made it a delusion, even though that's not what I was trying to tell him.
It only took three therapy sessions to catch it (this area is incredibly understaffed psych wise), but the med they had me on gave me shakes for years.
If I knew then what I know now...