Hi, just thought I'd say hello. I am a man in his late 30's with pretty bad social anxiety/avoidant personality disorder and GAD. The avoidance and social anxiety began at around 10ish and basically wrecked my life. I have never been able to work properly, form a group of friends, or have serious, committed relationships. At 39 I live with my mother in the house I was born in. With my 40th looming, the shame, humiliation, and sense of failure is reaching a crisis point and creating so much inner tension and anxiety that I wake up almost every night with a pounding heart.
On a more positive note, the social anxiety is definitely wearing off as I age. Most of the books seem to agree that avoidance and social anxiety do get better with time, and that has certainly been my experience. The real problem now is dealing with my past and the sense of failure and shame. In other words, dealing with the wreckage left by the avoidance and social anxiety.
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