Social .....freakin....phobia ????????

Question

Ok,so here is my story...

I've been in a long rush trough my life ,it all begun at the age of 14 when i had severe depression treated with antidepressants.I was very very anxious&stressed&co. later i became socialy isolated and very shy, i think it's because my dopamine was depleted in that strong depression (full 3 months of panic attacks + more)

I had some other problems that induced my social phobia ,I had severe acne & scars wich made me impossible to talk/look/carry a conversation with people,i was extremly stressed 2 years like passing out every day with my mouth dry.

However my acne was treated and i have no longer scars,the fact is that all my past friends are gone and I became isolated,there is one major problem in all this bullshit.

THE PROBLEM IS THAT I HAVE EXTREME ANXIETY AT MEETINGS,after I meet someone that i know i can carry a conversation but I just cant meet that person so i just keep runing from them ,i can't look in their eyes i preffer ignoring my old friends...what's wrong with me ? i find it impossible to meet someone just like say ''HI,HOW ARE YOU'' im always feeling heartbeat and my blood running like a train when I see the person girl or boy.But if i can do a good salute everything goes well,it's just i fear to met them,what the heck is this ????

anyway it's very strange that im not anxious with unknown persons,just with girls when it comes to meet them.But i'm terrified of my old friends,maybe it's linked to my past or something?And even if I meet a new person and after some weeks I meet him again i'm terrified of the meeting (shaking hands,saying hello,etc) but as I told..im afraid of meetings.

someone experienced this ? is it normal ?

Answer 1

I think you need to just keep pushing yourself to meet new people, and keep pushing yourself to get to know them more.

Sooner or later, you may get comfortable with them.

Good luck

Answer 2

Oh my god, That's EXACTLY what I usually go through. I apologize but I didn't go th rough your extreme stress / depression, but my social anxiety is exactly that.

It almost doesn't even feel right to just up and talk to someone and say "Hey, nice to meet you." because they might think I'm wierd for just running up to them like that or etc. I can never bring myself to even meet new people when the opportunity rises.

It really just takes dedication and commitment to get through it, I'm still working on it, I can only tell you, It's going to take some time.

Answer 3

Hi,

If you feel a panic attack or feelings of anxiety creeping up on you then try this word repetition technique that I learned that helps me to quickly 'snap out' of my panic attacks:

I simply repeat the words 'cream cake' over and over in my head as quickly as I can without stopping.    You could use any word or words you like really but that's what I chose (because I like cream cakes).  It apparently works because it doesn't give your brain time to process the panicky thoughts and so helps you to relax again.  Seems strange I know ... but it works for me!

There's also a free ebook that I found really useful called 'Get Rid of Panic and Anxiety for Good'. If you want to take a look you can find it at: http://curepanicattacks.premiergold.info...    Even though I got it for free it has helped me absolutely loads!