Social Anxiety Disorder

Yesterday I went to see my doctor and he diagnosed me with SAD. I was just wondering if there's anyone else on here that has this... I'm kind of lost right now and I would love to have someone to talk to and give each other support who is going through the same thing.... thanks!

Hey, I'm a sufferer too. Been suffering since I was a child but not formerly diagnosed till around 16-17. I'm 24 now. Finally working up the courage to go to college this fall (eek!).

I'm a member of this AWESOME support site and I think you should check it out. You don't even if have to post if you don't want to. The people there are amazing.

I don't know how bad yours is, but I can say that exposure therapy is actually the best form of getting yourself cured. And it's the hardest. CBT didn't work for me AT ALL. I find the more I expose myself to social situations (whether I'm social or just watching/listening or not) the less it becomes an issue. For me, school will be the new thing I'm exposing myself to since I haven't been near or in a school since I graduated at 17. Very very scary. :S

You're not alone!

Hey!  thanks for responding, and thanks for the add!  I'm pretty sure I have had this all my life too.  Highschool was a nightmare for me... college too.. so much that I dropped out after a couple of years.  That is awesome that you are going back, I am tryingto work up the courage to do the same! :( 

Thank you soo much for the link, this site is very helpful so far. 

I don' really know how bad mine is either haha cuz I don't really know anyone else with SAD, that I am aware of anyways.  For now my doctor just put me on meds, Lexapro and Lorazepam.. I just started taking them today, I'm not sure how long I have to take them before I start seeing a difference, so far I just feel sick and have no appetite :( 

For me the biggest thing is my music.. I want to be a singer and am in a band but I have such a hard time now, bc of my SAD talking to and interacting with my own band members, much less the audience or anything else.  My dream is to go to school for music and to sing for a living but I dont see how that will be possible untill I get my SAD under control u know?  ;(

It is nice to know I'm not alone tho, thank you so much for all the advice and good luck with school!  :)

Oh wow, you've done all this so far with SAD!! You should be PROUD! I used to be on Lexapro, it allowed me to walk across the stage to graduate HS. It was a miracle in a pill except for one side effect (for me, the no sex drive/orgasm uggh) and then later lost medical insurance so I couldn't afford it. I've been working on it "cold turkey". I really hope the medication works for you, I really really do! I bet you'd be an awesome singer. Do not give up on your dream... EVER! Pursue it  ruthlessly, even if it takes longer than someone without SAD, the point is to get there. :)

I've also read/heard meditation is really good for it (and anything really) so I've been reading about how to meditate, it only takes 10 mins a day to do, so, I'm gonna give it a go. :)

What works for one doesn't work for all unfortunately. I do find exposure to be the hardest but more beneficial therapy to do.

Are you seeing a therapist? I found them somewhat helpful. They can teach you relaxing techniques and ways to deal with anxiety. They can also help you cope with social situations. I want one now to help me deal with going to school/student orientation the first week! >.<

Oh thanks lol!  Yeah I was taking Lexapro but just 5mg and it doesnt really seem to do anything.  Now I am going to start taking 10mg plus this Lorazepam stuff. My doctor did mention counseling but I guess he wants to put me on meds first.   Hmm thats interesting you say that, the no sex drive thing, because I have had that problem lately and I wonder if its because of the Lexapro do you think?  cuz thats like unusual for me haha and I have no idea why I'm just like not in the mood as of lately.  Anyways, yeah i hope it works too lol I am desperate.  Well, I am a good singer but it is all the other stuff like presence and interacting with the band and the audience and stuff that I have a hard time with because of my SAD.  It sucks because everybody else in my band is sooo outgoing and crazy and fun and talkative lol. And they think I'm soo weird for being so quiet.  We went to a gig once and my drummer and my bass player were standing around talking and i was standing there too and my drummer went up to me and he's like, you just stand there, you don't ever say anything... and I'm like I'm just shy I guess, he's like thats ok but uuuughhhhhhhh god i am sick to death of having to make excuses for myself why i cant talk.  Anyways,  Thanks for the encouragement :) No, I won't give up,  I just feel like I'm missing out on so much of my music and of life because of this ya know? ;(   

The meditation thing definitely sounds like a good idea, i have tried to that before I am always thinking of so many different things I find it impossible to clear my head most of the time.  But i will continue to try it.  No, i'm not seeing a therapist but I probably will start seeing one soon.  I think for me that will help.  O good luck with your orientation! :) what are you going to school for by the way?

Ironically, to be a teacher. An art teacher. So lol, lots of talking in front of people. Isn't it funny how our goals/dreams are the complete opposite of us? haha.

