Anxiety Forum

[randomperson88]

I think I have recently started to get this Social Anxiety that i've been reading about, and it's really starting to get worse. I just graduated from high school, and although I liked high school and had a decent amout of friends, I was very self-conscious and insecure. I usually went out on the weekends, but sometimes I would make excuses not to go somewhere where there was alot of people because I would get so nervous when thinking about all the people that were gonna be there. Sometimes it's almost like I try so hard to be "cool" that it backfires and I look like an idiot. When I met new people I'm very shy at first, and afraid of making first impressions. Whenever I meet somebody for the first time, I'm so afraid of making a bad first impression, that sure enough I make one, either by blushing, saying something really stupid, and sometimes even almost stutter. I'm going to be a freshman in college next month and I dont want these anxieties from high school to carry over to college. I want to be "cool" and socialble just like everbody else. I guess I need help...any suggestions?

[ToeKnee]

dude I am in almost the exact same boat. To me it sounds like social phobia, but first thing I would do, and it will be hard, is make an appointment with the school psych. He will hop fully hook you up with some CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and prescribe something. If he tries to prescribe and SSRI I would ask him about something else, supposedly MOAIs work very well, but there's a lot of side effects, I tried Klonopin very recently and it worked wonders. I'm also going to try kava (not the pills the traditional drink preparation) So yeah I'm in the same boat as you, so don't take this advice as necessarily correct. You might have depression and a SSRI would be perfect just google around and see what you can find.
BTW I got a lot of this info from http://socialfear.com/

[Chelsea]

I'm sorry to hear how you are feeling, but I think it's great you are recognizing your anxiety so early. I went through 4 years of college with social anxiety that influenced how I related to peers and how I participated in classes. Now I am graduate school and have finally decided to talk to a doctor about it.

Thankfully, most college campuses have a lot of resources that you can use to help you with your anxiety. You can go to the health clinic to talk to a doctor who may prescribe medications, or you can talk to counselors that the school provides.

Good luck!

[Tylerws2006]