#32
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Re: How bad is your social anxiety?
I've been lucky in that despite SA being part and parcel of my life since my late teens ( I'm 61 now) I've been able to hold down a job for the last 43 years. Although some days the thought of going into work fills me with complete and utter dread. Since last year I have taken partial retirement and now work only 3 days out of 5.
I would say that the worst part of SA for me is the visual aspect of the physical symptoms my SA generates and the irrational fear that everyone I come into contact with is judging me negatively because of the way I look. And that includes family members and the few friends I have. Going into shops I wouldn't normally visit has always been challenging as has the thought of being the centre of attention. I have started doing outdoor voluntary work for 2 hours each morning on the days I do not work full time , which has helped a little but does not completely dispel my anxiety and fear. I do think though that partial recovery can lie in the places and experiences that we most fear, it's just summoning up the courage to do it and then trying to accept the horrible physical feelings as they rage inside. On bad days though it feels as though everyone I pass in the street is scowling at me and is judging me negatively! This I'm sure is something that other members will have experienced from time to time. Hope it's not just me! I commenced a course of therapy in January this year which lasted until July. It wasn't CBT as such but the therapist took me back over various traumatic experiences in my growing up years. One such incident involved me being sexually assaulted by an adult on a train. I was encouraged to talk about this to her(I had never told anyone of this before) and I had 2 sessions of rapid eye movement therapy which seemed to help quite a lot and now I hardly think about the incident. I seem to be rambling now but yes, SA I would say that the worst part of SA is that constant fear of negative judgment as a result of the physical symptoms. |
#33
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Re: How bad is your social anxiety?
Just want to take a little tic away to say: thanks to everyone for weighing in on this subject. You're all awesome! It's been amazing to read everyone's experiences; not just only eye-opening but also humbling too.
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