How did you discover sauk?

[biscuits]

Share your story with the group.

[Mr. Nobody]

word of mouth, sort of,..
I was a member of SA Scotland before I joined here,
a few members of SA Scotland mentioned this site,
so, once SA Scotland closed, I migrated over to this site.

[AuroraSky]

Probably from googling social anxiety. I used to attend meets at a pub called Firewater in Glasgow as far back as 2003 I think, those were mostly social meets just aimed at enjoying ourselves more than a "support group" meet aimed at treatment, that was how we all preferred it. I must have had a different account/username as this one says I joined August 2006 but it was definitely way before that.

I dipped in and out of the chatroom over the years at various times too but split my time between there and SA Scotland when it was running. For a while, I would try to organise very small SA meets in Glasgow with people I knew but my social anxiety has regressed and I couldn't do that anymore. I am scared to meet up with people IRL anyway with so much Covid still around.

I still look for new posts on here most days but don't post much. I still dip into the IRC channel most days though just to see what's up.

[Tembo]

It’s really hard to remember now, but it must have been from Googling social anxiety. Literally everything I know about SA comes from the internet so it must have been!

[AuroraSky]

It would have helped me so much if I had known younger that "social anxiety" was a thing and a problem there were resources for. I never discovered the phrase until I was over 30, before that I just put it down to shyness and thought of it as a personal failing rather than a medical issue.

[biscuits]

Poll now added. sorry for the delay, babes.

[Jam do Bronx]

I was briefly using an OCD forum, not recreationally, but for genuine advice. Then I thought mental health forums are quite helpful, so I explored more to find a forum for social anxiety. I came across SAS forum, I think that's what it's called, it's a social anxiety forum based in america and most users are americans. I only posted once in their, if I remember correctly, and said I'm an sa sufferer in london. Then someone PM'd me saying there's an sa forum based in uk and provided the link, she also used this site, though not anymore. I can't remember her name, it might have been Emma? The rest is history.

[Percy]

I used to be part of another forum but that closed. I needed to research SA so typed it into google and this forum came up, it was love at first sight (when i saw biscuits). That was back in 2007

[Quietman]

I searched social anxiety on Google and this great website came up.

[Ben]

Originally Posted by NFL_fan

Probably from googling social anxiety. I used to attend meets at a pub called Firewater in Glasgow as far back as 2003 I think, those were mostly social meets just aimed at enjoying ourselves more than a "support group" meet aimed at treatment, that was how we all preferred it. I must have had a different account/username as this one says I joined August 2006 but it was definitely way before that.

I dipped in and out of the chatroom over the years at various times too but split my time between there and SA Scotland when it was running. For a while, I would try to organise very small SA meets in Glasgow with people I knew but my social anxiety has regressed and I couldn't do that anymore. I am scared to meet up with people IRL anyway with so much Covid still around.

I still look for new posts on here most days but don't post much. I still dip into the IRC channel most days though just to see what's up.

I joined in 2002 or so and found it from searching for SA. Thought all my dreams had come true by finding a like minded bunch of folks. Think that attitude was unrealistic for a few reasons so have dipped in and out for the past two decades.


I definately came to a few scottish meets in the early 2000's and was quite close to a bloke called Gerry(I think). Are many of the faces from back then still around?

[Clumsy*]

Good ol'Google pointed me to here, in around 2015 I believe. Like NFL_fan, I'd never known there was such a thing as social anxiety before I had my first experience of a panic attack in a crowded situation. I never realised I had been living such an isolated life before and thought I was "just" painfully shy.

[AuroraSky]

Ben I think I remember you from a couple of those early meets - did you have a brown leather jacket by any chance? We used to have quite a few brews at those early meets, the later ones we'd go to O'Neills Irish pub and have a bite to eat and not drink too much, but still good times. Not too many of the old faces are still around, I think one or two settled down with partners which is great of course. Yes Gerry was a stalwart of the meets and made a lot of effort to attend regularly, of course the pandemic ground all the meets to a halt, and even people like me that used to enjoy a concert or two are still anxious about those even now they are legally permitted again.

[anxiouslondoner]

I think my first therapist pointed me in the direction of this board. That seems like ages ago now. Probably ten years.

[biscuits]

I tripped, fell and landed face first in the toilet. And there it was: SAUK.

[biscuits]

I was looking for things about selective mutism, but at the time I didn't know that is what it was called. I was searching for reasons why mind went completely blank and no words could come to me etc. then one of the answers said that it was social anxiety. So then I searched for that and this forum popped up.

I only stayed here for maybe a year because I was having a breakdown that year and then life started getting decent, so the support was no longer needed. Also a few things put me off wanting to post - being harassed by PM etc. Then I think I returned in 2014 to delete my old posts but ended up posting again because everyone was really nice and fun to talk to :D!

[humphrey]

I think I discovered it when I was googling about my mental health during my breakdown many years ago.

[Appear]

I'm starting to think Biscuits might be building Google-style data profiles on each of us that she'll be selling to the highest-bidding entrepremanchild.

Also, I don't actually remember. Down the back of the sofa I guess? Possibly in a dream. Maybe the double-page ad in Tatler.

[Mr. Spaceman]

From an article in Metro back in 2007

[biscuits]

Originally Posted by Appear

I'm starting to think Biscuits might be building Google-style data profiles on each of us that she'll be selling to the highest-bidding entrepremanchild.

Also, I don't actually remember. Down the back of the sofa I guess? Possibly in a dream. Maybe the double-page ad in Tatler.

I'm Elon's musk.

[Your Mum]

I think I Googled "shyness" or something and stumbled across an old-style bulletin board - an early incarnation of SA-UK. That was around 21 years ago.

[Jen.]

Originally Posted by Your Mum

an old-style bulletin board - an early incarnation of SA-UK

This current version isn't that early version?

I can't remember how I found it now. I think I was just looking for social anxiety resources and found a couple of forums and this one looked like the best of a bad bunch (and the Reddit group was mostly people posting uncreative memes).

[Sunrise]

This is what it looked like when I first discovered this place. When we moved to the current board it was state of the art in comparison.

I discovered this place in about 2003. I remember I first posted in the long extinct "Youth Club" (so it really was a long time ago.) Like several others I think I found it through googling how I was feeling.

[Rocket Spud]

Google.

[Dougella]

^^ Ah the days of the Youth Club

[Sunrise]

It was the busiest part of the forum when I first joined, but eventually they got rid as nobody was posting in there anymore. Everyone just grew up I think. I doubt you'd get younger people joining a forum like this now as it's quite old fashioned. They all talk about mental health stuff on Twitter these days, but back then places like this was all we had. I can't quite believe the internet has now been around long enough for people to reminisce about it.

There's a few regulars from those days who are still around I think.

[anxiouslondoner]

Anything that's not run by a megacorp is practically "the dark web" nowadays. It's sad. I don't want to be profiled based on my mental health forum choices and conversations, though I probably am anyway. Too much risk of being excluded by systems you'll never get a chance to defend yourself against.

[T]

Well always been a quiet bloke when i was growing up so thought i'd search the net about my problem SAUK came up on the search so joined a few years back it helped me out alot over the years, i'm ever grateful for the advice and useful advice here.... may it long continue!

[Azalea]

My first PWP (Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner) gave me a link to the forum, he said he used it himself before he had treatment and told me about meets and the chat room. I said there was no way I'd ever be able to be use the chat room or go to meets but I'm happy to say I was wrong

[Laurel]

it was an advertisement on a bus shelter. I passed it on a bus one day, and thought wow that's what I have.

[BFG_]

I have no idea as it was over 20 years ago and I can't even remember what I had for tea last week.