Do I have 'social phobia?' Please help!?
Question:
But at 17 I moved school, and for some reason I wasn't popular - I couldn't figure it out, but two of the 'cool' guys in the year hated me and made my life miserable. I also failed to get into any skl teams and the university I wanted :(
Getting to the point, now I hate social situations I once loved, dno why. Noone thinks of me as shy, I still appear as confident as b4, but every time I go out its a gigantic effort to act like its fun, and I'm exhausted at the end.
I'm paranoid about the state of my clothes, I freak out about non existent stains, and panic that everyone laughs at them when I go out. Atm I'm 19 and going to uni soon, and I'm terrified that they won't accept me, especially as I now hate leaving the house.
So, what can I do? Any advice? I need help, really depressed :(
Answers:
Sorry to hear about the experience you had in school. Kids can be extremely cruel sometimes. I moved around quite a bit so I was always the outsider and to this day I am a loner but thankfully do not suffer from social anxiety disorder. Here is a link that may be helpful to you and I would also suggest that you talk to a doctor.
http://www.socialphobia.org/whatis.html...
Hey,
I have had problems with social phobias..especially throughout highschool and college..but later on in life, most people don't look for things like ability to be fun and outgoingness as reasons to respect someone..they respect people for many other reasons..like how successful they are, how honorable they are, how kind and compassionate they are, etc. It's always cool to be fun and outgoing no matter how old you are mind you, but don't worry too much about what people think about you because if you are a good, kind person..there are always people out there who are going to respect you. And if you are a good, kind person, with a successful career, then people (especially women lol) will be drawn to you.
Anywho, hope this helped, good luck!
Sounds like a mild case of social phobia but, in my opinion, the fix is simple...since you're a rather confident fellow I would suggest that maybe get a couple of your buddies and you guys go out to,say, Dairy Queen or some local "teen" hang-out and stay for just a few minutes, then go home where its"safe" do this for several days until you are once again comfortable being out in public among peers and friends. Do this quickly before you start school then you will be ready for the "new" crowd at school.
Hope this helps.
I have social phobia and agoraphobia, so I know how you feel. You have to kick it in the butt now before it turns more severe. Mine was mild once...now I can't leave the house or be around people unless I know I have a "Safe" room that I can hide in. I'm still working on all my issues...
I would definitely suggest seeing either a psychiatrist, psychologist, or a hypnotherapist. Personally, I think a psychologist would be better for you, they will give you exercises and things to help you get over it; psychiatrists just want to put you on meds for the most part. Also seeing a hypnotherapist is very helpful!! It's not like on TV, all they do is relax you and tell your mind certain things while it is in the subconcious state and open to hearing things. You aren't asleep and you know exactly what is going on around you.
Good luck!!!
As you mentioned that you were confident before, then you have the resource within you to be confident again.
I have listed an article on accessing powerful states below to allow you to reaccess that confident feeling.
There is also a link to an article on building your confidence. Basically you need to reaccess better states and get back in to the habit of using them more and more of the time until you are confident whenever you wish.
Good Luck.
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