[david86]

when and how did you know you had social anxiety?

I'm 22 and just found out in january. I was looking up shyness
on the internet and it led me to social anxiety. After reading the
symptoms I knew that was me.

 

[Conquistador]

On a commercial for paxil i saw back in '99 or '00. That's when i realized i was actually suffering from a disease with a name to it. It put things into a lot of perspective for me. Sadly though i wish i would've learned about it years sooner, as the circumstances i had then could've allowed me to seek therapy and made my last years of schooling much less horrible than they were.

 

[slyfox]

Sometime in 2005 or earlier. I think I was searching online for advice about shyness or how to make friends.

 

[Toad Licker]

When I was diagnosed in late '99, didn't go online to find out anything about it until '01 or so.

 

[STKinTHEmud]

Went in to see a therapist a few weeks ago because I was feeling too lonely and depressed to properly focus on work. She diagnosed me with SA within an hour.

 

[terra]

On a commercial for paxil i saw back in '99 or '00. That's when i realized i was actually suffering from a disease with a name to it. It put things into a lot of perspective for me. Sadly though i wish i would've learned about it years sooner, as the circumstances i had then could've allowed me to seek therapy and made my last years of schooling much less horrible than they were.

I saw that same commercial. I always knew I had something "wrong" with me ever since I was 5 or 6 years old; I didn't know there was a name (or a treatment for it) until I saw the Paxil commercial. I REALLY REALLY WISH I would have got my mom to bring me to a doctor to get treatment then. I really think it would have made a difference if I started treatment at 13-14, instead of later.

 

[heyubigrockstar]

When I was 5 I was diagnosed selectively mute and I went to a psychiatrist until I was 9. When I was in 10th grade I decided it was getting out of hand again, so I went to another counselor and she diagnosed me with social anxiety.

 

[miminka]

A classmate was doing a research project on eating disorders. She had this information book. I was skimming through it and it had a little section on reasons for eatings disorders. One was anxiety and they listed all of the characteristics (sorry the spell check is off this computer) of anxiety-sufferers. I pretty much went down the list and went; "check, check... check..."

So then I requested to start seeing my therapist and here I am.

 

[fallingdownonmyface]

Maybe I'm one of the odd ones out whom wish I'd never never learned about it and simply naturally overcame it.

 

[macM]

I had my picture taken by a photographer who has it, he has it much worse than I do and I felt sorry for him but I didnt know what it was really. I was seeing a councillor and about two weeks later she told me I had it.
I want to start an awareness campaign! If people knew about it they could try and fix it! I always thought I was just paranoid!

 

[SilentLoner]

I think I was 17. A psychologist diagnosed me.

 

[eitherway]

i found out cca year ago googling 'allways ashamed' or sth like that.
since then at least i don't feel like i'm wondering in the dark anymore.

 

[Delicate]

A couple of years ago in a class at college I needed to ask someone for a pen (for goodness sake!) and freaked out and couldn't seem to do it. Pushed through and did it anyway but freaked out inside. I googled the symptoms can't remember what exactly, shaky? inable to speak? and I remember this loud sort of humming like I wasn't really there I looked up that for sure but don't know how I'd have worded it. Anyway found stuff about anxiety attacks and social anxiety. So that's my idea when **** like that happens. I mentioned to my sister how I think I have social anxiety and she said "I think everyone does to some extent"... Later realised she'd been diagnosed with it years earlier when she got depressed. She's doing ok now.

 

[Revan]

google search

 

[scaredtolive]

I saw a commercial for Paxil when it first came out and bingo. I knew something was wrong before that but couldn't put my finger on it.

 

[justforester]

I was diagnosed with SA 2 months ago after 1/2 hour with my Dr. This only happened because I told my parents I was suicidal and lonely. I just wish I could have worked on it during high school, instead of dealing with it head on as I'm turning 19. Dating, true friendships, parties are just so alien to me.

 

[Metallic]

I can't exactly remember. I want to say that I figured it out from learning about SAD in my AP Psych class, but it could be that I was really curious about why I was acting the way I do and googled what I was wrong with me and found it that way. I had no idea if I had it for sure until about two years after that though. I kind of thought I did, but I didn't know enough at the time. Although, I kind of wish I still in that state of mind because I feel like now that I know for sure that it's SAD that I use it as an excuse. Before I would go on with life completely confused by my fear.

 

[rdrr]

i always knew i had something wrong with me since childhood. i had looked up all my 'symptoms' on the net. but the main way i found out was how i got to this site. i was ready to go to a new years eve party; got dressed and was ready to go. i then called my friend to tell him i was 'sick' and i couldnt go. i then felt terrible so i googled 'avoiding social situations' and found sas. google is the best.

 

[La_Resistance]

My best friend who now lives overseas, back in 2007 when he was here, he had a friend who was put in a mental hospital because he got major depression after his wife left him.

So my best friend would visit his friend at the mental hospital, and would sometimes bring me along with him and we'd go pay his depressed friend a visit. One day while we were there, they had some charts describing different mental disorders such as schizo, bipolar, depression ect...so we were going through them and making comments about those conditions until we got to anxiety and then social anxiety. That's when my friend made a comment and said, Hey! I think you have this, talking about the social anxiety. I kinda laughed and said something like ''you're nuts'' and didn't really talk about it.

I later researched it on the web and found out more about SA. And 2 years later, here I am on this website. So I guess that's how I found out what I really had.

 

[KXracer]

I've had Social Anxiety since childhood and always thought I was just shy or something. Always wondered what was wrong with me. Then last year I was at work listening to the radio and they had a commercial needing volunteers for an experimental drug. They described the symptoms and said what it was called. I realised I had those symptoms and looked it up. I've made very small improvements since then but I wish I would have found out about this years ago.