Social anxiety: I joined the anxiety group because I suffer from several types of anxieties and phobias. I want to start with social anxiety, because for me, it’s been one of the most hurtful anxieties. I developed social anxiety when I was in my late teens and I believe its genesis lies in a set of complex conditions. I went from being a popular and very well liked person to someone who generally avoided all company, not because I didn’t want friends and to be close to family, but because of social anxiety. It has had a corrosive effect on almost every aspect of my life.
That said, I am not here to just complain. I certainly want to bear witness to the pain of this condition…for me it has meant being an outsider, feeling alone and without community, constant loneliness , and of bearing the stigmata of that loneliness and lack of community. I have worked on healing my social anxiety all my life. I am here to further my own healing and I would hope that I can contribute to healing others. It is a long and difficult road and I don’t believe I will ever complete this task in my lifetime. My goal here is to make connections with others who suffer from social anxiety. It is in doing so that I can heal my disconnected, alone, scared self. To do this, I want to share my encouragement and hope with others, I want to witness my own and other’s pain, and I want to help heal that pain, and I want others to genuinely share with me. I believe that the only way to heal social anxiety is to be accepted by others as individuals and in the community. So, if you have social anxiety, I hope that this post speaks to you in some small way and I hope that it helps you heal this woundedness. May all who suffer from social anxiety be well.
I suffer from Social anxiety as well. It has really made things difficult for me. Like you said, you always feel like your alone, and feel left out. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to shake this anxiety away, it is always there.
Hi Moopy: I tried to reply to you comment the other day and I don’t think it was submitted. I am out of touch with technology. Anyhow, the essence of my reply to you is that you are truly not alone. But, I believe that one way to heal is to connect. You are not insignificant and you are not invisible. I am interested in you, as a person. If you feel up to it, why not tell me a little about yourself? I am interested in who you are. Is the cat in your photo a companion to you? Do you like animals? I usually connect pretty well with animals other than us humans. I just have one cat right now. I used to have 3, but they basically died of old age. Best to you. Hang in there.
I’m sorry guys u guys are awesome ppl u don’t deserve to suffer I’m here for u all I have ocd and extreme anxiety I’m scared of everything and everyone I feel soo nervous when I’m in big groups or talking to strangers and even when talking to friends I get like stage fright etc…u can msg me if u wanna chat more
Hi parrot75. One thing to try and realize about having social anxiety is that the messages you give yourself may not be entirely accurate….i.e. I don’t want to put words or descriptions in your head, but I know that I walk around with a lot of negative beliefs about myself. This makes me very self conscious and feeling inferior. Maybe we need to articulate things about ourselves that are interesting. You are more than welcome to tell me…what about you…who are you? (And I am not talking about whatever negative talk goes on in your mind). Take car.e ….I don’t know how to message people….so I hope this will do.