Stop Anxiety and Panic Attacks

I’m home schooling next year and I wanna know how not to get even more socially awkward (social anxiety disorder).
and also over the summer i don’t wanna not talk to anyone (cause i hate my friends they are annoying and dumb lol). should i like go to some class or camp or what?
oh and when i do get to know people im like REALLY outgoing, and laugh alllooott.

Oh and i think the home schooling thing has like field trips with all the home schoolers

One way to overcome social anxiety disorder is to face your fears. If you have constant fear of being judged or watched by the people around you, always have the positive thinking that there is nothing wrong with you and everyone have the capability to enjoy other people’s company. Create solid friends who respects and care for you. In case the anxiety is really troublesome and interferes with your social activities to the point of avoiding going out, you need to seek help. Social phobia is a treatable condition. To know the best treatment visit http://panicanxietyrelief.great-discovery.com/

This video covers the basic signs and symptoms of S.A.D…as well as some treatment options. I personally do not know anyone who suffers from this disorder, but i know that, like all other disorders, it can be a crippling experience. Please seek help if the described signs apply to you, or to someone you know. If you have any questions then please go ahead and ask, i will do my best to answer them. The song in the intro is “Overburdened” by Disturbed, from the Ten Thousand Fists album. Thanks for watching, and enjoy!

Duration : 0:5:34

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Technorati Tags: anxiety, Derek, disorder, phobia, psychology, S.A.D., social

Hi there! I’m 20, a college student and have social anxiety disorder and it’s getting worse. I can barely buy a bottle of water without having my heart jumping out of my chest and shaking. I sometimes can’t look at my teacher cause I’m afraid of starting shaking and humiliate myself with a stupid answer etc. I’m gonna go to a psychologist tomorrow for the first time and my real question would be ‘How can this disorder be treatable?’. Can I cure myself or seriously need help? Thanks for answers.

I think it helps to keep in mind that you aren’t alone. A large percentage of the population has a hard time trying to get over social anxiety. That might not be very comforting, but remember people aren’t waiting for you to screw up, only you are. If you have a positive self image, it will become easier to talk to people.

There are movies about depression, suicide, loss, everything under the sun… yet nobody’s thought to make a movie dealing with social anxiety disorder.

I am not 100% sure on these because I am not certain what was wrong with the characters but check out:
Punch Drunk Love
The Problem With Fear
Office Space
Choking Man (this one is your best bet)

Has anyone here had cognitive behavioural therapy for social anxiety disorder and blushing? What were the techniques and how much did they help you?

Hello

CBT is effective for social anxiety also a similar therapy called Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). The “shame attacking exercises” (calling out bus stops) mentioned by Shaneris are from REBT.

An essential principle of these cognitive therapies is to get you to focus on who you are with, where you are and what you are doing rather than focus on yourself. To focus outwards rather than inwards and to focus on what you are doing rather than how well you’re doing.

You will also learn to dispute your unhelpful thoughts and beliefs and replace them with realistic and helpful beliefs. For example “I must not look stupid” would become “I would prefer not to look stupid, but there is no reason why I must not” “If I do look stupid it’s not terrible or horrible and I can stand it – it’s not the end of the world”. “I would prefer it if everyone liked me but it’s not necessary for my survival to be liked and approved of by everyone for everything I do”

Hypnotherapy can be useful for blushing and building confidence.

There is some useful stuff at

http://www.mental-toughness.co.uk/

I’m looking for any information on Social Anxiety Disorder or any help from people who suffer from it, or information on varying cures. Also, if anyone knows any good websites giving additional info or group support, please let me know.
Also, if anyone has experience with being put on benzodiazepines, information on the effectiveness and personal experiences with them would be extremely useful.

There is a huge amount of information available on the Web about Social Anxiety Disorder. Check out my previous "best answer" to a similar question:

http://nz.answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20081114201103AAe3jDa

Regarding the use of benzodiazepines, I do have personal experience and opinions about them. I believe them to be:

1. VERY effective in lowering anxiety, there are also known as tranquilizers.

2. Useful as a short-term measure and as a last resort if anxiety levels reach unbearable levels, or if sleep is not possible.

