Social Anxiety Support

Desperate · 05-12-2009, 03:59 PM

Before being diagnosed with it, had you ever even heard of Social Anxiety Disorder or Social phobia? When I was younger, I knew there was something wrong or odd about me and I had even thought that I was the only one with this problem. That I was weird, and I had never met anyone who was as anxious or nervous as I was/am when being around people.. I used to think there was no way other people in the world could feel or relate to what I felt or went through. I had never known anyone else who blushes like crazy for no reason besides people, or the thought of people staring at them.

When I learned that I had SAD, I didn't really know what it was.. My family don't even understand it at all and think there is nothing wrong and that I'm just "shy" and that I will get over it(As I used to think so myself).. I feel that Society is still not well informed about it and that as long as they do not know what SAD or social phobia is, they will never understand us and keep assuming that we are just "shy" and that we will grow out of it.. I find it frustrating, yet again I can understand because even I who has it, didn't even know SAD existed..

WintersTale · 05-12-2009, 04:01 PM

I didn't realize what was wrong with me until my doctor started talking about social anxiety. All I knew was that I got anxious around people, but didn't know what was wrong.

kpiper0101 · 05-12-2009, 04:23 PM

I'd never heard of it until I was skimming through the DSM-IV in my twenties, and I saw the diagnostic criteria. I knew, of course, that there was something different about me, even when I was a little kid, and I could see other people didn't feel like I do. It made me feel a little better to know that it was an actual disorder that other people have.

Desperate · 05-13-2009, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpiper0101

It made me feel a little better to know that it was an actual disorder that other people have.

Yea it made me feel better too because now I knew that I wasn't the only one.

WineKitty · 05-13-2009, 02:41 PM

I didnt know about it until about 5 years ago. Knowing that there was a name for it and that I wasnt alone made me feel somewhat better back then.

OneIsALonelyNumber · 05-13-2009, 07:33 PM

I learned about it in college, I think from an Abnormal Psychology book. I was floored - "you mean there are other people like me?!!"

lyssado707 · 05-14-2009, 10:43 AM

I didn't know the term until my mom forced me to go to a psychiatrist when i was 13/14ish. I felt like a freak when i heard "social anxiety," so i didn't accept the diagnosis until i googled it in 2004 and found this place.

Hmmm before then i just thought i was "shy," "quiet," and whatever other term the general public used to describe my behavior.

Kelly · 05-14-2009, 12:18 PM

I first learned about SA when I was an undergrad and it was mentioned in a commercial for some prescription medication. I was either 18 or 19 (1996.) I thought, "Hey, that sounds like me."

Later, I learned more about it when I changed my major to psych and took abnormal psych (age 22, in 2000) and I was even more convinced that it sounded like me.

Then I got fed up one day in late 2003 and started looking around on the internet to learn more about SA and found this website.

I wasn't officially diagnosed with SA until late 2004. I was 27 years old.

So it took a long time for me to be diagnosed with SA after I'd first heard about it.

Have a nice day,
Kelly

supersoshychick · 06-07-2009, 08:38 AM

haven't been diagnosed w/ it yet, but i'm aware what it is

andy0128 · 06-07-2009, 10:16 AM

I think i was 21 when i became aware of it, mostly by noticing all the books and articles concerning it on the internet. Shortly after i joined this forum, but have never bothered to get diagnosed. In some ways it was reassuring to learn about the extent of the problem, but on the downside it made me feel like whats the point in trying anymore.

slylikeafox · 06-07-2009, 01:01 PM

I haven't been officially diagnosed. I learned about social anxierty from the internet. All I know is that at one point social situations scared me enough to prevent me from leaving my house. Some social situations still make me extremly nervous.

Metallic · 06-07-2009, 01:06 PM

I didn't know what was wrong with my for years. I started to wonder if I had SAD when we were learning about it in my high school Psych class, but, since I wasn't some huge expert, I wasn't completely sure. Yeah, my psychologist did diagnose me with it, but it was I who officially figured it out when I came to them for that reason years later.

Recusant · 06-07-2009, 02:06 PM

Saw a commercial about it when I was younger, I think when Paxil or Zoloft first came out. Forgot about it for years and now here we are!

shyvr6 · 06-07-2009, 10:20 PM

I thought I was just shy.

Aurora · 06-07-2009, 10:57 PM

I found out about it through googling what the heck was wrong with me last year.

Also found criteria in the DSM-IV.

UltraShy · 06-08-2009, 12:34 AM

For my entire life I was always considered "shy". We had to use that term as we didn't know there was any other world for it. Keep in mind I was born 8 years before social phobia was put in the DSM in 1981, making it an officially recognized mental disorder. It wasn't till early in 2000 that I first heard of it though. That's when Paxil started a massive TV ad campaign after getting that drug approved by the FDA as the first for the treatment of SA. Their ad perfectly described me and prompted me to investigate this on line and immediately see that this is exactly what I'd been cursed with for my entire life. I wasn't officially diagnosed till 2001 when I participated in a clinical trial for SA meds.

