Where are you in your recovery?

[loner1]

i am slowly progressing even if i sit alone at lunch times at university. also if i am asked what i do at lunch time i say i sit on my own because it is easier and say i am unsociable. if they make an effort to notice me i will try with them.

[Mandarin]

I feel I'm making progress. None of that would have happened without this site. I don't take any medication and I've never seen a GP for my SA. I don't feel that is a step that I want to, or are prepared to take at the moment. I guess I just think I will be labelled. ~ I know that sounds harsh, and it's not meant negatively to those who have been brave enough to do it - but it's what I think ~

I've been following the Thought Error Analysis work outlined in Sam Obitz's book - Been there, done that, do this. It's made me focus on the core of what's going on for me, at the moment. I need to focus on any negative thoughts that keep me strapped into my comfort zone of some twenty or so years of SA.

I find emotions bubbling to the surface - something I've not been used to. I find sometimes I want to shout (which I've done), laugh, cry - but that's a good thing - because I really think I may be breaking down some of the barriers that I've spent soo long building up.

How will I know when I'm cured? If I have - no, when I have the confidence to ask a girl out that I like - or overcome my phobia (to wasps! I know ) that will really make me think that I'm moving forward. I also want to perform music, to sing. I'm not great, but I will give it a go and enjoy the sheer frightening tension of standing up there all your own feeling really helpless, but fantastic all at once

[Blumoon]

Em..recovering..wouldn't say i am. clearly getting worse.
I tried to write to a diary but gave up cos i kept forgetting (how i could forget i don't know when i had **** all ese to do)
don't remember but i have been getting depressed over this fr months
shoulda written down the 1st time. Think it was this yr anyways (don't know can't bloody mind) but there ye have it.
I seem not to be able to help myself. Not that i've ever really had help..except when i did tht counselling a few yrs ago i'll be honest i just felt unlved (still do) and wanted someone to talk to..so that's what happened.

I've been used to this for so long (okay not as long as some) and
Tbh, i never thought anything much of it cos i thought i was that way cos i was getting crap off some people (chavs)
and that's why i was like this, and if i could talk out of school with a few people then that was fine to me, but obv now it's not cos i'll need to apply for jobs and go 2 interviews and this will hold me back.

But it really never bothered me.
Now it makes me, me. Whatever else i wana do doesn't matter cos i have this, i've no chance of doing anything that means talking to people.

So i don't feckin know what to do, tbh if nobody wants to listen to me i can't talk and i can't talk to most people anyway cos they haven't a clue. And if i did get advice i'd just take it even though it's silly and not that simple. Can't pick up the fone expect somneone on the other end to get me. I don't even get it, i'm better to keep it to myself.

I do wish i knew someone that could talk to me that understood.
That i wouldn't be putting pressure on to speak to me, that wouldn't be able to say no, that did it as their job. I can't afford to get any help that way though. I'm not seeing my doctor to find someone as i'm not allowed to, simple as..and if my mum ever found out (even though that stuff is private, she wouldn't be happy wth me)

The only way is to buy those self help books and have a read..there's not much else i can do. I'll always have this, i always have and i doubt i'll ever recover.the more i think about this ie come here and read i think worse things, i do get worse no offence and i can't have it get any worse, it is already abd enough. all i do is cry several times a day, go to bed and get up again. that is no life.

i have another phobia and i def don't think i need help as much and it can be controlled, if i dwelled on it more i could be more avoidant with it, i could have more problems, but i cope the way i cope wih it and i've learned to. I look on a forum for that aswell but hardly post on it, maybe i'm not as bad with that phbia..it's not exacly somehting i have to face every day..so it's easier to forget you have it than being reminded sa every day.


etcetcetc who bloody cares.

[Mr_Bean]

why won't your mum allow you to see a doctor? If you can go through the doctor maybe you can get some counselling and all. That would help you because as you say you're wanting to find someone to listen, or to understand you and they might be able to help with that.

[mayo1]

Originally Posted by 2oShawtyo9

The only way is to buy those self help books and have a read..there's not much else i can do. I'll always have this, i always have and i doubt i'll ever recover.the more i think about this ie come here and read i think worse things, i do get worse no offence and i can't have it get any worse, it is already abd enough. all i do is cry several times a day, go to bed and get up again. that is no life.

etcetcetc who bloody cares.

I care fwiw, and there are lots of good books that can help you but you have to not only read them but follow through and do the exercises in them. Bottom line is you have to work at getting better, but it is so worth it if you do. Cbt is what helped me but there are all sorts of things you can try but you have to keep trying until you find what works for you. Hang in there and keep at it and you will feel sooo much better

[likeme]

Stage 5

[loner1]

i am getting through uni slowly and am capable of the work. but working in groups and the social side is hard. i just try to be relaxed as people may not recognise i am anxious. often how you feel does not show. i was anxious doing a presentation but came across confident and did ok even though i felt realy anxious. SA is often about how you think others will think when they will think nothing at all. rave on SAUK crew i am with you!

