yes and no. anxiety is suffering. but it can make you stronger. imo

 

I think a out this everyday, yes, you will be happier than most people if you don't give up

 

No. Not at all. Might make you a good person but still it sucks.

 

No, SAD prevents you from enjoying life and forming healthy relationships. There is no positive to having SAD.

 

Aside from having a greater willpower to keep on with life with SA, i think i still would have become who i was without it.
I don't think it is a gift, i think it is a mental disorder.

 

Its just a curse for me.

 

I agree with most people,it is a damn curse it stunts your character growth as a person however, I do feel because of my loneliness I have greater empathy for most people

 

I agree with the above. I would only consider it a gift if I can beat it. If I never beat it then it is pretty much like being a disabled person.

 

Dude, where's the gift receipt?

 

You need to see the bigger picture. Once you get over your SA, you become much more insightful and socially intelligent person than the casual Joe without SA. It's just can't be any other way.

You faced the monster and found the way to beat him and grow resistance, while Joe ran away without learning anything about it.

 

I think there probably is a silver lining to some aspects of social anxiety. I know my SA has caused me to withdraw and isolate myself at different times in my life. Isolation I think, has helped me be a more introspective and independent thinker. Not only that, but I also feel I'm probably more empathetic and open-minded because introspection has challenged me to not only think critically about what I believe in, but why I believe it. Of course, isolation shields you not only from the negative impact of certain people, but also the healthy and positive of others.

I think as this point in my life, any of the "benefits" of SA have reached their maturity. I'm not going to learn anything or grow as a person unless I start putting myself out there and experiencing new things.

So, no. I don't consider it a gift, but like any setback or disability in life, so long as you can learn something from it, it isn't necessarily a curse either.

 

I don't think it's a gift?

But it helps us to "sense" or "observe things" with people that the general extrovert doesn't.

Body language, eyes, facial expressions, nuances.. The "little things" that people overlook.

when you point them out, in many cases - it makes them laugh. Or it makes them more aware of things they never noticed about themselves.

Or, lets people know they are not alone.

 

I think it's the biproduct of a gift

 

Not for me there are so many things I've messed up because of it and it's a struggle just to fake being normal and even then I have to isolate myself because it's so exhausting

 

Disorder? Maybe, Issue? Defiantly, Gift? Absolutely not. Well, that is at the current time. SA has impacted on my learning, alot. I am scared to answer questions, scared to ask them, scared to ask for help with things. Getting over it? Yeah that is possible. My brother has/had SA for a long time, alot longer than I did. It got to the point of him having to visit a psychologist, and you know what? It worked, to a degree, he still has traits of SA, but he is now in the low risk part of the spectrum (spectrum probably isnt the right word), whereas before he was in the high risk part.

IMO, SA is a gift to those who can overcome it, but a curse to those who cant.

 

Do you think having a naturally programmed behavior is a gift? Do you think something is wrong with the fake functional human being's behavior, and they act very dysfunctional. We have a stronger awareness than them, and able to point out their flaws, and be more articulate with describing things they can't notice such as their behavior patterns, feelings, emotions, facial expressions, consciousness, body language, making eye contact, thought patterns, and this environment.

I assure you, I've noticed a lot of people have trouble making eye contact, uses phrases and words incorrectly, facial expressions doesn't respond to the correct command, and mood swings during random time, they have a very hard time paying attention and concentrating. It's more robotic than human to me.

Lmfao, even this guy noticed it.

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com...t.com/forum/f35/people-who-tell-you-to-smile-1573969/index2.html#post1081782569

 

No, it's ruining me beyond repair.

 

psssh gift more like a curse

 

SA does zero of the things you mentioned, you do them. If SA is the trigger for them, so be it but instead of stupid ****ing SA something nice and positive can be a trigger. I will never understand you "positive" people and the mental gymnastics you go through to make situations that are always objectively bad to any person into something good. I don't see why you'd do that either, instead of just accepting its utter ****ing garbage to have SA

 

yes i do think its a gift. alot of people are going to face the same issues we do in their old age and the ever expanding life expectancy will provode way more ppl in their 80s in a nursing home where social skills need a complete overhaul

 

It humbles you. You are less likely to harshly judge others. More likely to give the benifit of the doubt. You have a better understanding of struggles. However you are cruel to yourself. Your self judgment and everything that goes along with it. Sleepless nights, freezing up in public, obssesing over conversations, acting odd and not knowing why. While it can make you a more understanding person it is still a hinderance. Social growth is important and people with social anxiety have to fight like hell to do it.

 

It the beginnings dashes of beating it I had all that moving forward I don have it

 

It's a gift on the condition that you somehow 'get over it'. Most probably won't get over it. So no I don't think it's a gift.

 

Gift from God.

 

For one, it tremendously helps you to build up your will power.
Second, it helps you to reflect on the life, purpose of your life, your values...
Gives you the perfect opportunity to access the inner strengths which otherwise you wouldn't ever even know you have.
Having SA, you actually have a greater chance of understanding what happiness is all about (it's NOT about your social or financial status).

Getting both your legs blown off by a bomb offers all those same advantages. Is that also a gift?

 

Good point. As weird and rude as it may sound, but even with this quite extreme example you don't actually know if that's a "gift" or not.

Watch this to understand what I mean:

(starting at 0:40 till 16:40)

That's the way of looking at things that I genuinely agree with.

 

I think it helps you appreciate things more.

Still sucks a lot though.

 

Social anxiety as a gift? I don't think I've become that delusional yet, though maybe someday. I haven't had a bigger understanding of happiness because of SA and the only thing that SA has helped in any way is by making me become a cynic (in a good way). And talk about will power? I don't really have it. In fact I think social anxiety kills your will power because it's like fighting a demon that you can't beat, so if anything, it contributes to your lack of will power. I don't really see how I benefit anyway from social anxiety than if I didn't have social anxiety. Trust me, I'd perform alchemy and give you my own arm if you could take away my SA. Sounds like an equal trade off.