Social Anxiety Support

jordo · 09-07-2009, 09:48 AM

I feel wearing sunglasses significantly reduces my anxiety. I'd go so far as to say it's the best medicine.

How does it work? No idea, but sunglasses reduce the amount of incoming visual information as a whole, including visual information that would be later processed as emotional information. What's more, they feel like a 'mask'; things like worrying about eye contact are just absent.

I would be interested to know if anyone else feels this way wearing sunglasses.

If we find that sunglasses really do have a great effect I propose prescription designer sunglasses as a cure to anxiety

JayDontCareEh · 09-07-2009, 09:54 AM

Couldn't have said it better myself Jordo.

outcast69 · 09-07-2009, 10:20 AM

I don't know if its helping your problem or helping you avoid it.

kpiper0101 · 09-07-2009, 10:30 AM

Sunglasses help me a bit. They're certainly not a cure though, especially indoors and in the rain . . .

jordo · 09-07-2009, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by outcast69

I don't know if its helping your problem or helping you avoid it.

Good point. But as a measure that counters the symptoms of something, I prefer it to the drugs that are out there which aim at doing the same thing.

glarmph · 09-07-2009, 10:33 AM

I've got a bad habit of doing this. In restaurants, inside at work, most everywhere.

jordo · 09-07-2009, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpiper0101

Sunglasses help me a bit. They're certainly not a cure though, especially indoors and in the rain . . .

I was joking on the cure bit.

Btw, I'm inside now, on a dull cloudy day wearing sunglasses.

jordo · 09-07-2009, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glarmph

I've got a bad habit of doing this. In restaurants, inside at work, most everywhere.

Why is it a bad habbit if it helps you? Where do the costs outweigh the benefits?

rockst4r · 09-07-2009, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jordo

I feel wearing sunglasses significantly reduces my anxiety. I'd go so far as to say it's the best medicine.

How does it work? No idea, but sunglasses reduce the amount of incoming visual information as a whole, including visual information that would be later processed as emotional information. What's more, they feel like a 'mask'; things like worrying about eye contact are just absent.

I would be interested to know if anyone else feels this way wearing sunglasses.

If we find that sunglasses really do have a great effect I propose prescription designer sunglasses as a cure to anxiety

omggg they definitely help!!!!!!!!!! but what are we gonna do in the winter?? lol.

UltraShy · 09-07-2009, 12:11 PM

I haven't worn sun glasses in almost 20 years, but then I have little need for them when I almost never go out in the sun.

sprout · 09-07-2009, 12:13 PM

Wearing my big oversized sunglasses is a big help for me. Since they cover/hide a lot of my face, I am much less self-conscious, which lowers my anxiety. If I could, I'd wear them 24x7.

kos · 09-07-2009, 01:57 PM

I fully agree with the original post and I will be wearing my sunglasses in the winter and even to bed. My eyes are super light blue so its VERY hard to see on a sunny day. I have to squint all the time and sometimes it looks like im crying!

kos · 09-07-2009, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sprout

Wearing my big oversized sunglasses is a big help for me. Since they cover/hide a lot of my face, I am much less self-conscious, which lowers my anxiety. If I could, I'd wear them 24x7.

no offense to you but i can't stand when girls wear those oversized sunglasses. It gives off a really materialisic/fake vibe imo.

jordo · 09-07-2009, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kos

no offense to you but i can't stand when girls wear those oversized sunglasses. It gives off a really materialisic/fake vibe imo.

Really? I love seeing girls in those glasses. I think it looks cool, but in like a cute sort of way.

Still Waters · 09-07-2009, 02:47 PM

I love sunglasses-it gives me the feel of being in my own,dark little world. I don't carry it to the point of wearing them on an overcast day or inside. That would just get me a weird sort of attention. I seem to do that perfectly well enough all on my own!

kos · 09-07-2009, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jordo

Really? I love seeing girls in those glasses. I think it looks cool, but in like a cute sort of way.

I just see all the celebrities wearing them and as a result EVERY female wears them. Kinda sad. Cute on some tho. Not everyone.

epril · 09-07-2009, 03:14 PM

I don't wear sunglasses 'cause I wouldn't be able to see. I wonder how much prescription sunglasses would be?

kpiper0101 · 09-07-2009, 04:30 PM

I always wear them when it's sunny, and I often wear them when it's overcast; but in the rain and indoors it sort of attracts more attention than it deflects, and the whole point of it, aside from their intended purpose, is to hide a little bit. I do carry them with me at all times though, in the event that the rain stops, and I do get more than a little freaked out if I can't find 'em. It's a little easier to talk to people when I'm wearing them because I feel a bit safer if they can't see my eyes. If I didn't wear contacts, I'd definitely get prescription sunglasses -- they're a must-have for the meek.

Canadian Brotha · 09-07-2009, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canadian Brotha

I broke my regular glasses a while back & I'm blind without some form of glasses so I've literally been "wearing my sunglasses at night" for the last while. Well today it's out of the darkness into the light, I have new glasses. Many people say the sun makes the smile, I wonder if my return to light will have a similar effect. I'm not particularly optimistic but I've got to give it a chance

I'm quoting myself from a post I made in the "random thoughts" thread. Honestly sunglasses can be a sort of protection from SA symptoms but weargin them when it's dark or inside simple attracts attention you may not want as a person with SA

jordo · 09-07-2009, 06:11 PM

Yeah I consider about the attention stuff, but I debate myself on it, because that is largely some kind of cultural norm.

