Social Anxiety - Being outdoors problem

[Carla08]

Hi everyone
I just joined today and so finding my way around the site. My main problem is that of social anxiety. I can appear really confident chatty and outgoing and people tell me I am a typical bubbly blonde, however underneath I am anything but. In the past year especially my symptoms of got much worse to the point where I am getting agaraphobic, unless I am outdoors with someone. If I am on my own I panic, feel lightheaded, cant breathe and generally feel like the world is closing in on me. My heart races to the extreme. I actually cry in the street as I am feeling like this. Once I get near home to safety or back in the house I take a while to calm down and then I feel fine again although exhausted. I make myself go out and confront how I am feeling and when I feel the panic rise I count down slowly from 1-10 or I listen to my Mp3 player which is vital. When I am inside a place then I am fine, it is just outdoors. I also can be really confident but then sometimes out of nowhere when someone chats to me, someone I know or dont know, for example in a shop, I find myself going bright red and tongue tied and I feel so sick and panicky I almost feel like running off. My cheeks tingle and burn and I feel so 'on the spot' its just awful. I have seen the way people have noticed this by their reactions. Please does anyone know why this happens or has anyone experienced this or is it just me? It is really affecting my life and sometimes I can get suicidal about it all. I went to my gp and he prescribed Seroxat which I cant take as it just doesnt suit me. I would prefer to deal with my problems without medication if I can.
Many thanks for taking the time to read this

[bottleblond]

Hi Carly,

Awwwww i'm so sorry your feeling so down at the moment.

Reading your post, you DO come across like a very together person. Anxiety effects us all in so many different ways but it is very hard to pin point a cause unless we have an actual trigger/phobia eg: lifts, spider and such like.

Is it being outside or how you come across to others that you fear most? For me it's being outside at the moment, i need to be close to my safe place which is home.

Maybe your doctor could refer you for some CBT which i have heard is very successful.

good luck and welcome to the site!!


Lisa
xxx

[Carla08]

Hi Lisa
Thanks for your really nice message. Do you suffer from a similar problem? It was nice to read that you thought I sounded like I am together type person, however I dont think I am but its nice to hear.
The main problem is the being outdoors problem and like you said about you having to be near home. I absolutely cant go anywhere on my own without the fear and panic starting. I now work from home but that isolates me which just doesnt help my confidence I know. I have this feeling when I go out on my own that is almost a similar feeling to the feeling when you know something awful is about to happen. I feel that people are watching me as well and making derogatory comments or thinking derogatory things. It is so strange. I dont drive and live on my own and in quite a rural..ish area, so I do have to go out on my own to get things done. I wasnt too bad when I was working and then I got made redundant and everything spiralled. However I have felt like this on/off since I was really young. My gp is terrible. I told him a few weeks ago that I felt suicidal at that time and he gave me a prescription for Seroxat and told me to go back in 3 weeks time. I am making a further appt to see him and ask for CBT but I do know that it is hard to get due to waiting lists, but I will ask. I just dont want to spend the rest of my life like this being limited as to what I can do.

[woody32]

Hi,

Thought id post on here as have experienced social anxiety and still do. I sometimes get very anxious when out and about on my own and feel quite detached. I can get disorientated especially in large car parks and driving also makes me anxious at times. I have suffered from agoraphobia in the past and it is truly awful, I never got treated professionally for it i think thats why its never really gone. Im on sertraline 100mg daily at the moment which helps but I still get agitated and panic in situations which are seemingly free from danger..is a very complex illness. Just thought id add my thoughts!

[Carla08]

Hi
Thanks for your message. Feeling as we do is awful isnt it? I hate taking medication and never take any but I know also that if it helps me somewhat then I am going to have to. I am looking at alternative therapies too. I just wish it would all go away. I make myself go out and confront it but it can end up being really traumatic for me. I actually cried walking down the road a few weeks ago cos it was so awful. If I am with someone though then I feel fine and there is absolutely no problem. How mad is that! haha..

[bab]

Hi Carly

You sound just like me. I avoid any kind of social situation cos i know im just going to panic and say that i dont feel well or feel like im going to pass out. I am becoming agoraphobic as i feel scared when i go out now, although when people see me they think im bubbly and very together and when i admit what im really like they cant believe it. It really gets me down.

[Karen]

Hi Carly

to NMP

I can tell you that you are definiteky not alone and medication is not the only answer, although it does help some people.

I've had social anxiety since my childhood and for me it caused severe anxiety and panic attacks whenever I had to speak to anyone I didn't know or go into social situation, or use the telephone and it did get to a point where it did start to tip into agoraphobia at one point.

However, Carly it sounds like you are doing well by keeping going out and managing the anxiety. It can and does get easier step by step. I made a lot of friends here and went from not speaking or seeing anyone to phoning people and visiting friends and going to meet ups so it is possible.

Karen x