Social Anxiety Disorder Support Group

Hi,

I suffer from severe anxiety, social anxiety, isolation, severe depression and OCD.

I lay in bed all day and night. I rarely go out.

I hide myself from the world.

The anxiety is so bad it's like battling 5 tigers on my front doorstep. I have a hard time just going out the front door.

I am 29 and I am suffering greatly.

I feel bad for everyone else that is suffering on these forums and I hope that you are able to find some help in some way.

Im just so sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I am soooooo fatigued by all of this.

Does anyone else get so tired that they feel they can't do anything else?

sicktiredandsad, you may be all of those things, but you are not alone! Not any longer. We all can relate to your situation on some level or another. I feel I have come through my deepest days with a lot of struggle and fear but somehow I've arrived. Now, looking back, I really think that I was just out of sync w/the world around me...didn't share values, was essentially less materialistic and more 'organic' for lack of a better term. Anyway, out of sync. I had to recreate the world I knew in a way that would accomodate me. I have done that. It's taken time and extreme effort and sometimes I felt lost in a cloud...generally a storm cloud. But, if you start somewhere and begin to work toward a general direction (mainly what feels good and natural to YOU) then I'd imagine that you will eventually find yourself in a strong and stable position as I have.

Be afraid, but don't be so afraid that you are too afraid to try! I wish you well. Keep posting. You are not alone. Being sicktiredandsad won't kill you...it may actually be the ultimate motivator!

Thank you for responding and reading my post. And for the words of encouragement.

Everyone on this site has been so nice and it has actually brightened up my day a bit. I just joined today and already I have comments from people like yourself, that are just so friendly. That really helps.

I am glad you were able to pull yourself out of those deep, dark days. That takes a lot of strength and perserverence.

I've pulled myself out of it before and I hope I can do it again.

Thanks again for your response and for the motivation.

If you did it once, I'm sure you can do it again. And, this time, build up a support system so that your efforts are lasting! I wish you the best!

Welcome to our group, Sicktiredandsad. I believe that you will find a lot of support and useful ideas, as well as encouragement and hope from all of the members of our forum. SA is a difficult condition to combat, and unless they have personally walked in our shoes, "normal" (if there really is such a thing as normal!) people without SA cannot understand what we go through and how difficult are the things that they take for granted, like going to the mall and being in the midst of crowds of strange people, or going through a long checkout at the Wal-Mart without getting flustered, frustrated, and anxious.

If you are lying in bed all day and not wanting to do anything, then I believe that it would be wise to get some professional help, because this sounds to me like more than social anxiety alone. Wanting to sleep all the time and having trouble motivating yourself to get out of bed and face the day is generally a sign of a serious depression, and should be treated first before any other mental disorder. Once therapy with a counselor/psychologist/psychiatrist and possibly appropriate medication for depression has been started (this can only be prescribed by a psychiatrist or PCP), then you can see if the SA can also be addressed and worked on.

Your situation is not hopeless. I have been where you are now, and realize that it is a dark and lonely place. Please believe that it will get better and that it is impossible to enjoy life again! You have come to the right place, and you are never alone here.

Post edited by: hipmama42, at: 01/30/2009 23:03

Hi Sicktiredandsad,

I'm sorry to hear you are struggling! "Sick and tired of being sick and tired" should seriously be a catch phrase for for how exhausting mental illness can be. I can definitely relate: Before I went to the hospital and readjusted my medications, I felt incredibly depressed and anxious. I was having panick attacks at the slightest stressors and couldn't stop crying. The thought of being around people made the feelings much worse.

After I got out of the hospital, I took things little by little. When I became overwhelmed, I took some deep breaths and on my inhales, I would say to myself "this moment" and on my exhales I would say "this breath." This helps to center me and relieve tension. I figure that before I can work on my social anxiety, I need to work on the underlying symptoms and work on my self-esteem in therapy so I decided to go to therapy twice a week. Then, I worked on regulating my sleep and practiced Mindfulness. Now I'm going exercising at the gym. I still have social anxiety but as I mentioned in another post, I'm starting group therapy and I go to local support groups. I feel a lot more stable and I'm starting to have a little more hope about the future. If I can do it, so can you. And we are all here to support you!

Btw, are you on any medications?

Shrug

here's a link about what mindfulness is and its benefits from psychology today magazine:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20081027- 000001.xml

Also if you have some extra spending money, you might want to invest in a CD by Jon Kabat Zinn.

Post edited by: shrug, at: 02/01/2009 17:50

Boy do i ever know how that feels!! Sometimes I just lay around on the couch feeling heavy sadness and defeat. BLAH!!

Since i've found MDJ i'll come on here and talk, it usually makes me feel a bit better about things. Even if its just to get my mind looking in a different direction for a little bit

Thank you HipMama for welcoming me and for your kind words.

I am currently seeing a psychologist. I also saw two counselors last year as well. I've seen plenty of psychiatrists, psychologists, psyhco-analysts and counselors throughout my teenage and early twenties.

No therapist has ever helped me. And I've been on 7 medications with bad side effects and horrible withdrawals.

I had a nervous breakdown last year in public and was sent to the emergency room by ambulance.

I do not respond to treatment.

I did get better when I was 23 years old and I did it without the help of any professionals. I was not seeing anyone at that time.

I need to do it again for myself. It is going to take time. I have a lot of things going on at once right now so it's making it hard for me to have motivation to do anything.

Thank you again for responding to me. I hope you are doing well.

Hi Amy,

Thank you for sharing with me the link on Mindfullness. I just read about it and think it sounds really good. Since I do not have any extra money, I decided to look up Jon Kabat-Zinn on youtube and I listened to him speak. This sounds like something I am interested in learning more about, so I will be doing more research on it and will bring it up to my psychologist when I see him this week.

I am currently taking Xanax but that is only to help me fall asleep at night. I do not want to be on medication.

I am trying actually to get off of the Xanax. Medication has made me much worse, in my past and present experience.

It's good to hear you are exercising and feeling more stable. You definetly sound like you are on your way

to healing and getting better. I'm glad you are feeling more hopeful too. I wish you the best.

You are strong and you can do it.