Jrock · 06-09-2009, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UltraShy

I wasn't officially diagnosed till 2001 when I participated in a clinical trial for SA meds.

And now 8 years later still no major changes. Kinda feels like a kick in the nuts some days.

Iced Soul · 06-09-2009, 05:16 PM

I always just thought I was abnormally shy and reserved. Well, around new people.
Anyway, I found out what it was when I was bout 15/16 when my doctor started talking about it.
Before that, I had no idea what it was or that it even existed, really.

BrokenDreams · 06-09-2009, 08:20 PM

SA wasn't defined until I was 25 years old but I didn't learn about it until about 1998 at the age of 42 when I bought a book on shyness that described SA. I had seen a counselor once about my shyness when I was 40 though and she had never even mentioned SA...

Neptunus · 06-09-2009, 08:24 PM

Learned about it a few years ago from a paxil commercial.

05-12-2009, 03:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
Desperate Status: SAS Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Central Cali Gender: Female Age: 24 Posts: 371	Did you even know what Social Anxiety Disorder or Social Phobia was? Before being diagnosed with it, had you ever even heard of Social Anxiety Disorder or Social phobia? When I was younger, I knew there was something wrong or odd about me and I had even thought that I was the only one with this problem. That I was weird, and I had never met anyone who was as anxious or nervous as I was/am when being around people.. I used to think there was no way other people in the world could feel or relate to what I felt or went through. I had never known anyone else who blushes like crazy for no reason besides people, or the thought of people staring at them. When I learned that I had SAD, I didn't really know what it was.. My family don't even understand it at all and think there is nothing wrong and that I'm just "shy" and that I will get over it(As I used to think so myself).. I feel that Society is still not well informed about it and that as long as they do not know what SAD or social phobia is, they will never understand us and keep assuming that we are just "shy" and that we will grow out of it.. I find it frustrating, yet again I can understand because even I who has it, didn't even know SAD existed..

05-13-2009, 02:41 PM	#5 (permalink)
WineKitty Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Gender: Female Age: 44 Posts: 12,817	I didnt know about it until about 5 years ago. Knowing that there was a name for it and that I wasnt alone made me feel somewhat better back then. __________________ "You can never really know a person and if you think you can, you're living in a ****ing dream world!" David Fisher, Six Feet Under

05-14-2009, 10:43 AM	#7 (permalink)
lyssado707 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Humboldt Co California Gender: Female Age: 26 Posts: 4,848	I didn't know the term until my mom forced me to go to a psychiatrist when i was 13/14ish. I felt like a freak when i heard "social anxiety," so i didn't accept the diagnosis until i googled it in 2004 and found this place. Hmmm before then i just thought i was "shy," "quiet," and whatever other term the general public used to describe my behavior. __________________ In Loving Memory, http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...6/P1000595.jpg http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...P1000480-1.jpg Marmalade January 1991-February 19, 2007

05-14-2009, 12:18 PM	#8 (permalink)
Kelly Status: Après moi, le déluge Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 6,709	I first learned about SA when I was an undergrad and it was mentioned in a commercial for some prescription medication. I was either 18 or 19 (1996.) I thought, "Hey, that sounds like me." Later, I learned more about it when I changed my major to psych and took abnormal psych (age 22, in 2000) and I was even more convinced that it sounded like me. Then I got fed up one day in late 2003 and started looking around on the internet to learn more about SA and found this website. I wasn't officially diagnosed with SA until late 2004. I was 27 years old. So it took a long time for me to be diagnosed with SA after I'd first heard about it. Have a nice day, Kelly __________________ Carefully, but full of might.

06-07-2009, 08:38 AM	#9 (permalink)
supersoshychick Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Melbourne, Australia Gender: Female Age: 23 Posts: 807	haven't been diagnosed w/ it yet, but i'm aware what it is __________________ Revealing deep secrets from anyone. Post Secret Operation Beautiful. Join in. Click here to join My World Blog

05-12-2009, 04:01 PM	#2 (permalink)
WintersTale Status: User Requested Permanent Ban Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 12,428	I didn't realize what was wrong with me until my doctor started talking about social anxiety. All I knew was that I got anxious around people, but didn't know what was wrong.

05-12-2009, 04:23 PM	#3 (permalink)
kpiper0101 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Eugene, OR Gender: Female Age: 49 Posts: 415	I'd never heard of it until I was skimming through the DSM-IV in my twenties, and I saw the diagnostic criteria. I knew, of course, that there was something different about me, even when I was a little kid, and I could see other people didn't feel like I do. It made me feel a little better to know that it was an actual disorder that other people have.

