Lets post our small victories

[mixedupgirl]

^Well done to you too. I hate, HATE when you think you are safely anonymous in a group and then they ask everyone to say something one after another.

I know I hate it too but I kind of zoned everyone out and focused all my energies in to what I liked about the photo plus I had my mum with me which definitely helped. I still can't believe I managed to sound coherent haha!

 

[cellophane]

Was able to say "thank you" in response to a compliment, without blushing profusely (just a little) and remembering all the bad things I heard/think/know about myself.

 

[theoutsider]

I had a very challenging past two days at work where it was very possible that my decisions and actions could have lead to catastrophic results for me and the company. Yesterday, I hung in there and rolled with the punches. When I came home I was dog-tired and doubted I could keep up the same pace today. Even though I still felt tired when I went in today I rolled up my sleeves and got down to business. In the end everything turned out great and I think I gained a little respect from some of the very hardnosed vets at my job. I even had a little time left over at the end to help one of the managers figure out a problem he was working on.

 

[greggy]

Well done to all of you, ok here's mine and im doing it right now, im at the lowest point in my life feel like crying sleeping and never waking up again ok im getting to it lol! Ok even with all this going on i went to my local columbian cafe smiled at the girl serving me and im sitting outside among lots of people and im trying to look happy and heypresto people are'nt giving me bad looks infact i dont feel like a freak at all, infact i think ive stubled on a good little trick ive got my earphone in a im listening to my favorite band and im just sitting here happy, we all can beat this i know it!

 

[Ithior]

I have paruresis. Last night I went out with my friends (it was a birthday dinner), and after dinner they decided to go to this bar/club/whatever. Now, this is a bar I was never able to pee in. On top of that, it was the bar where I couldn't pee at New Year's Day when I had a full bladder, I thought I was going to die as my bladder could explode at any moment.
This past weeks I've been watching these videos from a guy with paruresis, and I noted down his tips and so on. I couldn't exactly follow the plan I was supposed to because I was pretty nervous when I got in the stall, my usual reaction is to try to pee right away before something startled me. I probably wouldn't have been able to since I thought the two other stalls were occupied. Anyway, I got there, I breathed a bit, unziped, started counting the time (I was going to stay there 3 minutes whether I peed or not), and tried to get distracted. I put some toilet paper on the toilet to reduce the sound. After around two minutes, I was actually able to pee.

I'm quite happy and proud of this since it was a place I never managed to pee before and where I had my worst experience with this problem.

 

[PugofCrydee]

I joined a social group of other SA sufferers who get together once or twice a month to go to the cinema or go 10 pin bowling together or have dinner together.
No pressure, just getting together with others who understand the difficulties of living with SA.
I haven't been yet, but registered yesterday and am actually looking forward to giving it a shot.

Seeing as I struggle socially, even contemplating doing this is a big deal for me.
I might even make a friend or two

 

[NathanielWingatePeaslee]

:applause: Hey well done!


I went to a meditation class and had to choose a photo from a selection on a table as did everyone else but then to my surprise I had to show it to everyone in the room and explain why I chose it and how it made me feel. Surprisingly I did well and sounded cool as a cucumber or so I was told, even though before my turn I was absolutely sh.ittin it and my heart felt like it was going to explode! Wahey go me

Nice! I've always absolutely dreaded those situations.

Ok so...

I am finally able to make phone calls at work. I no longer have to hide or pretend I have something to do in the garage to make phone calls. I can't believe I finally got over that stupid problem. Ok I still go hide somewhere when I know it's going to be a complicated call but that's a detail.

...It took me 3 years.

I knew you'd get there! All the time you make steady progress. You're the coolest pirate from the north pole I know. :thumbup:

 

[Stressball]

This is probably odd, but I started drinking fresh coconut juice/water 4 weeks ago and I don't feel like the same person. My depression is 80-90% cured and my social anxiety is under much better control. No more insane dip in mood during the evening and horrendous brain fog and panic attacks. I can smile and actually feel happy. For the first time in 14 years I literally feel like I might actually be able to be a normal person. I am still a socially anxious person, but my brain doesn't obsess over situations I feel anxious over like it used to. The fats in coconut water seemed to have worked some miracle on my brain. I feel like I did something right for once. I really hope others might try it to see if it works for them too.