[Janimal]

For about the last 15 years i've suffered from what i'd now define a form of social anxiety. I'm hitting 30 now. It's been intense and stultifying in scenarios of pressure and public speaking but also affects me in day to day situations that really ought to be unintimidating. It can manifest in blushing, nerves, shaking, chattering, inability to think or remember, going blank, sweating, voice cracking, extreme self consciousness, create depression and more recently panic attacks.

I've never been on any medication -it's not something i warm to. I've always tried to ignore work around the symptoms and get on with my life but ultimately it has affected a lot of decisions & paths i've taken. I only recently got to grips with tackling the problem head on and looking for help&advice .

I'd like to connect with others who are similarly affected, not just to find empathic ears but because i'd like to practice meeting new people, talking to groups, putting myself in the positions that intimidate me, public speaking -all the things that can trigger the worst of my anxiety.The general idea being creating a bit of a community to support and practice with scenarios that create anxiety now and again. If something like this already exists and someone can advise -please do.

I should stress i'm really looking for people that feel highly restricted by their symptoms, have been suffering for more than just a few months or year and want to try to improve. i'd love to get to know some vaguely educated, literate/creative types nearish my age or above in a similar scenario.

If you're interested drop me a message. I'm based central London so finding others relatively locally would be great but happy to hear from anyone similar.

[John1987]

Hi there. I think I might suffer from the same form of social anxiety as you. I also experience anxiety in the most random, completely unintimidating places, such as the post office or even at a bus stop. It can result in me becoming nervous, extremely self conscious, scared for no apparent reason, inability to speak, stuttering, going blank, shaking. This has been going on for about 4 years. Recently I have become more housebound because I am literally becoming scared to go out. Now if I do have to go out I will normally drink alcohol to dull the sensations. I'm on medication but I sometimes find the sensations very overpowering. If you would like to talk please get in touch. I would be interested to know more about what you have experienced.

Kind regards,

-John

[Janimal]

Hey John,

thanks for the response. Having suffered for so long i'm obviously no expert in defeating my symptoms. It's always been something i've just lived with - not bad enough to keep me housebound but affecting my confidence and ablity to cope in certain situations. I get nervous, self conscious & blush a lot in social scenarios -particularly when meeting new people. I've always tended to drink to loose a bit of self awareness before going into social situations. I always felt it was something that i would get over with time.

I guess it's also true sometimes i don't answer the door or phone or make calls because of it or get overly anxious at very mundane basic interactions in the outside world. It's frustrating but i try not to let it restrict me. I can have good and bad days with it i think. Public speaking and attention has been the major downfall and the symptoms amplify to a point i can't think or function and it's very embarrassing and ultimately stops me doing/pursuing certain things. I tried not to run away from occasions and opportunities when needing to do it but it never got any better and has been pretty frustrating and depressing.

I've found it hard to stop my brain from reflecting on these things, symptoms, causes, worries day to day. . .

Anyway I'll send you a pm with a few more gory details if u like!

John