eevee
Member
Hello everyone!
I am new to the site and wanted to introduce myself. I joined last night and wasn't able to post anything until today. Here it is...
I'm a female in my early twenties who has recently graduated from college. I live in the US. I'm a simple, low-maintenance, down to earth girl who enjoys a variety of hobbies and interests including some girly things. My main interests are traveling, photography, reading, writing and art. I also love nature and doing outdoor activities such as hiking.
However, since I can remember I've always been extremely shy and had some sort of social anxiety. For instance up until third grade I didn't talk in school at all, only to my teacher. This caused me to get bullied by some kids and not have many friends. I've never sought treatment, but have self-diagnosed bi-polar disorder, social anxiety disorder, depression and OCD. My parents always thought I'd grow out of it but I never did. I've never suffered any type of abuse or neglect so I don't understand why I am so afraid of interacting with people. My parents were a little overprotective and strict growing up, but nothing extreme. No one in my family is particularly outgoing or social, however they all still have active social lives except me. I have a boyfriend and several close friends and some acquaintances but we don't spend very much time together since they're all busy and have other friends. Some of them have tried to include me in their social lives, but have given up since it was so difficult for me to interact with their other friends. Mostly I live a very reclusive life and I find myself very lonely. I like meeting new people and I'd like to make more friends, but I have a very hard time actually doing it since I'm so shy. I do okay in one on ones or a small group of a couple people, but I get absolutely lost in large groups or with very outgoing people. To this day I still usually don't talk to most people unless they talk to me first. I avoid interaction with people I don't know. I've become more social as I've grown older, but I'm still nowhere as comfortable near people as I'd like to be. I've joined various activities in college trying to meet people and make friends, but this social anxiety has prevented me from participating. It really has impacted my life in an extremely negative way. I'm hoping I can learn to overcome that here.
Hopefully some of you can relate to what I have written and want to share how you cope with some of these problems. I am glad to have found this forum and I look forward to chatting with you all. I'm sorry this post was so long, but I hope it gives you an idea about me. If anyone has any questions for me or have any suggestions on how I can improve my situation please respond.
Best wishes to all - Eevee
I am new to the site and wanted to introduce myself. I joined last night and wasn't able to post anything until today. Here it is...
I'm a female in my early twenties who has recently graduated from college. I live in the US. I'm a simple, low-maintenance, down to earth girl who enjoys a variety of hobbies and interests including some girly things. My main interests are traveling, photography, reading, writing and art. I also love nature and doing outdoor activities such as hiking.
However, since I can remember I've always been extremely shy and had some sort of social anxiety. For instance up until third grade I didn't talk in school at all, only to my teacher. This caused me to get bullied by some kids and not have many friends. I've never sought treatment, but have self-diagnosed bi-polar disorder, social anxiety disorder, depression and OCD. My parents always thought I'd grow out of it but I never did. I've never suffered any type of abuse or neglect so I don't understand why I am so afraid of interacting with people. My parents were a little overprotective and strict growing up, but nothing extreme. No one in my family is particularly outgoing or social, however they all still have active social lives except me. I have a boyfriend and several close friends and some acquaintances but we don't spend very much time together since they're all busy and have other friends. Some of them have tried to include me in their social lives, but have given up since it was so difficult for me to interact with their other friends. Mostly I live a very reclusive life and I find myself very lonely. I like meeting new people and I'd like to make more friends, but I have a very hard time actually doing it since I'm so shy. I do okay in one on ones or a small group of a couple people, but I get absolutely lost in large groups or with very outgoing people. To this day I still usually don't talk to most people unless they talk to me first. I avoid interaction with people I don't know. I've become more social as I've grown older, but I'm still nowhere as comfortable near people as I'd like to be. I've joined various activities in college trying to meet people and make friends, but this social anxiety has prevented me from participating. It really has impacted my life in an extremely negative way. I'm hoping I can learn to overcome that here.
Hopefully some of you can relate to what I have written and want to share how you cope with some of these problems. I am glad to have found this forum and I look forward to chatting with you all. I'm sorry this post was so long, but I hope it gives you an idea about me. If anyone has any questions for me or have any suggestions on how I can improve my situation please respond.
Best wishes to all - Eevee