05-13-2009, 07:33 PM	#6 (permalink)
OneIsALonelyNumber Status: SAS Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mid-Missouri, USA Gender: Male Age: 42 Posts: 2,992	I learned about it in college, I think from an Abnormal Psychology book. I was floored - "you mean there are other people like me?!!"

06-07-2009, 10:16 AM	#10 (permalink)
andy0128 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Europe Gender: Male Age: 32 Posts: 1,151	I think i was 21 when i became aware of it, mostly by noticing all the books and articles concerning it on the internet. Shortly after i joined this forum, but have never bothered to get diagnosed. In some ways it was reassuring to learn about the extent of the problem, but on the downside it made me feel like whats the point in trying anymore.

06-07-2009, 01:01 PM	#11 (permalink)
slylikeafox Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Michigan Gender: Male Age: 27 Posts: 1,777	I haven't been officially diagnosed. I learned about social anxierty from the internet. All I know is that at one point social situations scared me enough to prevent me from leaving my house. Some social situations still make me extremly nervous. __________________ SAS Artist Trading Card Group "Aim at the sun, and you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if aimed at an object on a level with yourself" - Joel Hawes

06-07-2009, 01:06 PM	#12 (permalink)
Metallic Status: Suit up! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: North Carolina Gender: Female Age: 24 Posts: 385	I didn't know what was wrong with my for years. I started to wonder if I had SAD when we were learning about it in my high school Psych class, but, since I wasn't some huge expert, I wasn't completely sure. Yeah, my psychologist did diagnose me with it, but it was I who officially figured it out when I came to them for that reason years later. __________________ sometimes even to live is an act of courage When I get sad, I stop being sad, and be AWESOME instead. True story.

06-07-2009, 02:06 PM	#13 (permalink)
Recusant Status: Badonkadonk Join Date: May 2009 Location: In the unbound node of the mind Gender: Male Age: 26 Posts: 74	Saw a commercial about it when I was younger, I think when Paxil or Zoloft first came out. Forgot about it for years and now here we are!

06-07-2009, 10:20 PM	#14 (permalink)
shyvr6 Status: Makin Waves Join Date: Feb 2008 Gender: Male Age: 35 Posts: 15,361	I thought I was just shy. __________________ My world equals a lifetime of thoughts and only a heartbeat of existence.

06-07-2009, 10:57 PM	#15 (permalink)
Aurora Status: SAS Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Australia. Gender: Female Age: 28 Posts: 928	I found out about it through googling what the heck was wrong with me last year. Also found criteria in the DSM-IV. __________________ I tell you everything that is really nothing, and nothing of what is everything, do not be fooled by what I am saying. Please listen carefully and try to hear what I am not saying. ~ Charles C. Finn

06-08-2009, 12:34 AM	#16 (permalink)
UltraShy Status: Surrounded by Sadness Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Milwaukee, WI (BDSM sadist, Libertarian) Gender: Male Age: 40 Posts: 35,057	For my entire life I was always considered "shy". We had to use that term as we didn't know there was any other world for it. Keep in mind I was born 8 years before social phobia was put in the DSM in 1981, making it an officially recognized mental disorder. It wasn't till early in 2000 that I first heard of it though. That's when Paxil started a massive TV ad campaign after getting that drug approved by the FDA as the first for the treatment of SA. Their ad perfectly described me and prompted me to investigate this on line and immediately see that this is exactly what I'd been cursed with for my entire life. I wasn't officially diagnosed till 2001 when I participated in a clinical trial for SA meds. __________________ I wonder what reason I have to live Desperately I have searched for a meaning Is it now time for me to let go of the world

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06-09-2009, 05:16 PM	#18 (permalink)
Iced Soul Status: Done with SA Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,818	I always just thought I was abnormally shy and reserved. Well, around new people. Anyway, I found out what it was when I was bout 15/16 when my doctor started talking about it. Before that, I had no idea what it was or that it even existed, really.

06-09-2009, 08:20 PM	#19 (permalink)
BrokenDreams Status: Improving Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: San Diego, CA Gender: Male Posts: 987	SA wasn't defined until I was 25 years old but I didn't learn about it until about 1998 at the age of 42 when I bought a book on shyness that described SA. I had seen a counselor once about my shyness when I was 40 though and she had never even mentioned SA... __________________ http://www.spike.com/video/boulevard-of-broken/2656367 The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. ~Elbert Hubbard "The shell must break before the bird can fly." By : Tennyson

06-09-2009, 08:24 PM	#20 (permalink)
Neptunus Status: User Requested Permanent Ban Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Navigating a sea of emotions Gender: Female Posts: 19,632	Learned about it a few years ago from a paxil commercial.