Frustrated with Social Anxiety
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Guest
Hi Lisa,
I am sorry to hear about your social anxiety.
I am very new to the program and I was hoping you could shed some light on social anxiety for me. I am constantly getting anxiety when I am aournd my friends. I always have an inferiority complex when a group of us are together and I am not the center of attention. I start having feelings like, "these guys think I am idiot", I have nothing in common with them, they think they are too good for me.
Or when I dont recieve a phone call from somebody, I start getting worse case scenario theories. " They dont like me anymore", they think they are too good.
All these thoughts consume me and give me all the symptoms of generalized anxiety.
I actually use this anxiety to make friends and try and become popular> it has helped me good at sales and my career>
but i am tired of living like this> i just want to be at peace with who i am and whoever doesnt like me for that is not worth it?
does this sound familiar at all?
sorry i could not help you out with your situation but i thought it may make you feel better knowing there are plenty of us>
I am sorry to hear about your social anxiety.
I am very new to the program and I was hoping you could shed some light on social anxiety for me. I am constantly getting anxiety when I am aournd my friends. I always have an inferiority complex when a group of us are together and I am not the center of attention. I start having feelings like, "these guys think I am idiot", I have nothing in common with them, they think they are too good for me.
Or when I dont recieve a phone call from somebody, I start getting worse case scenario theories. " They dont like me anymore", they think they are too good.
All these thoughts consume me and give me all the symptoms of generalized anxiety.
I actually use this anxiety to make friends and try and become popular> it has helped me good at sales and my career>
but i am tired of living like this> i just want to be at peace with who i am and whoever doesnt like me for that is not worth it?
does this sound familiar at all?
sorry i could not help you out with your situation but i thought it may make you feel better knowing there are plenty of us>
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Guest
Hi Bogey,
When I experience social anxiety, I get this "fuzzy" feeling in my head when I'm in public or around lots of people. I ultimately have this fear of looking stupid, losing control, or fainting (or anything along those lines) and therefore making peope not like me and think I'm weird or something. The feeling is similar to feeling like I'm going to pass out or faint, although everything I've read about anxiety is that you really can't faint from it. Places where I get it the worst are in restaurants, work, meetings, and the grocery store.
I've had this for about 6 years now and it's a constant struggle but I'm really learning how to deal with it and how to reign in these bad thoughts.
I still get very frustrated when I work so hard to rid myself of the anxiety and it still comes back sometimes.
Do you have any other questions? I would love to help you work on your anxiety so you can get control of it!
When I experience social anxiety, I get this "fuzzy" feeling in my head when I'm in public or around lots of people. I ultimately have this fear of looking stupid, losing control, or fainting (or anything along those lines) and therefore making peope not like me and think I'm weird or something. The feeling is similar to feeling like I'm going to pass out or faint, although everything I've read about anxiety is that you really can't faint from it. Places where I get it the worst are in restaurants, work, meetings, and the grocery store.
I've had this for about 6 years now and it's a constant struggle but I'm really learning how to deal with it and how to reign in these bad thoughts.
I still get very frustrated when I work so hard to rid myself of the anxiety and it still comes back sometimes.
Do you have any other questions? I would love to help you work on your anxiety so you can get control of it!
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Guest
Hello fellow social anxiety sufferers!! 
I am assuming you guys are already working through the program? If not, you should be!! As the program teaches, anxiety (and depression) really all boils down to a low self esteem. For whatever reason, you just don't think very highly of yourself. For some of us, this manifests itself as "social anxiety" (SA), but the SA is really just a "mask" for the REAL esteem problem. And poor self esteem is all caused by the crappy way we talk to ourselves. "Uh oh, what if I REALLY lose it this time, in front of all of these people???!!!" Well, as MsLisa noted, you are NOT going to lose it! But trust me, I know, this is extremely hard to believe at first!! And as it turns out, the only way you will EVER really believe this is to just get out there, face the fears, come out the other side, and PROVE TO YOURSELF that the anxiety can not and will not hurt you. Of course, the idea of "facing your fears" can initially be overwhelming in and of itself. But you should know that that is where the TRUE PEACE lies. Baby steps. One day at a time. You WILL get there!!
Hey, I don't have this completely licked yet either. For me, right now, I just give myself PERMISSION to be anxious. The less you FIGHT it, the better off you will be. If you fight it, or get angry with it, you just feed its power. Try embracing it. But also keep track of each and every scenario where the anxiety did NOT hurt you - sure, you may have had some "body symptoms", but the body symptoms can't hurt you.
I am assuming you guys are already working through the program? If not, you should be!! As the program teaches, anxiety (and depression) really all boils down to a low self esteem. For whatever reason, you just don't think very highly of yourself. For some of us, this manifests itself as "social anxiety" (SA), but the SA is really just a "mask" for the REAL esteem problem. And poor self esteem is all caused by the crappy way we talk to ourselves. "Uh oh, what if I REALLY lose it this time, in front of all of these people???!!!" Well, as MsLisa noted, you are NOT going to lose it! But trust me, I know, this is extremely hard to believe at first!! And as it turns out, the only way you will EVER really believe this is to just get out there, face the fears, come out the other side, and PROVE TO YOURSELF that the anxiety can not and will not hurt you. Of course, the idea of "facing your fears" can initially be overwhelming in and of itself. But you should know that that is where the TRUE PEACE lies. Baby steps. One day at a time. You WILL get there!!Hey, I don't have this completely licked yet either. For me, right now, I just give myself PERMISSION to be anxious. The less you FIGHT it, the better off you will be. If you fight it, or get angry with it, you just feed its power. Try embracing it.
But also keep track of each and every scenario where the anxiety did NOT hurt you - sure, you may have had some "body symptoms", but the body symptoms can't hurt you. -
Guest
When I get social anxiety it's in restaurants and stores...i could prably be talking in front of 100 people but put me in a random crowd and i'll get sweaty and scared of being sick etc. I've still not figured out how to control this type...most of my anxiety is caused by fear of being sick...it's not about embarrassment for me it's a very real fear actually based on my past....and never sure what to do about it. I try to use positive self talk...maybe a quarter of the time it works. So I know the feeling...but havn't had a whole lot of luck myself I must say =\ Positive self talk would be a big one though. Have you cut out caffeine and sugars?
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Guest
I have lived w/ this anxiety all my life. It affects every aspect of my life, most importantly, dating. I have very few friends because of it and keep to myself WAY too much. I just started the program today and REALLY hope I can get over this soon. I have other issues as well, but this is one I want to get past the most. I can use all the help and support I can get.