Social anxiety sufferer

[noangel1981]

Hi, I suffer with really bad social anxiety and lately since I've started college, it's got a lot worse.
I just wondered if anybody has found a particular treatment that has really worked for them, be it medication, therapy or natural remedies?:shrug:

[Spagetti]

Hi Noangel,

Firstly well done for starting college.

From my research it appears that a mixture of CBT and medication has the highest success rate for social phobia. CBT can be funded by the NHS, as it is the "tried and tested" treatment, if you will.

That said, treatment has to be individualised. Several factors need to be taken into account including the severity of the problem. Changes such as starting college are stressful and so will increase anxiety levels. Many people find "Rescue Remedy" to be helpful during such times (although I cant vouch for this myself as I havent tried it).

A good place to start would be your GP. They will be able to point you in the right direction and refer you for treatment if necessary.

Good luck,

Spag xx

[Inspires]

Hi, I suffer with really bad social anxiety and lately since I've started college, it's got a lot worse.
I just wondered if anybody has found a particular treatment that has really worked for them, be it medication, therapy or natural remedies?:shrug:

Hi noangel,

I suffer from Social Anxiety, amongst other things! :winks:

I'm on prescribed medication, which helps to a degree, and I'm also going to attend an anxiety management course, next month for extra support.

If things are affecting your everyday life, then visit your GP, or ask your surgery nurse, and you will be referred to what facility may suit you.

Everyone is of course unique, so one treatment which helps one person, may not suit another. It may take time to find the correct medication, or counselling.

Coming on this forum and asking for help, is the first step, so now take the next...

Take care,


Sue x :flowers:

[cattttt]

What sort of social anxiety do you suffer from? If it's parties, social occasions etc that people expect you to go to and treat you like a nerd if you don't, then there is a way out. It's worked for me over the years, but it's not easy, especially if you're young. Don't go to them-find your company elswhere. I've always hated things like that, so I went youth hostelling, did the DOE award, joined the lifeguard club. Now I'm older, people at work still think I'm wierd, but as I work in a hospital, they are grateful for someone to work when they have social occasions and I get my company at yoga classes, political party I belong to and a women's group. You don't have to enjoy parties, and there's nothing wrong with not going to them.

[blueangel]

That's very true - there are different ways of socialising and we're not all the same. I think the important point overall is to find the social things that we feel happy with. For me, I'm into football, go to matches with friends and deal with crowds of 25,000+, but present me with a formal dinner party and that's horrific.

I suppose the big thing though is to realise that avoidance is the road to hell, and that's the issue that has to be controlled. Avoidance can get completely out of hand, as I know from close quarters as my partner's mum is very badly agoraphobic and doesn't leave the house very often these days.