Hi everyone, I was directed here from someone on the Social Anxiety Support site. In case you're wondering, social anxiety is anxiety (emotional discomfort, fear, apprehension, or worry) about social situations, interactions with others, and being evaluated or scrutinized by other people. I've had it most of my life. Right now, I'm a 26 year old who identifies as a lesbian and is still in the closet for the most part. Having social anxiety has made it extremely hard for me to come out to anybody. I feel fearful to reveal anything about myself to most people. On top of that, I have a very traditional family, and I still live with them. I don't have many friends or any much support for being who I am except for my therapist. If anybody is in the same type of situation or has social anxiety, feel free to PM me or reply. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to EmptyClosets! I cannot say that I have the same type of situation, and unfortunately Regular Members cannot use PM unless your sending or receiving it from a staff member. Once you have made 50 posts, you can apply to be a full member, and trust me when I say it comes by quickly! Right now your probably won't get many replies, but in the morning when more people are up, they'll come pouring in and you can meet more people just like you. You can still send me a message on my wall if you would like to chat.
Hello and welcome =) I probably wouldn't say I have a disorder with social anxiety, but I certainly have issues with it. I'm very shy and worry way too much about what people think about me. I've had panic attacks in the past so I can relate at least to an extent. For whatever reason I have major anxiety about talking on the phone to people. I don't know what it is, but I just get all nervous and mess up phone calls. I just start talking really fast trying to get it over as fast as I can and then realize I don't even remember the information they gave me >.< At any rate, welcome to the site. I'm sure you'll find plenty of people to relate to =)
Welcome to E.C. I thought I'd just say that I too have social anxiety disorder - and from perusing around E.C. for a year now, I can assure you we're far from alone in struggling with social anxiety issues. There's plenty of people in this community who I'm sure can relate .
Welcome to EC! You're not alone here & there are many people that can relate to your situation. I wouldn't say I have social anxiety but I am shy & quiet, stoic at times. I don't do well with strangers. I wouldn't be the first to break the ice.
Hey! I'm in the same situation as you, and I totally understand what you're feeling. I have social anxiety, and I'm also a part of the Social Anxiety Support forum. It's super tough dealing with both SA and being gay at the same time, huh? I mean, it's hard enough having to come out, and it's hard enough having to be so socially anxious - being both is just so tough. They both build on each other and make each problem on its own worse. Being gay and closeted perpetuates the social anxiety, and having social anxiety perpetuates not being able to come out. :icon_sad: I'm sure you know what I'm saying. Someone on this forum actually suggested that I read a book called Overcoming Social Anxiety by Gillian Butler. I've just finished reading the first third of the book, and it's helped me learn a lot about the disorder. I haven't begun the part where it teaches you how to overcome it, but I can say that this book has been enlightening so far (albeit there are horrendous grammar and spellings issues haha). Maybe you've already heard of it or read it, but if not, check it out! Feel free to message me on my wall if you want to talk! It's good having someone to bounce your thoughts off of who understands what you're going through. I'm gay and have SA, so...
Well... is social Anxiety like similar to being some one who is anti-social ? And I mean an extreme case of anti social .....I'm just. Wondering sorry if that's like uh off topic........
No, social anxiety is totally different from antisocial personality disorder. Antisocial is when a person behaves recklessly with no regard for rules, laws, and right and wrong. They often get into trouble from reckless behavior and don't do well in school, work, and relationships. They tend to lie and can act violent and oftentimes have alcohol or drug problems. Basically, they engage in destructive behavior. Social anxiety is when a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. People with SA are overly self conscious in the presence of others, since they fear being watched, judged, and criticized for doing something wrong or something embarrassing. They often suffer from panic attacks, feeling dizzy, nauseated, sweaty, and have a pounding chest when faced with a social situation that they're uncomfortable with or often even when thinking about the possibility of engaging in a social situation. They worry about social events days or weeks before they happen, and they linger on the things that happen days or weeks after the event. With SA, there's a really distorted way of thinking about how they will behave and how they will be perceived by others. Basically, they have no confidence that they will do well in socialization and they assume the worst will happen in every situation, causing people to judge them negatively. See the huge difference?? Hope that helps.
Welcome here! I may not suffer from social anxiety but I do know how it feels because I'm a little like that too, not comfortable around people, nervous and so on. I'm working on it though, one step at a time, so you're not alone. Wish you a nice staying in the forum
Hey welcome to EC! I too have social anxiety and anxiety in general Feel free to shoot me a wall message.
Thank you all for your wonderful welcomes! This is by far the most friendliest forum on the internet. Your reponses really mean a lot to me. :smilewave
