Advice please?

[Dan9]

Hi first post here, over the past year I've felt a change in my normal self. Ive always been a quite shy person ever since high school but its gradually getting harder for me in social situations/public. I just dont feel comfortable in public anymore and even walking in public can feel awkward now, i have no idea why this has happened. I'm at university now and we did a presentation in front of a lecture audience and i had my notes in my hand but i had to put them down because my hands were shaking badly. Ive been given medication in the past for excessive sweating and shaking hands so im not sure whether these could be linked?

I have an appointment at my gp on wednesday and im just wondering what they could possibly treat me with to make me feel more at ease in these situations and not as self conscious. Thank you

[KK77]

Propranolol can help with physical symptoms like sweating, trembling etc, but you would need an AD to deal with mood problems. Speak to your GP about how you're being affected, especially the withdrawal and avoidance caused by anxiety.

[I Don't Get it!]

Hello Dan9 :)

I'm not qualified to give advice, but just speaking from my own experience of Anxiety I'd say the most helpful things for me were:

1. Finding a couple of good self-help books that explained the condition and de-mystified it for me. Basically letting me know that Anxiety is temporary and if I calmly accept the symptoms, they'll go away eventually*. There's also some good information on this site, which is found in the Introduction section I think (?).

2. Your GP might offer either drugs or talking therapy or both. I tried the drugs (Propranolol), but had to stop due to side effects (mainly depression), but the talking therapy really helped me. Again, find out as much as you can for yourself. Knowledge is power and all that.

3. I used free guided meditation mp3's and bought some hypnotherapy mp3's as well and found them very helpful. Learn how to relax.

4. I know a lot of people find medication helpful and I won't criticise it, but it doesn't work for me - I found tincture of oat straw very helpful for inducing sleep and helping with relaxation. You have to find what works for you.

*The idea of calm acceptance is that unless you do this, you are in danger of adding a second layer of fear to the original Anxiety and this makes it worse and longer lasting.

I hope some of this makes sense to you. Learn as much as you can about Anxiety and that knowledge will take away the fear of the unknown. It's not exactly the same for everyone, of course. You'll find your own ways once you really know what you're dealing with.

Best of luck to you :flowers: