[agatha]

Hi. I badly need some advice. I have severe social anxiety. I am also in a job which requires constant interaction with people. I find this difficult but I still love my job and I want to continue with it. What should I do?

 

[Strategist]

You love your job. Stick with it. Not many people can say they love their job, and you have to do something.

 

[agatha]

Thanks a ton. That is gr8 advice.

 

[leonardess]

Yes, so very few people can say they love their job. Don't let SA make you give it up. Seek some counselling. I too have a job that demands constant interaction with people, the people who work in the same office, and people calling constantly, as well as clients that come in for meetings, consultants, etc. I cope because I know what is expected of me, it's a framework within which I operate. Perhaps you could think of it this way?

Meantime, try CBT. After all my years searching and trying, it seems to me this is the most effective way of dealing with it, short of medication, which I think of as a temporary fix anyway.

and you can always throw yourself into your work, distraction is key at the beginning of CBT. Good luck to you - just don't give up the job.
L

 

[agatha]

Thanks a ton again. Its so gr8 when people who actually understand SA tell u not to give up. It really means a lot.

 

[lastofthekews]

I agree with leonardess and Great., don't give up on a job you love doing. Hopefully the interaction with people will get easier in time, as you get used to doing it.

My job involves making phone calls to suppliers and taking calls from customers, and it was very nerve-wracking for a long while, but now I don't even think about it, I just see it as part of my job. Its strange, as I still find it difficult to answer the phone at home (I usually let it go to answerphone) and find it near on impossible to talk to strangers outside of work. I guess I see the social interactions at work as just part of the job, and as the conversations I have are within the constraints of the job I don't have to worry about what to say, and so no longer get nervous doing it.

Hopefully you'll get to the point where the interactions get easier. Its very hard to find a job you love doing so never let your SA force you to give it up.

Take care agatha