is this shyness or avpd?

[Blueyyy]

From my childhood till now i have always been shy quiet....I can remember when ı was 4 or 5 years old my mum sent me to a day nursery where all the chıldren were sent....İ had a very hard time...i was goıng near the teacher(who were lookıng after us) and stay wıth her...My mums purpose to send me to day nursery was that she knew that i was very shy....But stıll ı dıdnt overcome it...and when i started to primary school every break i used to follow my teacher up to the teachers room....and stay there....and one day she called a kid and said ´go wıth them and play´...and ı remember i went there stayed about 1 mınute then run agaın to the teachers room....And now i am 18 years old....Going to unıvercıty....always sitting at the back alone. where ı can hıde and not be notıced..and past 3 months ı have faıled of attendence....Becouse i feel very bad and in pain whıle ı am wıth people very down feelıng lonely i just dithced school......Went to a psychologıst about 10 tımes....she saıd ı have social phobıa however i have read read over over agaın the avp symptoms and know that i have it.....

 

[sabbath92001]

Yeah you probably have both. Plus maybe some GAD. But labels don't really matter much. Avoidance is the main enemy of SAD sufferers too. I've tried meds and CBT but the only thing that has helped me is ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). In ACT we use our values to guide us and dignify the gradual exposure we need to get better. Also mindfulness to stay in the present moment. ACT also uses cognitive defusion to try to break the hold our thoughts and emotions have on us. There's a new ACT self-help workbook out called "The Worry Trap: How to free yourself from worry and anxiety using ACT", it's pretty good. The main focus of ACT is to increase our willingness to have unwanted thoughts and emotions for the purpose of decreasing our avoidance.

 

[PhillyFlyersGrl]

Yeah, if you really think you have AvPD you probably do. Im self diagnosed..too many of the symptoms matched up with me. If your going out of your way to avoid people or social situations..then yes.

 

[James1]

I feel your pain as I have suffered from the shyness phobia my self, it really can lead to low self esteem and all that comes with low self esteem. But I am getting better now due to my mental strength and always doing the opposite of what my mind tells me in terms of meeting and mingling with people!

 

[lyricalliaisons]

I can relate to everything you wrote. It sounds a lot like my childhood. I always kept to myself & stayed away from people. I also have much more in common with AvPD than with social phobia/anxiety. But I think most people with avoidance issues suffer from social anxiety as well, I certainly know I do.