Got the shakes..

[Bex]

Can any one relate? I get the shakes. I look like an alcholic thats going cold turkey. My problem is writing in public!!! (and public speaking) 3 years ago I had a panic attack signing a credit card receipt in a shop. My boyfirend was there and it pretty much esculated from there. I started avoiding all situations where I had to sign something in front of him. I don't know how we bought our first house together....signing the documents was the hardest thing I have ever done!!! The stupid thing is, signing for things is something I have to do maybe once or twice a year, yet I can think about the impending doom up to 50 times a day.

Anyone out there like me?

[Bex]

Originally Posted by Mel

Hi Bex, like yourself I am horrified at signing things in front of people. I usually find that taking beta-blockers helps block the physical symptoms of shaking. The fact that you don’t sign things often I think contributes to the difficulty. If you had to sign something every day you’d probably get use to it and past the shaking.

Thanks for the advise Mel, I really appreciate it. I completely agree that by avoiding these situations I only make the problem worse, as I can see that it is spreading to other areas of my life. I've read many books that share your line of thought and I am willing to put myself out there to 'desensitize' myself to the situation. Problem is, with the advent of chip and pin, what was once my saviour is now making it extremely difficult to put myself in these situations because, ironically, they are harder to come by!!! I don't know too much about beta-blockers but will bear them in mind, thank you!! Thought i'd try and go it alone at first and see what happens. Any other advise is always welcome.

[scarlet_diva]

Yep I get this too.
I was so glad when they introduced chip & pin because I used to hate signing for my debit card in shops. I still have the panic thing when I'm fumbling for change at the till, though, which really annoys me, or if I'm writing something while someone's watching.
For example I was being trained for my new job role just recently, and while I was jotting down notes I swear my handwriting was going all OVER the place, it was embarrassing. I had to actually shield it with my hand in case this woman thought I was some illiterate person or something.

As a cure for this, I have a weird thing I do, occasionally, e.g. if I'm paying at the till & there's a queue behind me.
I actually tell myself to go really S-L-O-W-L-Y on purpose, to annoy everyone. I don't know why but this seems to speed me up & lightens the situation for me.

I tell myself to be exactly like those people who take forever at airline check-ins & everyone's wondering what's taking them so long (there's always someone; and they always have about 500 kgs of luggage too).
So anyway, not sure that helped at all but just wanted to say I can definitely relate to the shakes-in-public thing!

I get this too. The fear of writing/talking/eating in public is called Glossophobia/Scriptophobia and is apparently quite common with SA.

I have a problem with all these things though writing in public is a lesser fear. Public speaking and eating publicly are difficult for me.

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Those with specific social phobias may experience anxiety only in a few situations. [5] For example the most common specific phobia is glossophobia, the fear of public speaking or performance, also known as "stage fright". Other examples of specific social phobias include fears of writing in public (scriptophobia) and using public restrooms (paruresis).

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_anxiety)

I'm starting to realise how negative avoidance is - because every time we avoid the fearful situation we're reinforcing the idea of failure which then eats away at our self esteem and feeds the cycle further.

Perhaps you could look into CBT. I think CBT aims to get to the root of the fear and expose you slowly, whereas beta-blockers are essentially another form of avoidance?

I haven't tried beta-blockers myself, so sorry to anyone if this is inaccurate!

All the best to you, good luck.

[Kevin Hodge]

i've got really shaky hands rights now too, i've been under a lot of stress for several months, i can't seem to relax at all. my hands are really shaky, and my voice shakes quite a lot, even if i'm just talking to my dad or something.

when i wake up in the morning, it's a bit like in pulp fiction where she gets the adrenalin shot in her heart. suddenly there is this rush of manic energy and i feel as if i've been under water for too long and i'm about to run out of air. the alarm clock sets off a bomb in my brain, and after that i'm totally wired all day. i hate it, i wish i could calm down. but so much is going on right now which is freaking me out.

[Bex]

Thanks for the advise guys. Whilst I wouldn't wish anyform of SA on anyone its comforting to know that I'm not alone. I've read alot about CBT on this forum and in books and any assistance in getting started would be great. I started off 3 years ago with a hypnotherapist doing regressional sessions. And about a year ago I contacted another hypnotherapist who tried a form of cognitive behavioral therapy. Unfortunately I felt like it did little to actively help the problem. At £45.00 per session it is a costly business!!!

Does CBT involve hypnotherapy because I don't think I'm that suseptable. What sounds appealling is talking to somebody that will help organise a step by step approach to facing these fears head on.

It probably goes without saying to everybody that gets the shakes whatever their fear, that cutting out caffeine, drinking plenty of water, eating regularly and shed loads of excersise really helps. Know its only minor things but anything that helps is worth sharing.

Finally, does anybody understand it when I say that sometimes the problem can be very selective. For me sometimes it depends who I'm writing in front of. But by far, legal documents, banks and people in suits scare the shit the out of me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah ok, sorry Mel. I probably should have researched beta-blockers more before commenting.

Thanks for the info.

:hug3:

[sylvan]

Yep I get the shakes too whenever I'm being observed doing something. The other day my parents dropped in for coffee and I had to apologise for my "sillyness" because I was shaking so badly that that the coffee and sugar went flying off the spoon :embarass:

The way I normally try to deal with it is to try to focus on what I am doing and not on the fact that I'm being observed although many times I find this easier said than done.

[Kevin Hodge]

Originally Posted by sylvan

Yep I get the shakes too whenever I'm being observed doing something. The other day my parents dropped in for coffee and I had to apologise for my "sillyness" because I was shaking so badly that that the coffee and sugar went flying off the spoon :embarass:

The way I normally try to deal with it is to try to focus on what I am doing and not on the fact that I'm being observed although many times I find this easier said than done.

my shaking is not that bad, that sounds terrible.

it is clearly noticeable though. if it seems really evident to someone i'll make some comment like "think i've had too much coffee" or some other lame remark. people generally do have lots of quirks and you can easily explain a lot of stuff away if you do it right and tell lies convincingly

[sylvan]

Glad to hear your shaking isn't so bad.

Yep I tell alot of porkies to cover my anxiety too. I put that particular episode down to the fact that I recently quit smoking lol.

It's funny how we feel we have to lie isn't it. I've had people say to me before that I don't seem like a nervous wreck but the thing is after 15 years I think I've just got very good at hiding it and making up spur of the moment lies to cover my embarassment :embarass: Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't feel we had to lie though

[John]

I get this as well. I shake when I go out normally because of sheer terror but it is really noticable if I have to sign anything in front of anyone. I also find it impossible to eat in public due to the fact that most of the food falls off before it reaches my mouth

[Benjamin]

I too get the shakes and can relate to the signing of official documents, my signature is never the same twice. I have problems handing friends and family a coffee or a plate of food - and there's no way I can take a coffee or plate from someones hand or tray, i ask them to put it down for me. Whenever I have guests I serve everything on a tray but it doesn't look good when the milk is swaying onto the tray and all the crockery is clanking against each other as I walk .

[kimzie]

life would be so much easier for me without shaking.

[I_am_me_again]

I had the shakes today, I was buying some cigarettes over the counter & i could feel myself shaking.

I dont really get the shakes a lot, but sumtimes my hands just shake.