I hear the advice often of making sure you don’t come across as too desperate, too eager to other people. Yet of course in the wonderful world of internet advice hypocrisy you also get the advice almost ad infinitum of feel the fear and do it anyway, force yourself to go out to everything, keep trying to talk to people at every chance.(so you appear desperate to people!) It’s hardly surprising it gets confusing then. Of course being too desperate shows that there is something wrong with you and...

The worst SA attacks I ever had was when I was young(18-25) and around the opposite sex especially attractive girls. Some people call this love shyness I think although I had SA in many other areas of my life as well and with other people. The only place I came across girls was at work as I never went to college, university or nightclubs as I had no friends. I can’t really describe an anxiety attack at its worst but it was similar to when I have had something terrible happen in my life like a near...

The deep sadness of longing is still there under the surface. Sometimes I hear the words of a specific song and I feel tears come to my eyes. Uncontrollable. Raw.The words bring emotions to the surface from deep within but then many of the songs I have are very personal and have meanings goings back many years. Unresolved problems. Fears for the future I had when I was still at school which all came true.

Most of the experiences of social anxiety I read online are from people still...

[B][I]You've got to have a dream
If you don't have a dream
How you gonna have a dream come true?[/I][/B]

I try to write things down sometimes to help me understand , to make me feel better but honestly my mind is so dead most mornings that even putting a coherent sentence together is difficult and everything becomes muddled and mixed up. This is even when I dont drink so its a depression thing. [B]Likewise trying to be positive or friendly on an anxiety forum is so...

I have never particularly liked the obsession with positive affirmations as if they work for everybody and the almost insinuation that people who dont like them are just being negative or wallowing in self pity.

I read this the other day on a shyness blog;

[I][B]In fact, every scientific study recently done on affirmations has consistently shown that they don’t work, and can even make you feel worse![/B][/I]

[B][I]The researchers asked people with low...