It’s sort of a self diagnoses. I’ve been asking around for years and doing research off and on and I came across the symptoms for Social Anxiety Disorder. I seem to have about 90% of the symptoms in such a severe way that it effects my daily life dramatically. I’m unable to see psychologists or doctors due to the cost, and I don’t have any support from family. I’ve been reading about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, but how do I know that’s right for me? As long as I know a certain treatment will work for me, I would be willing to do everything in my power to try and get it. I’m afraid if I wait too long, my depression as a result from my social anxiety will get even worse and impair any chances I have of recovering. Thanks everyone!

I also have social anxiety and I feel for you….I tried everything because I’m not much of a medicine person and I thought I could handle it myself but I couldnt I’m on Lexapro right now and I’m doing so much better you wouldnt even think I had social anxiety. If you don’t have the money I would say get a good book about the subject…goodluck

what im mainly asking is can Generalized anxiety disorder/social anxiety make you less aggressive to people in a physical way, because it is drawing attention to you and doesnt generalized anxiety disorder make you think MORE?

Jason, not quite sure what you are trying to get at, but some people with GAD and SAD can suffer from frustration which at times may bring out aggressive tendencies, while at the same time its more common to find a person who has GAD and SAD to be basically shy and non-assertive in interactions with others.

GAD makes you WORRY more, which is not the same thing as thinking more. Many of your thoughts (until you learn to counter and change them) are catastrophic or wrong thoughts, even paranoid to some degree.

The good news is GAD and SAD respond well to treatment either with Cognitve Therapy or a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and medications.

I have social anxiety disorder and I wanted to suggest a medication to my doctor, I have tried Zoloft and Paxil and I have mixed results. Zoloft the first time gave me good results, the second time on it I felt no different. Paxil made me a mean person. My S.A. has gotten worse over the past year or so and I’d really like to have a "heads up" on medications and how the results panned out for anyone else?

A slightly lower dose of Zoloft combined with a low dose of Celexa worked great. OK here is the disclaimer I am not a Doctor just been there. Sometimes finding the right combination can take time and is frustrating waiting it out. My doc believes the less medication the better but she has been very willing and creative in trying the two and for me it worked well. I had the same experience with the Zoloft as it worked well the first time then 3 years later I needed to be on it again and it didn’t work so well so my Doc added the Celexa with it. As always you should check with your Doc before starting anything new etc.
Also check out Web MD they have a wealth of information.
Another thing I tried was therapy to try to figure out where the stressors were coming from..just a suggestion
Good Luck!

I think that I have Social Anxiety Disorder, but it hasn’t been proven to me or anything. How do I know and how do I cope with it? I think it’s ruining my life.

Are you getting too nerveous in front of strangers? Maybe even near your friends? Do crowds make you feel uncomfortable? Are you gettin sick, sweaty, dizzy before and during you go out or in crowds? Are you having panic attacks? If your answer is yes to those questions, you have SAD or there is a strong possibility.

I have always been a shy person, but lately I have been feeling even more uncomfortable around people; in some cases, good friends or family that I haven’t seen in a while. I recently took one of those online depression tests, and it said I could have clinical depression. My question is, can depression lead to some form of social anxiety disorder?

They are two separate diagnoses but they can be diagnosed at the same time, meds are different. I am on Klonopin for anxiety and Wellbutrin and celexa for depression plus lithium for mood swings.

Can anyone think of a good game/some way to involve the class that I can include in my 20 minute presentation? I already have a question at the beginning that people can raise their hands for. It’s by myself, and I don’t want to just give everyone a quiz on if they have social anxiety disorder or not because a lot of people already did stuff like that in their own presentations. Any ideas? thanks!

"Two Truths and a Lie."

Each person called on by the speaker (you) tells two truths about themselves… and a lie… in any order. Then people raise their hand and say which one thing they thought was the lie. It’s funny because some of the oddest things turn out to be true… and some of the most believable are the lie.

Mine is "I have 7 children, I am an internet-ordained minister and I was born in Belgium."

I’ve never actually been to Belgium

Think about it for a second before you answer… wouldn’t they be too afraid of even making an appointment with someone or talking to a doctor about it to tell them what’s going on? I mean, I’m terrified of talking to anyone, so I don’t know, maybe I have social anxiety disorder, but "anyone" includes doctors and everything, so there’s no way in hell I could ever work up the nerve to actually tell anyone that in real life. I can’t even deal with calling a friend on the phone to ask about a homework assignment, let alone a complete stranger to make an appointment to talk about something that’s actually embarassing! So what I don’t get is how anyone can actually be diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, cause it seems to me that if they made it as far as being diagnosed then the probably don’t have it.
Ok, everyone so far has pretty much missed the point. I’m actually perfectly happy most of the time to be alone, but the point is that if I DID want to get treated for "social anxiety disorder," I wouldn’t be able to because it would make me too nervous, and if I could do it then I wouldn’t have need to be treated in the first place. Get it?

You can go to the doctor and explain it to him or her. They will prescribe medicine for it. A friend of mine takes some anxiety meds and it makes her feel more at ease.

I don’t know how, but I want to meet some lesbians who are my age in real life. This is very hard for me, because I have social anxiety disorder, which makes it hard for me to socialize with anyone. There aren’t any lesbigay youth groups in my city, and I’m currently home schooled… Any idea what I should do?

social anxiety disorder? SHY? Find a chat group and let yourself go and eventually you will hook up with some kids in your hood….relax and be yourself…they are nervous too.

just saw this….Try TransDyke, a Yahoo group. You must be 18 of course.

Hi there! I’m 20, a college student and have social anxiety disorder and it’s getting worse. I can barely buy a bottle of water without having my heart jumping out of my chest and shaking. I sometimes can’t look at my teacher cause I’m afraid of starting shaking and humiliate myself with a stupid answer etc. I’m gonna go to a psychologist tomorrow for the first time and my real question would be ‘How can this disorder be treatable?’. Can I cure myself or seriously need help? Thanks for answers.

I think it helps to keep in mind that you aren’t alone. A large percentage of the population has a hard time trying to get over social anxiety. That might not be very comforting, but remember people aren’t waiting for you to screw up, only you are. If you have a positive self image, it will become easier to talk to people.

I’ve had social anxiety disorder since I was about 7 years old (I’m 20 years old now) but the past year it’s gotten so bad that I don’t even leave the house because I don’t want to communicate with or be seen by anyone. I pretty much wake up (3pm) use computer till about 5pm, play xbox360 till dinner, then computer till about 5am.

What are some ways to help improve me being "normal"?

Go to church, esp ones that promote greeting its members. Attended their single Bible study, if it’s a big one, you will get over this. Don’t seclude yourself, that is the worse thing you can do. Surround yourself with people that like you or with people you think, will like you.
Start calling people up on the phone, use the yellow pages if you have too, go to meet up groups you might find on the web. Volunteer. Call churches and ask to be placed on their prayer list or ask for some counseling. I suggest a Baptist, or Evangelical, or Assemblies of God Church, Spirit filled Churches where God’s love is.
Don’t follow the world, their NOT NORMAL, (the world is a sick place!) you may have been right all along to stay to yourself under those circumstances!
Good luck to you, take care.