A not so perfect mom sharing ways to make life simpler. Find product reviews and giveaways, money saving tips, recipes and more.
I have had a few people ask me what is Social Anxiety Disorder. most people have never heard of it before. Sometimes I find it hard to explain. I feel so ashamed about it sometimes. This is a big step I am taking by talking about it. I hoping by writing about it, maybe it will get a little easier to deal with and help me find myself.
It is basically an anxiety disorder characterized by overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in normal everyday social situations. It is not the same for everyone. I did not realize exactly what this was until I was diagnosed about 5- 6 years ago. In my particular situation I am anxious about everything. If there is a upcoming wedding or funeral I literally get sick. My hands shake and I get really bad headaches. Sometimes I even get dizzy. I am not comfortable in any type of social situation. It does not matter if I know the person or not. I always feel liked I am being judged and talked about. I feel like others are judging my parenting style choices, what I am wearing, everything I say, my actions, everything I don’t say, everything thing I do. There have been times where I have felt forced to participate in social gatherings and I feel so much anxiety I burst into tears. My anxiety is so severe there are times I don’t leave the house for days.This has always been a part of my life. I don’t go to a lot of social stuff because I don’t want my family (husband and the kids) to be ashamed of me. No matter how much I try I feel like a horrible wife and mother. Because of my social anxiety I can not make friends so I pretty much have none, I could not attend my college graduation, sometimes I can’t go to school functions for the kids, I get nervous talking on the phone, I have turned down job offers or backed out of interviews all together and sometimes I do not attend parties or family get togethers. Some people call me anti social but I do not feel that is the correct label. I would not mind being more social, hell I would love to be more social and have friends and all that stuff. I just can’t. Even typing about it my heart is beating out of my chest and my hands are shaking a little.
Last year I found this site, called social anxiety friends. It was really reassuring to find people who completely understood me and were like me. I stopped going to it because I thought I was over it. How silly does that sound? I wasn’t over my anxiety, just denying it. Well, I am going back to visit today. I think it will be good for me. I sure hope so.
If you know anybody that has any interest in meeting others with any type of social phobia please steer them my way. Maybe I will make some friends. This is my page at Social Anxiety Friends
Thanks for letting me ramble once again. Today is definitely a little better than yesterday
Related posts:
Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment! After reading your post, I figured that I would say that I am painfully shy. I try to avoid social situations at all costs. It’s embarrasing to my husband who is so opposite of me, he’s such an outgoing guy, but I just hate being around a lot of people or even a couple if I don’t know them.
I don’t know how old you are but I used to be very shy, to the extent of being called a snob by people, because I didn’t chat easily until I really knew somebody. I always got ill before any social gathering – I never knew why. Friends were thin on the ground also.
Anyway, I’m here to say that all that is way behind me now. Nothing much fazes me anymore. I think the first step is to realize that, what other people think of you doesn’t matter, as long as you love yourself.
Good for you to admit it your problem!! I have anxiety disorder myself. You’re not alone at all.