3. Highly addictive, and may do more harm than good long term if you
do not address the SA directly with therapy and/or SSRI’s.

In short, it is very easy and tempting to rely on tranquilizers, using them as a "crutch", and then never learning to "walk" with out them. Avoid their "regular" usage, you can, and if you must use them, be very careful…

Good luck on your healing journey. You CAN do it!

i have had social anxiety disorder for a few years and was wondering if hypnotherapy helps. i have been prescribed medication but would quite like to try and get over it with out that.

not really. CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is the best therapy having over 90% success rates. Together with the medication you should be able to function better or remove all symptoms of your Social Anxiety Disorder. Ask for a referral to a psychologist from your family doctor.

I’ve had social anxiety disorder since I was about 7 years old (I’m 20 years old now) but the past year it’s gotten so bad that I don’t even leave the house because I don’t want to communicate with or be seen by anyone. I pretty much wake up (3pm) use computer till about 5pm, play xbox360 till dinner, then computer till about 5am.

What are some ways to help improve me being "normal"?

Go to church, esp ones that promote greeting its members. Attended their single Bible study, if it’s a big one, you will get over this. Don’t seclude yourself, that is the worse thing you can do. Surround yourself with people that like you or with people you think, will like you.
Start calling people up on the phone, use the yellow pages if you have too, go to meet up groups you might find on the web. Volunteer. Call churches and ask to be placed on their prayer list or ask for some counseling. I suggest a Baptist, or Evangelical, or Assemblies of God Church, Spirit filled Churches where God’s love is.
Don’t follow the world, their NOT NORMAL, (the world is a sick place!) you may have been right all along to stay to yourself under those circumstances!
Good luck to you, take care.

how do i handle social anxiety disorder with panic attacks? how are you supposed to handle any social situation with this disorder?

The main way to combat social anxiety disorder, as with most, if not all, of the anxiety disorders is utilising Exposure Therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) (and in combination with meds is usually a good idea at first too).

Exposure therapy basically works like this.. You think of a list of situations which make you anxious.. You rate them in terms of how anxious they make you feel from best – worst.. and then you work on them ,starting at the least anxiety provoking, you start to do those things- this may be asking a stranger for the time, right up to asking someone if they’d like to go to a movie with you..etc.. And basically you complete these tasks, you feel the anxiety and you also realise that the anxiety fades with time, until you are desensitised.

Utilise this in combination with CBT – that is looking at you rthoughts – why do you feel anxious abt social situations?

Social situation –> thought —> Response (anxiety)

So if you can alter the thought to a more functional thought, you can also alter the response, so it is no longer anxiety.

i.e. I see a good looking guy -> he will think I am stupid if i tlak to him –> anxiety and avoidance..

v.s.

I see him –> what have i got to lose talking to him, who cares what he thinks, he’s not worth it if he judges so fast –> calm enough to talk to him…

That is in it’s most simplistic terms.. If your Social Anxiety is really a huge issue and impacting on your life then consider seeing a Psychologist to work on it – and you’ll probably utilise the techniques above.

Good luck!!

what im mainly asking is can Generalized anxiety disorder/social anxiety make you less aggressive to people in a physical way, because it is drawing attention to you and doesnt generalized anxiety disorder make you think MORE?

Jason, not quite sure what you are trying to get at, but some people with GAD and SAD can suffer from frustration which at times may bring out aggressive tendencies, while at the same time its more common to find a person who has GAD and SAD to be basically shy and non-assertive in interactions with others.

GAD makes you WORRY more, which is not the same thing as thinking more. Many of your thoughts (until you learn to counter and change them) are catastrophic or wrong thoughts, even paranoid to some degree.

The good news is GAD and SAD respond well to treatment either with Cognitve Therapy or a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and medications.