Progress
I’ve had social anxiety my whole life, these last few years have been such an amazing journey for me as i am definitely not in the same place mentally as i was before! All positive, looking forward to continue working on myself :)
Hi calmWillow5266
FIrst of all, congrats. I am very happy for you. I struggle with soical anxiety too and I know what it's like
Second, could you please share some of the things that you're doing to work on this? Some things that have helped you? I'm trying to find something that helps me to do social things I fear.
@FrozenGhost
im super sorry for how late this is, havent been on here for a while. I can say that because we are different individuals, not everything will work but I'd still love to share some things ive done! :)
One big thing i had to do for myself was some exposure therapy; putting myself in situations where my anxiety gets worse. This allowed me to really assess the situation and the event as it really is and in time i was able to feel more comfortable. Granted there are still moments where I'll end up with an anxiety attack, but with the amount of friends ive been able to make that were there to help me through it, I've been more determined to continue on my journey. :)
Thank you for your reply calmWillow5266, But what I was hoping you could share was how you managed the fear enough so that you COULD exposuse yourself to situations that make you anxious. I've never been able to do exposure. Fear always stops me.
Also, you seemed to have made a lot of friends and so I'm happy for you. Having a friend is a dream of mine.
Thats honestly a tough one to explain, because i basically just forced myself into the situations; fear or not. The thing is, the fear holding you back is always going to hold you back unless you yourself decide to take control. Its always going to be difficult, so there is never really an easy answer or way to get around that. However the more you start to go against the fear, the more it lessens. I’m super sorry if this didn’t help, it is always a different circumstance for everyone. I wish you well and i know you’ll be able to have a friend, because you deserve it :)
I am so happy for you finding your way out. I feel very stuck. And I feel like I know the answers. But am so scared to do what it takes to get better. Can you share some of the things you’ve learned that might help?
@quietbeliever
of course i can share some things ive learned :) so sorry for the late reply!
one of the biggest things ive come to learn is that nobody really remembers any slip up or embarrassing thing you do. With that said, they really are more focused on themselves than you, which is something I've spent a long time trying to understand. Ive also learned that continuing to hold yourself back does nothing but drag you further into the dark hole of stress and fear. And i do still have moments where ill end up having an axiety attack or I'll start overthinking for days on end but the big thing is to never believe yourself to be a failure in those moments. The future you will always continue to progress farther than the past you. :)
I have a supportive partner who accepts me and is willing to be there every step of the day until I am finally confident with myself in social situations. My social anxiety is so bad to the point of always wondering why I can’t function properly when it comes to getting along with human beings. This happens in the workplace, group settings, even with my own boyfriend. I have a tendency to excuse myself and leave because my social anxiety gets too much. Does anyone have the same problem? I just never know how to approach a person/ group of people because I am highly critical of myself. It stems from always being made fun of around so called friends and the way I was raised my grandparents never let us out and have social interactions except for school. I’ve always been shy but now I’m still shy and suffer severely from social anxiety as an adult. Help :(
@agirlinthisworld333
i understand very much, i have dealt with bullying and manipulation my entire childhood that it's always scary for me to try to make a new friend or start a conversation with others. Mainly because i never really know what to say, it's definitely overwhelming at times. Im really happy that you have someone supportive in your life. I find having supportive people can really motivate us to progress and gives us someone we can kinda lean on when things get too tough. I'm not so good with advice and explaining, but i just wanna say that it takes a lot of perseverance, courage, and strength to walk this journey. But i have hope you will be able to progress to a greater and happier version of you! :)
glad you're progressing