Hi Everyone
I'm new here - I've never been officially diagnosed with social phobia but I definitely have it. It started a bit when I was about 6 or 7 then got worse when I was bullied at 10 to the point where I used to hide all the time, couldn't look at people or speak to ppl, etc. That continued until my early 20s.
It's heaps better now I'm older (32), I've managed to meet a lovely partner and have two kids, but I'm still scared of other people and have no friends. It's a rare person I can trust and hubby was the only one who's come along in a long time, although I do make myself go to things, look at people, smile, etc and I can hold a basic conversation. I just never seem to be the one who gets calls or people asking to catch up and I can understand why - I'm so awkward.
Anyway, I'm really pleased to know I'm not alone in this and I'm here in the hope people might be able to offer advice on treatment options, ways to try and do something proactive about this. I'm willing to try really hard to improve my quality of life, but so far just forcing myself to go to things isn't helping.
Thanks for having me here, I look forward to sharing in the community.
I'm new here - I've never been officially diagnosed with social phobia but I definitely have it. It started a bit when I was about 6 or 7 then got worse when I was bullied at 10 to the point where I used to hide all the time, couldn't look at people or speak to ppl, etc. That continued until my early 20s.
It's heaps better now I'm older (32), I've managed to meet a lovely partner and have two kids, but I'm still scared of other people and have no friends. It's a rare person I can trust and hubby was the only one who's come along in a long time, although I do make myself go to things, look at people, smile, etc and I can hold a basic conversation. I just never seem to be the one who gets calls or people asking to catch up and I can understand why - I'm so awkward.
Anyway, I'm really pleased to know I'm not alone in this and I'm here in the hope people might be able to offer advice on treatment options, ways to try and do something proactive about this. I'm willing to try really hard to improve my quality of life, but so far just forcing myself to go to things isn't helping.
Thanks for having me here, I look forward to sharing in the community.
