Social anxiety and speaking

[mfmycm]

over the past two years I have struggled with social anxiety and will have diffulty speaking. To make a long story short I now find myself in the embarassing sitation of trying to remember how to talk without "strangling my voice." I am seeing a therapist to ease the anxieties but still having when I need to talk in a normal voice. I have good days and bad. I have been compensating for my "problem" for such a long time that routinely have a sore throat and muscle tension in my neck. Has anybody else had a similar problem. I really do feel like I am on an island by myself.

[ConfusedByLife]

Hi mfm

Although i dont have exactly the same problem i can relate. My voice gets all shaky when i get nervous and real short of breath. I avoid saying anything over a few sentences in case this happens and is one of my major worries around ppl. I also have muscle problems due to anxiety in my back and shoulders from constant tensing up. Apparently the major skeletal muscles contract (fight or flight respnse) when we feel threatened and if this happens constantly it can lead to muscle pain.
I think anxiety manifests itself in different ways in different ppl, but what it boils down too is all the same. Anxiety produces very physical effects on the body and is why i think most of the problems can be helped if we learn try and change our thinking patterns. I still can't help feeling anxious around ppl although i know how irrational it is, but hopefully we can learn to cope better.
Know you are not alone. Good luck

[Meg]

mfmycm,

Good for you for working on this to the extent that you are now talking more . Sucking boiled sweets can help too.

Keep going

Meg

proactiveness, positivity, persistence, perseverance and practice = progress