Additionally, I feel as though I don't mind the attention while wearing sunglasses to the extent that I would mind attention without them.

In other words, I might get attention because I'm wearing sunglasses, but it doesn't matter, because I'm wearing sunglasses.

09-07-2009, 09:48 AM	#1 (permalink)
jordo Status: SAS Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Gender: Male Age: 23 Posts: 100	Wearing sunglasses I feel wearing sunglasses significantly reduces my anxiety. I'd go so far as to say it's the best medicine. How does it work? No idea, but sunglasses reduce the amount of incoming visual information as a whole, including visual information that would be later processed as emotional information. What's more, they feel like a 'mask'; things like worrying about eye contact are just absent. I would be interested to know if anyone else feels this way wearing sunglasses. If we find that sunglasses really do have a great effect I propose prescription designer sunglasses as a cure to anxiety

09-07-2009, 09:54 AM	#2 (permalink)
JayDontCareEh Status: SAS member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 28 Posts: 186	Couldn't have said it better myself Jordo. __________________ Cracked halo horns on my helmet Little doll crawl in cherry red velvet

09-07-2009, 12:11 PM	#10 (permalink)
UltraShy Status: Accident of Birth Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Milwaukee, WI (Atheist, Libertarian) Gender: Male Age: 36 Posts: 24,574	I haven't worn sun glasses in almost 20 years, but then I have little need for them when I almost never go out in the sun. __________________ Nothing is ever the way it should be What we deserve we just don't get you see http://www.insureyourgunrights.com/

09-07-2009, 02:47 PM	#15 (permalink)
Still Waters Status: Lost And Unaccounted For Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Stuck in the Lost and Found Gender: Female Posts: 668	I love sunglasses-it gives me the feel of being in my own,dark little world. I don't carry it to the point of wearing them on an overcast day or inside. That would just get me a weird sort of attention. I seem to do that perfectly well enough all on my own! __________________ I knew a man who lived in fear It was huge,it was angry,it was drawing near Behind his house,a secret place Was the shadow of the demon he could never face. He tells the world that it's sleeping But as the night came 'round I heard it's lonely sound It wasn't roaring,it was weeping. - Weeping - Josh Groban

09-07-2009, 10:20 AM	#3 (permalink)
outcast69 Status: Comfortably Numb Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Philly Gender: Male Posts: 230	I don't know if its helping your problem or helping you avoid it.

09-07-2009, 10:30 AM	#4 (permalink)
kpiper0101 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Eugene, OR Gender: Female Age: 46 Posts: 355	Sunglasses help me a bit. They're certainly not a cure though, especially indoors and in the rain . . .

09-07-2009, 10:33 AM	#6 (permalink)
glarmph Status: Hiding in my basement Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Gender: Male Age: 25 Posts: 243	I've got a bad habit of doing this. In restaurants, inside at work, most everywhere.

09-07-2009, 12:13 PM	#11 (permalink)
sprout Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Gender: Female Age: 34 Posts: 55	Wearing my big oversized sunglasses is a big help for me. Since they cover/hide a lot of my face, I am much less self-conscious, which lowers my anxiety. If I could, I'd wear them 24x7.

09-07-2009, 01:57 PM	#12 (permalink)
kos Status: SAS Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Ontario Gender: Male Age: 19 Posts: 513	I fully agree with the original post and I will be wearing my sunglasses in the winter and even to bed. My eyes are super light blue so its VERY hard to see on a sunny day. I have to squint all the time and sometimes it looks like im crying!

09-07-2009, 03:14 PM	#17 (permalink)
epril Status: sa challenger Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: arizona Gender: Female Age: 45 Posts: 2,654	I don't wear sunglasses 'cause I wouldn't be able to see. I wonder how much prescription sunglasses would be?

09-07-2009, 04:30 PM	#18 (permalink)
kpiper0101 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Eugene, OR Gender: Female Age: 46 Posts: 355	I always wear them when it's sunny, and I often wear them when it's overcast; but in the rain and indoors it sort of attracts more attention than it deflects, and the whole point of it, aside from their intended purpose, is to hide a little bit. I do carry them with me at all times though, in the event that the rain stops, and I do get more than a little freaked out if I can't find 'em. It's a little easier to talk to people when I'm wearing them because I feel a bit safer if they can't see my eyes. If I didn't wear contacts, I'd definitely get prescription sunglasses -- they're a must-have for the meek.

09-07-2009, 06:11 PM	#20 (permalink)
jordo Status: SAS Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Gender: Male Age: 23 Posts: 100	Yeah I consider about the attention stuff, but I debate myself on it, because that is largely some kind of cultural norm. Additionally, I feel as though I don't mind the attention while wearing sunglasses to the extent that I would mind attention without them. In other words, I might get attention because I'm wearing sunglasses, but it doesn't matter, because I'm wearing sunglasses.