I was at a little get-together this weekend with some friends and family. No big deal, just the usual people plus a few I didn’t know. Nothing exciting, we usually have a BBQ, play a little Frisbee, and have a few beer.
Now, I don’t know if it’s me and the fact that I’m [...]
Living with social anxiety is tough, but it could be worse. That’s the realization that I’ve come to at this point in my life. Yes, I sometimes feel cheated and I can’t help but feel a sorry for myself on occasion, but I really think I need to start putting things in perspective. [...]
If you suffer from social anxiety, you probably don’t think much of outgoing, confident people – I know I don’t. It depresses me to be around extroverts like this. I always end up making comparisons and beating myself up because I can’t be more like them. I mean, they just seem to be having so [...]
If you suffer from moderate to severe social anxiety, the very idea of changing your outward appearance can seem overwhelming. Yet, in my case, I knew that, deep down; I was not helping my cause by appearing so unapproachable.
“Life is not a one-way street.”
I’ve printed this sentence out and taped it to the wall beside my computer. I read it several times a day, as it reminds me of one of the most important laws of social interaction and happiness. Up until recently, I didn’t really know it even existed.
If you suffer from social anxiety disorder, chances are, your anxiety is written all over your face. Personally, I always try to hide it, but this becomes impossible in some social situations. Most people don’t really know what anxiety looks like, therefore, they are more likely to regard me as an anti-social, pissed-off, mean, cruel, [...]
In 2002, (as social anxiety tightened its grip on every aspect of my life) I quit my high paying, corporate job out of desperation. It wasn’t a decision that I made lightly – after all, this was my career and my livelihood. I was employed by that company for 4 years. Once the deed was [...]
Society operates according to its own rules when it comes to social interaction. Regardless of how we would like things to function, we, nevertheless, must tailor our approach according to a protocol that has been thousands of years in the making.
And what if we don’t conform? Well, I’ve personally tried the rebel approach and did [...]
Social anxiety disorder has been a problem for me since early childhood, but it’s only recently that I’ve discovered it is the result of bad programming and bad habits. I apologize to anyone that thinks I’m over-simplifying matters. As always, I’m relating my discussion to my own personal experiences.
I’ll talk about bad programming first.
Social anxiety disorder had won the first round, but I was back to try again. This seemingly insignificant achievement made me proud. In previous years, I would have found a way to get out of there and avoid any further punishment. I would have gone into a full-blown depression for a week or so, running [...]