It could be the meds messing with ya, you should inform your doctor, I remember reading there are alternatives to getting it to come back, but I don't know how successful they are. I was 16/17 then and I didn't want to mention that to my doctor, lol. :P

The fact that you can do gigs is really awesome! You should be really proud of yourself. So what if you're the quiet one? You're mysterious to others! lol :)

Original Post by cptbunny:

Oh wow, you've done all this so far with SAD!! You should be PROUD! I used to be on Lexapro, it allowed me to walk across the stage to graduate HS. It was a miracle in a pill except for one side effect (for me, the no sex drive/orgasm uggh) and then later lost medical insurance so I couldn't afford it. I've been working on it "cold turkey". I really hope the medication works for you, I really really do! I bet you'd be an awesome singer. Do not give up on your dream... EVER! Pursue it  ruthlessly, even if it takes longer than someone without SAD, the point is to get there. :)

I've also read/heard meditation is really good for it (and anything really) so I've been reading about how to meditate, it only takes 10 mins a day to do, so, I'm gonna give it a go. :)

What works for one doesn't work for all unfortunately. I do find exposure to be the hardest but more beneficial therapy to do.

Are you seeing a therapist? I found them somewhat helpful. They can teach you relaxing techniques and ways to deal with anxiety. They can also help you cope with social situations. I want one now to help me deal with going to school/student orientation the first week! >.<

 

I don't know if you're interested in going back on medication, but if lexapro was too expensive for you but worked, you should try celexa.  It is essentially the same thing (celexa is said to more likely cause side effects) and is much cheaper.  There is a generic for Celexa--citalopram.

Hi wjones33086, I was diagnosed when I was in middle school and had to be home schooled for a year and a half where I had to work really hard. I went on "field trips" to places like the grocery store, small local shops, even parking lots. Mine was so bad I couldn't eat at the dinner table with my family. It got better after medication and intense therapy. I was fine for about four years and nothing really seemed to upset me but now recently I've had trouble going out to eat. 

I was also playing with people (not really a band ha) but I played the drums and it was really hard. I never felt like I was really there, I had a lot of problems with "out of body" feelings. Before I would go play I would sit by myself and I would just listen to the thoughts in my head and say that it was okay and I'm safe. I also wore a rubber band around my wrist to snap so I would actually realize where I was and what was going on. That's really awesome that you sing though, I don't think I would ever have the guts to do that!

SAD really is a hard disorder to overcome but with determination and exposure you can do it!

I have SA too and I don't know what to do about it! I keep hoping that it'll just "go away" on its own, but I know that's not going to happen. It's so frustating!

cptbunny, that is awesome, don't give up on your dream either! :)   I know haha!  But I really believe that I am supposed to be a singer, like its my life purpose you know, what I'm meant to do.  I bet you'll be a really great teacher too!  Ironically, I love to teach too, I find it easier talking to kids than adults tho.  I also find teaching comes easy to me because I know what to talk about.. for me the social anxiety comes when I'm talking to someone and I worry about not knowing what to talk about ya know haha.

Ok, yeah I will, haha!

Yeah.. well I can sing but that is about it.  Lol like I get up there in front of all those people and I just freeze up.  The words can still come out of my mouth but I just stand there, like I can't move, can't talk, I guess I worry too much about doing something stupid.  Like if someone else started clapping or something up on stage I would be able to join in, but like I'm the only singer, everybody else plays an instrument. ahhhhh its soooo frustrating! :(  Thanks for the encouraging words tho! :) I am definitely mysterious to everybody lol!

lil989:  (sorry everybody i don't know how to quote lol) 

I'm so sorry you had to go through all that, that must have been really hard. I guess I was never quite that bad but I totally can identify with alot of your feelings.  Actually I think I am worse now than I was in middle school.  Over the years those feelings have just intensified.

 I totally know what you mean with the "out of body" feelings.  Omg I was playing with my band a few days ago and like I was soo out of it.  I think maybe because of my SA im not sure cuz I was up on stage in front of everybody and I just wasnt there like i cant even explain it like I couldnt focus on any of the songs.  I do that too, before we play, while everyone else is like talking and stuff I sit by myself and just listen to my thoughts and try to convince myself I'm ok, that i can do this, that theres no reason to feel that way, haha yeah i know exactly what you mean!

_krysten:  You should talk to your doctor about getting help.  Trust me it won't go away.  I'm pretty sure I have been dealing with SA all of my life.  I think it started in elementary school, then just progressively got worse through middle school, high school, college... I'm 23 now and I am the worst I have ever been.  I know now that it is not going to go away until I make it go away.  I hear ya it is sooo frustrating!  But I am finally on meds for it now and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be starting counseling soon.. and hope for the best...

I used to have it. When I say 'used to' I mean I was diagnosed at about 15 years old and took therapy (which didn't work for me) before overcoming it through exposing myself to social situations. I used to throw up before I went to work, I had all sorts of weird nervous ticks and I would always refuse to go to parties etc. which got in the way of me making any real friends. I'm 21 now and I'd say I'm pretty much 'normal' in that respect (although still a bit of a worrier!). When the time arised for me to start my degree away from home I had no choice but to start forcing myself into scary situations that everybody else just dealt with and it did way more for me than simply discussing it on a theoretical level. Everybody responds differently to therapy/drugs etc. but I can't stress the importance of tackling it at the root of the problem and learning to be comfortable around other people through exposure.

Good luck!