Hi all. It's been a long time since I posted or been on No More Panic. It helped me in the past and I'm at a point in my life that my mental health is more out of control than ever. However, today I specifically wanted to talk about what has been going on in regards to my social anxiety. I always had some anxiety over social situations and even with just doing every day things in front of people. I have a fear of public speaking, and in general, I feel extreme anxiety being around groups of people who are showing me attention... and at this point.. just walking down the street.
I just turned 26. I've been diagnosed with bipolar (type II). And anxiety. The psychiatrist said that I was showing pronounced signs of agoraphobia.. and I've known this to be true far before he told me. I've been trying to make myself go out, to be around crowds, and finally... to go to interviews without having a complete panic attack (although, sometimes I do). So, today, I went to an interview that I was feeling pretty confident about. Yes, I had lots of anxiety, that's never going to change for me. However, this happens every time I have an interview. As soon as it is over, I panic and panic, not because I'm not getting over the initial experience, I panic for the phone call that will come to tell me I got the job! I panic for the reality of dealing with people... even simple things like handing them the correct change.. and in relation to today's interview, to be a TOUR GUIDE and have everyone listening to me. I've tried to work at a cafe, and I almost, as dramatic as this sounds, I was more willing to kill myself than to have to return the next day. Alas, I don't want that.
So I panic about the job and the people becoming a reality. I REALLY need a job.. and this one in particular falls into a category that I went to school for. I hardly eat because I can't support myself. I have no family supports (most are gone). I have been on a waiting list to see someone for over a year. People ask me how I got through an undergrad degree with anxiety, I don't usually tell them, but any time I joined a class that you had participation marks in, or had to do presentations, I dropped and switched classes to one that would be in tune with my mental health.
Does anyone experience this anxiety? If so, any tips on how you got past it, if you did? I have no one else to turn to but I know there are others out there like me.
Thank you,
Manuella