By: Holly

Holly — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:57:13 +0000

I’m finding this all so useful, I’m not 100% sure that I do suffer from Social Anxiety, but on the other hand I know that what I experience is more than just shyness or nerves… this is really helping me to try to understand what I am experiencing (and have experienced).
When I was younger I was very shy, painfully so, but only in certain situations (meeting strangers etc.) – I was only completly comfortable around people I knew. I worked hard to overcome it, and to a certain degree I did… but not by ‘throwing myself in the deep end’… as you have very clearly pointed out in your documents, that can often make it worse – not that anybody understands it of course – I have managed to overcome this inspite of other people, not with their help.
Other people seem to think more practice, more experience, and more preperation and you’ll be fine.
Now I live quite a social life, people laugh when I tell them I am in fact shy (I hide it well), I have lots of friends, mainly colleagues, I’m still not good at befriending random people (I still don’t know ANY of my neighbours names after living there for 10 years!)
Alas, some of my old anxieties seem to have returned… 4 1/2 years ago I was made redundant… I was SO confident in the job interviews that I got offered three out of three jobs, yes I was a little nervous but how any normal person is nervous… 2 1/2 years ago I left my job and the job interviews were horrendous, I was very well prepared but kept sweating and shaking (even nearly crying!!) – EVEN when I didn’t think I was that nervous! – miraculously I got the job I have now, I don’t understand where it came from, I didn’t need a job I was still employed so it wasn’t as desperate as before.
However, now I am being made redundant again, and I DO need to find a job… I had an interview last week and I shook, I sweated, I stuttered, I forgot what I was talking about, I lost concentration, I couldn’t answer some of the questions even though I was well prepared for them.
It just goes to prove those people wrong who say it gets better with time and experience, I’ve gone backwards, and I don’t know how to combat it. I’m going to read through everything here and I may even go to see my doctor.
Thank you for this Nick – it’s nice to know somebody understands, I know I may not be as bad as some and I’m thankful for that, but I cannot allow, whatever it is, to keep me from being employed!!
(PS: sorry for big waffly story everybody)

By: Eric

Eric — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 06:40:43 +0000

Good information Nick. It seems you must have alot of education/experience with social anxiety. It would be a HUGE help for us SA sufferers if you could put together a self-help/CBT manual and make it available for download. Especially one that covers these horrible vicious cycles of anticipating and trying to fight these unstoppable attacks of shaking and eye watering, which only always leads to more of the very shaking and watering we fear in the first place. ALOT of SA sufferers experience these vicious cycles, and alot of the SA material out there today doesn’t cover this topic! You’re providing a much needed service Nick, and I hope you will have more information out for us soon.

By: Kerry

Kerry — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:32:54 +0000

Brillant – will be using this in my work with patients!

By: Kushal

Kushal — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 07:00:45 +0000

Thanks a lot… let me see if I can convince my parents.

Comments on: Information for Loved Ones

By: Holly

By: Eric

By: Kerry

By: Kushal