[Generation Erm]

defcon 2

[benney]

havent even got started. know exactly what to do , have 100% faith that i will and can do it, have all the resources and knowledge i need but just lack the ability to take action

[mayo1]

Originally Posted by benney

havent even got started. know exactly what to do , have 100% faith that i will and can do it, have all the resources and knowledge i need but just lack the ability to take action

Great attitude that will serve you well. Just remember every journey starts with the first step and one step leads to another
Ok I am all out of cliches now

[Celine]

Originally Posted by loner1

SA is often about how you think others will think when they will think nothing at all. rave on SAUK crew i am with you!

so true. that's why countering our thoughts and getting out of our head is soo important.

[Celine]

Originally Posted by loner1

i am getting through uni slowly and am capable of the work. but working in groups and the social side is hard. i just try to be relaxed as people may not recognise i am anxious. often how you feel does not show. i was anxious doing a presentation but came across confident and did ok even though i felt realy anxious. SA is often about how you think others will think when they will think nothing at all. rave on SAUK crew i am with you!

Originally Posted by mayo1

I care fwiw, and there are lots of good books that can help you but you have to not only read them but follow through and do the exercises in them. Bottom line is you have to work at getting better, but it is so worth it if you do. Cbt is what helped me but there are all sorts of things you can try but you have to keep trying until you find what works for you. Hang in there and keep at it and you will feel sooo much better

Just wanted to say I care too and I agree about not just reading but putting the suggestions in the self help books to work in your life. I counter my thoughts in the TEA forms everyday and it makes a huge difference for me. slow and steady does win the race

[xTKsaucex]

Feel as though i have scant information in order to progress but I still find myself unaware of what to do

[Fritzz]

Waiting to make the next step in recovery. For me, this will be paying off my remaining debt, and dropping to part time hours at work. Working full time nights, I just don't have the time get out and about and stepping out of my comfort zone.

Its kinda ironic really, I started full time nights to avoid social situations (4 or 4 years ago), now its the one thing holding me back in my steps to recovery

[peterjohn]

I haven't got s.a anymore. I used to suffer acutely.

[Mr_Bean]

positive stuff: recognizing the impact of ocd on me, recognizing I'm a particuarly black sheep in my job and need to look for a new one. Negative: Hunting for jobs is long and tedious and I need to improve my interview technique by fair bit. And on the friends or dating front I'm still an agonizing long way from this.

[mayo1]

Originally Posted by xTKsaucex

Feel as though i have scant information in order to progress but I still find myself unaware of what to do

Give CBT and the TEA form exercise a try. It has helped me get so much better and given me coping skills I didn't know I had in me

[Celine]

Originally Posted by xTKsaucex

Feel as though i have scant information in order to progress but I still find myself unaware of what to do

Have you given cbt a try yet? It has changed my life

[Celine]

Originally Posted by mayo1

Give CBT and the TEA form exercise a try. It has helped me get so much better and given me coping skills I didn't know I had in me

Good advice Mayo1. The tea forms have helped more than any other exercise and I still do them all the time. So simple and effective. I also make it a point to re-read the cbt book by sam obitz every so often as a refresher and it is gratifying to see how far I have come

[PositivePoemsbyme]

When thinking back when I first struggled with it I know I am getting better but still making slow progress. I have a therapist to talk to about my SA, GAD, and depression. I have my friend peter john who I talk to on here daily. He is a huge inspiration to me. It story of how he was isolated for 16 months and then for 3 months now has a social life shows to me that it is possible to beat these disorders and that you if you have support and keep an open mind that anything is possible just keep moving forward. I am getting better at trying to think positive. I have moments where I would have repetitive thoughts a lot and have negative thoughts. It is getting a lot better. I still need to work on it and get over my fears but with god and the ones I love helping and support me it is getting better. It also feels better knowing that my symptoms are related to these disorders so that is a huge relief and it is curable. You are not alone

[Brokenx]

slow progress

[Celine]

Slow progress is still progress
Every has to go at their own speed. The good news is that things can change quicker than you (or I) ever imagined

[Warmer]

Slow progress here too, gone back a bit recently but not as far back as when things were at their worst.

[Celine]

Good job king_yama. Two steps forward one-step back right

[mayo1]

Originally Posted by Celine

Good advice Mayo1. The tea forms have helped more than any other exercise and I still do them all the time. So simple and effective. I also make it a point to re-read the cbt book by sam obitz every so often as a refresher and it is gratifying to see how far I have come

Thanks and good job everyone here

[Celine]

Mayo search member poems by me's posts. I just read a great one by her on the TEA forms. Hope you are well

[mayo1]

Originally Posted by Celine

Mayo search member poems by me's posts. I just read a great one by her on the TEA forms. Hope you are well

How do you search posts by member? I went to search and it just listed by topic etc?

[karl-32]

the general trend is i'm getting worse . its up and down but in a general downward motion

[E Dub]

My mental state is certainly changing, for better or worse I really cant tell but im leaning towards worse. Should your mood change 5 times a minute? Yeah I can now queue in a shop without panicing but why cant I stop being a prick to everyone in my life (mum and dad:rolleyes: how ****ing tragic)

[karl-32]

Originally Posted by E Dub

Should your mood change 5 times a minute?

mine does. my moods scare and confuse me . its horrible. i can literally go from elated feelings to sadness then rage in minutes