i have reached a new level (but is this still sa)

[waine]

I am in a new charity shop now (still on forced work experience). And the manageress and volunteers are really nice. We have just got a new assistant mangaeress and she is really nice too. I like it better here. I have reached a level with social anxiety i never thought i would get to. I will try to explain it as best i can. Before starting there, i was worried that other people could tell i was anxious and see that i was anxious. So it was more about physical symptoms of anxiety. This is still with me. The only thing now is that i find it difficult knowing what to say/talk about with colleagues. When i am working i am normally concentrating on the job anyway and dont speak much. People there seem to have a good ability at being able to do their job and converse. However even at breaks, i dont really know what to say.

i have got to say, this is very much like what i am like at home in front of parents. I mean i dont say much around my family. The only thing i ever do seem to ask is whether they are ok. I would say i dont worry AS much about physical symptoms of anxiety around family as i do around work colleagues for some reason.

So what i am trying to say is i am now at a stage where i am pretty much like i am in the comfort of my own home. But is this still social anxiety.
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[waine]

sorry i mean to say i dont know if i can improve any further. but i mean the sa is still there.

 

[Confuseddd]

yeah i understand you. My SA is relatively under control when i am home and when i am with my best friend, and at work it can get out of hand sometimes but not as often as it used to. The thing to worry about is situations where you might still find youself uncomfortable. Hmm i said worry about it... no dont worry about it but think about it. For instance i am still uncomfortable in a small group. I would probably get anxious telling a story to them or even just laughing in front of them. (maybe) but you get my point. Are there situations you still feel anxious about? i would say yes this is still SA but your beginning to become more comfortable. This is great for you and i would suggest you r attempt to carry over these feelings from home to work and on to other social events and social situations. So yeah congradulations, thats a huge step in the right direction buddy

 

[skins]

i dont believe we ever get to the point that we are totally free of SA..it will always be a part of us in some way...like you i got to the point where i was finally quite comfortable being around and interacting with my work colleagues...but you cannot expect that oneday you willl become this outgoing highly social individual who is the life of the work christmas party...you just learn to deal with your symptoms better, the improving inevitably levels out eventually and you will find the threshold where you can't improve any further..this is a fact of having SA. im not saying you have reached this just yet.

 

[Confuseddd]

i dont believe we ever get to the point that we are totally free of SA..it will always be a part of us in some way...like you i got to the point where i was finally quite comfortable being around and interacting with my work colleagues...but you cannot expect that oneday you willl become this outgoing highly social individual who is the life of the work christmas party...you just learn to deal with your symptoms better, the improving inevitably levels out eventually and you will find the threshold where you can't improve any further..this is a fact of having SA. im not saying you have reached this just yet.

why does this have to be the truth? for a moment i would like you to ask yourself, why cant you be the life of the party? Why is it so hard to imagine a life without SA entirely. If anxiety is whats stopping us, and it is apparent we can better are anxiety, why then can we not get rid of it entirely? I used to be the outgoing kid you know. I had many friends, and i was popular. I ask myself these questions every day, and i use who i used to be as the blue prints for what i will be again, hopefully.

 

[skins]

why does this have to be the truth? for a moment i would like you to ask yourself, why cant you be the life of the party? Why is it so hard to imagine a life without SA entirely. If anxiety is whats stopping us, and it is apparent we can better are anxiety, why then can we not get rid of it entirely? I used to be the outgoing kid you know. I had many friends, and i was popular. I ask myself these questions every day, and i use who i used to be as the blue prints for what i will be again, hopefully.

..i think youre making the mistake of confusing introvertedness with anxiety...a good example, at a party the inrovert is standing against the wall just oberserving everyone but not talking, thery are there beacuse THEY want to be...the anxious person is doing the same buts it's because they feel they have no other choice but to. if you were honestly an outgoing person before youre anxiety then yes its possible to revert back to this state...i myself however accept that i have the intovert gene as well as SA or AVPD to be more exact. so i will always have this traight in me despite my levels of anxiety.

 

[Confuseddd]

..i think youre making the mistake of confusing introvertedness with anxiety...a good example, at a party the inrovert is standing against the wall just oberserving everyone but not talking, thery are there beacuse THEY want to be...the anxious person is doing the same buts it's because they feel they have no other choice but to. if you were honestly an outgoing person before youre anxiety then yes its possible to revert back to this state...i myself however accept that i have the intovert gene as well as SA or AVPD to be more exact. so i will always have this traight in me despite my levels of anxiety.

Yes that is true, but atleast it is normal for you, right? No anxiety i mean?
I probably should have re worded what i said alittle bit, i should have said if you have a desire to be the life of the party.

 

[skins]

yep for me anxiety is not as much of a problem as it used to be..it doesn't necessarily hold me back from doing somthing that i really want to do...more i just battle with depression and alcoholism nowdays.