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Mental Health Social anxiety

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BlackLp

Greenlighter
Joined
Jul 29, 2013
Messages
2
I have been suffering from social anxiety for years now but it hasn't been at a extreme level until recently, I have been keeping to myself a lot in the last few months because I am scared to be around people or with people I do not know, I have panic attacks on a weekly basis and i have lost a lot of friends because I do not go out and don't even catch up with them because of my fear of going out.

I have realized I need treatment desperately because anxiety has slowly taken over my life and now it is at a unbearable level were I can hardly function in my day to day life. My reason for posting is this, I am 17 years old and live at home, I have no income and my relationship with my parents is bad to say the least, I desperately need treatment but I am extremely hesitant to tell my parents my problems because they have no idea. I need them to know because otherwise I can't pay to see anyone or pay for any treatment what so ever. I just don't know if there is anyway to get treatment without having to tell my parents

I just don't know what to do, please help. :?
 
Hey mate, welcome to Bluelight.

I suffer from anxiety myself, I am always hesitant about going out and question every minute detail with every thought.


But then I get in my solid boss moods where I think why should I be like this, who do I have to prove myself to?

I think you should tell your parents. They are the people who brought you into this world and I too have had a bad relationship with mine when I was your age (I moved out of home, completed my last year of high school in my own apartment, it was rad) but going on two years later everything is fine with them. We're all better people and I've matured a ridiculous amount, I feel like I've lived a lifetime and I'm ready to sit down in a rocking chair and retire until I die a happy old man.


Your parents will get a glimpse into your life better and trust me it will help your relationship with them.

In the meantime just try and smile and keep it together, you aren't ever alone in the world so don't feel like you are. <3


Wishing you all the best mate keep your held held high. :)
 
Your parents might just surprise you and act differently than you're thinking. It's worth a try to talk to them about it. If you're in school you could probably talk to a counselor, social worker, or psychologist there as well. It's not easy to reach out and tell people how you've been feeling, but I know when I did it became easier after that. Take care of yourself. <3
 
You should tell your parents, it will be easier than trying to hide the fact that you're seeing a therapist/psych (whichever you end up seeing). Keeping to yourself may be a sign of depression which would also make the anxiety worse. I know from experience and I have to force myself to be social with friends so that I don't slip into depression again.

afterlyfestyle said:
Your parents will get a glimpse into your life better and trust me it will help your relationship with them.
Click to expand...

^QFT
 
One thing that could be really helpful would be to not only tell your parents but to have them do one session with you so that a therapist can help them to understand what you are trying to do and what you are experiencing.
 
I never got the help I needed as a kid despite having some severe problems my dad didn't want me to see a psychiatrist. I had social anxiety as well as some other more severe issues. I have trouble taking some of my meds now because it doesn't feel normal to me. Maybe if I had started taking them at a younger age I would have just got used to them. If I would have been on medication I don't think I would have gone as deep into addiction as I did and my life as a whole would have been better.

Don't wait until the shit hits the fan. Things like social anxiety don't just disappear on their own. I would suggest a counselor or something as well. Social anxiety responds better to counseling than something like general anxiety.

Medication is only part of the picture but in the beggining its usually the whole picture. Things like therapy take time and its important that you don't let this pattern continue any longer as this will just make the therapist job that much harder. So I would make sure you get some medication (hopefully short-term) and some therapy (hopefully short-term also). Who knows maybe a month of Ativan and a few visits and you'll have your confidence back. Social anxiety can often go away very quickly. Atleast it does for me. Its more of a confidence thing for me. If I feel confident then social situations don't feel like their brimming with judgment and pressure.

Good luck and remember the person your talking too maybe twice as nervous as you! I've had many doctors at the state hospital tell me they don't believe I have anxiety because I can appear very outgoing and confident . Which is kind of funny because I have pretty severe anxiety.
 
Hey guys,
Thanks so much for the support and advice,
Really means a lot to me, I've only talked to my mum about it so far, but that is a start, and I have a doctors appointment in a few days so hopefully they can refer me too someone who can help sort all of this out. I will try and talk to my dad about it in the next few days, hopefully that goes as well as it did with mum. Really appreciate all of the advice and you were all right with the parents thing, it feels so good to know that my mum now knows about it all.

Love you all, hope your all going well :)
 
Good luck and try to stay positive!

I started to first work on my anxiety problems when I was about 19 I guess - that's when I first realised what I had had a name, and something could be done about it. It's been a long journey, but I'm 27 now and I can say my anxiety is probably about 5% of what it once was.. Every now and then I still panic - in a much more minor way, but I never believed I could come this far. and the further you get, the easier it gets to push yourself further still

It's hard and sometimes it seems impossible, but you can overcome it :)
 
I'm so glad to read this update BlackLP. :) You're headed in the right direction and I hope that this journey continues to be a successful one. Keep letting us know how you're doing! <3
 
Don't be worried that your parents (or father) won't be supportive. Dude, they just want the best for you! That want you to be happy, healthy, and become a contributing member of society. ;) They don't want anxiety standing in the way!
 
You're moaning because you're 17 and still living at home without a job? That isn't that big of a deal dude. But still go get help while you are still a minor and all that stuff is covered by insurance more and easier to fix. ASAP.

You're still a minor your parents are supposed deal with this stuff.

Try being in your 30's or 40's and still living at home without a job, not being able to even go to the store and terrified of everything. That is a real possibility with social anxiety.
 
the way that i ditched my social anxiety was picking and choosing when it's okay to bring a friend or 2 along

there's some places that i love going to, solo
but if i brought some of my friends i would be extremely anxious

plus I've learned to just say no to invitations and to not be afraid to leave, even if it's 10 minutes after arriving, too bad my somewhat anxiety creates me to just disappear instead of saying bye, i hate that rule haha

personally I've grown a liking for non-sexual/physical one night stands with people....basically shooting the shit with people i hit it off with, but never plan to see again
i'm awful with making new friends, i can meet them just fine, i'm just not very good at initiating the re-connection
i realize it's probably pretty simple, like, 'hey what's up want to hang out'?, but instead i let me freak flag fly, try too hard to be funny, come off as overly exciting, or just flake out
 
M8 you are only 17, you have it all ahead.

Something like Lyrica would probably help you out, but I guess we have the NHS.

Do you really have to pay for every bit of health support ? Even if you are skint ?

<snip>
 
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