Am I also suffering from social anxiety?

[phil06]

Where do I start? I suffer anxiety it started off with panic, then generalised anxiety, some depression and more lately really bad OCD. Lately I've suffered alot of issues at work which I feel is social as I deal with customers. What I think is happening is I'm combining OCD + Social anxiety into one situation which scares the living day lights out of me.

I get an OCD thought or thoughts however it's more now I fear some customers due to HOCD. I'm straight and would like a nice g.f but suffer bad obsessive compulsive disorder..anyway what makes me think I have social anxiety is I'm extremely paranoid alot by people, work colleagues in case they are talking about me. I get a phase in a shift where that above anxiety kicks in over a customer and I go red, sweat, shake, tremble, very fast heart beat, the need to get out the situation basically.

As it's work I can't just leave so it takes like 10 minutes to pass so I'm like mega paranoid everybody sees anxiety..doesn't know I'm OCD/Anxiety and thinks all sorts? No doubt I'm suffering another factor of my anxiety but blimey social anxiety is awful. I've never been too bad with it one problem I have, or had is eating infront of people but that's come and gone over the years.

Reading posts on here it's reassuring to know people have had the embarrassment symptom but never read on to see what caused it if they had OCD or anxiety/intrusive thoughts. But it's really scary I know everybody says nobody can see your anxiety thoughts but everybody can see a tense person in the corner...I'm positive this is an extreme spike of social anxiety I'm suffering..Can anybody help? I'm genuinely freaked out by it and it's even more distressing if specific things or people bring it on..I just want rid of the anxiety. Oh and the paranoia is something that gets me alot the now in any situation.

I kind of posted in the OCD section but feel now maybe I've got my wires crossed. The "thought" is not bothering me much my big massive concern is how I look at work when this anxiety comes on. I've kind of accepted the thoughts mean nothing and it's an over active imagination. But what the heck? Social anxiety still there? Fear there? What's going on?

Please can somebody reassure me about this social anxiety stuff?

[JohnLuke300]

Hi Phil,

I have had social phobia since childhood and can empathize with pretty much everything you say. I am 41 on Saturday and have never formed any female relationships so I understand where you are coming from there. Embarrassment is at the heart of social anxiety as we fear we will look stupid or weak to people that observe us. We fear they will see our anxiety but the truth is they rarely do. It is nowhere near as obvious to others even though to us it feels like it is impossible to miss. The problem is we internalize, we are so wrapped up in the thoughts in our head we do not realize everyone around us is paying little attention. So no they rarely can see it in us we just think they do.

All the best

John

[coulson1]

I agree totally with johnluke. I suffer from SAD.. and have done for 10 years (im 28)...however after medication, i now know most people do not realise the blushing, sweating and shaking we experience, is in our heads, i still suffer from SAD however on a much lesser level. medication (20mg cipralex) has helped me, and im waiting fro CBT sessions , which will hopefully help me more. You will get through this xx

[phil06]

I know people say nobody can see social anxiety but at work when I get embarrassed they comment on it and notice it. So in effect they see me getting anxious and probably don't know I have social anxiety which is making my worry worse. I get intrusive thoughts so that means people might think wrong stuff about me.

[fishman65]

Hi Phil,it is quite likely that you are indeed experiencing some social anxiety in the situations you have described.However,I do think its important to recognise that these different disorders that we see highlighted on the site are quite often inter-related and co-exist alongside each other.The vast majority of these disorders are anxiety based in the first place,so I would try not to label yourself if you can.I used to do this a lot when I was younger (I'm 44 now),but tend now to accept I have anxiety full stop and that it can manifest itself in many different ways.Are you taking any medication?Anti-depressants are useful in raising our levels of serotonin and once our feelings of well-being are increased this can lead to a reduction in anxiety symptoms.Hope this helps.Take good care now,

Fishy

[pennyforyourthoughts]

Hi there,
My goodness, you are not alone in this. However you label it or yourself, there are thousands who feel the way you do. So that's a reassurance in itself.

How good are you at flipping over your thoughts? I applaud you for seeking the help of a cognitive behavioral therapist. I did too and it really worked for me. I learned techniques that I am putting into use to this day. When I feel anxiety coming on, I switch my thoughts over to something positive about myself. As a result I feel better and because I feel better, I don't get my symptoms so bad. I now ask others if I'm blushing and they say 'no' - even though I feel that my blood is rushing like crazy to my neck and face. Nowadays I'm in much better control. I personally wouldn't recommend medication, unless you're depressed. Because I cured myself of my own anxiety without medication, I think that anyone else can do so too. It gave me a helluva boost to my confidence when I realised that I could cope with my anxiety myself.

One final thing - learn to love yourself - what are your best qualities. To love others and form a good relationship, you have to learn to love yourself first and foremost. I had to do this myself - I was my own worst enemy. Once I'd learned to love myself, things changed because I felt different. This is so hard to explain - it's oh so personal and this reply must appear like a load of mumbo jumbo. But I suppose we can only talk from personal experience and so this is mine.

You will never ever be alone in this - take comfort in that and be reassured that you can do this. Change your thoughts and you change your experiences!

Take care, thinking of you.
Penny