Mental Health social anxiety?

[H.chrisc]

I was doing the self medication with alcohol like you until I determined that psychiatrist are not there to diagnose your problem, they are there the give you prescriptions for your diagnosis

 

[-=SS=-]

Anyone else in the same boat? Do you just power through it? Its also the reason i dont ever switch on my mobile phone.

Turn on your phone. Stop the avoidance behaviors and patterns that you have, because giving in to those just supports the anxiety belief system/feedback loop in your head. Try it. And when you begin to get anxiety or panic or however you feel, just accept it. Just accept it. Your body is reacting exactly how it should do.. the mind leads the body. Don't hate your reactions or get upset about them. I still struggle with this because I sweat when I get anxious, so its physically obvious and frustrating.

Medications I think can be part of a solution strategy, but at the end of the day you have to change your mind and no pills will automatically do that. I choose to fight mine head on rather than medicate because as much as it sucks at times I value my clear thinking, even if I don't like it.

Self-critical thinking has its place. Again, don't judge it. If we didn't judge ourselves we'd be liable to follow a path to quick self-destruction! You're in a rut of applying it in the wrong way. I would examine your past and see where this thinking has come from. Perhaps traumas or a collection of mini-traumas that formed a kind of complex (what happened with me). At the end of the day you're punishing yourself when you need not. We're all human. We make mistakes. We also do a lot of good for other people by just being in their lives, for better or worse. Accept that and allow people back in to your life. They can bring us happiness. They can cause us pain. That's the human drama. Accept it.

 

[sigmond]

Social Anxiety? Fermented Foods May Help

A diet rich in fermented foods and beverages likely to contain probiotics may help curb social anxiety in young adults, especially those who are highly neurotic, new research suggests.

"While our study cannot definitely determine a causal relationship between fermented food consumption and social anxiety, in combination with the preclinical and clinical studies, our findings suggest that eating more fermented foods can decrease social anxiety," Matthew Hilimire, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, told Medscape Medical News.


"Future studies could test potential applications, such as supplementing drug or cognitive-behavioral therapy with fermented foods," he said.


Gut-Brain Interaction

The study included 710 students enrolled in introductory courses in psychology at the College of William and Mary. The participants completed questionnaires about fermented food consumption, neuroticism, and social anxiety.

The questionnaire asked about a variety of foods, including yogurt; kefir or food or beverages that contain yogurt; soy milk; miso soup; sauerkraut; dark chocolate; juices that contain microalgae; pickles; tempeh; and kimchi.

"Not all of these foods necessarily had active cultures, but they have the potential to contain probiotics and bioactive peptides," Dr Hilimire said.
In an interaction model that controlled for demographics, general consumption of healthful foods, and frequency of exercise frequency, the researchers found that exercise frequency, neuroticism, and fermented food consumption significantly and independently predicted social anxiety.

Fermented food consumption also interacted with neuroticism in predicting social anxiety. That is, in students with high degrees of neuroticism, a higher frequency of fermented food consumption correlated with fewer symptoms of social anxiety.

These observations are in line with previous preclinical and clinical trials suggesting that probiotics can have an anxiolytic effect, the researchers say. However, this is the first study to examine the relationship between probiotics and social anxiety, they point out.

"Our study was not able to address the mechanisms because it was a survey of normal eating patterns, social anxiety, and personality. However, previous preclinical studies have suggested potential mechanisms," Dr Hilimire told Medscape Medical News.

"For example, probiotics reduce the permeability of the gut, so harmful substances don't leak out. Probiotics also reduce inflammation of the gut. Because anxiety is often accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms, reducing gut inflammation helps alleviate those symptoms," he explained.

"Probiotics have also been shown to modify the body's response to stress, and stress response is highly linked to mental health disorders, such as social anxiety. In addition, consumption of fermented milk has been shown to reduce the brain's response to negative facial expressions. By reducing the brain's response to negative social stimuli, social anxiety symptoms might be reduced," Dr Hilimire noted.

continued:http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/846487

pubmed:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25998000

 

[SixBuckets]

I was doing the self medication with alcohol like you until I determined that psychiatrist are not there to diagnose your problem, they are there the give you prescriptions for your diagnosis

They're not there to diagnose your problem, they're there to assess how your reported and assessed symptoms align with evidence-based diagnostic criteria. You do not have the training or experience to do this yourself.

I'm not saying you don't have BPD or that your assessment of yourself is incorrect. But it's not a diagnosis and you shouldn't rely on it for anything other than providing your feedback to your doctor regarding your treatment.

 

[sam05]

Done the heroin, benzo thing but didn't get in too deep as I lost someone n seen first hand that its just no worth it so quit. I was lucky... it might help at the time but what about the day I want to have kids etc. Unfortunately still doing the alcohol thing cant get rid of it its everywhere. Was doing good but now i have been drunk the last few days and right now. I fucking hate it.

are you still smoking weed? if you quit that, you will realize how much it makes you self conscious. it has a tendency to make people introverted anti social and self conscious. well, thats how i felt, after smoking it for several years. also, do you get any anxiety posting on here or other social websites? i do, i rarely post anything on facebook and just look at what other people post.

its like its always in the back on my mind "what are they thinking, what have they written" and i expect to be abused and wait for someone to release a tirade of abuse, most likely because its happened in the past and left a mental scar.

when i drink, nothing seems to matter as much and im in a peaceful state of mind, anxiety free.

 

[herbavore]

Here's my tips to defeating social anxiety.

(1) Be your True Self for best results, but put on an act to get started. What I mean is don't pretend to be something you are not to fit in, be honest and express yourself as you are. Ultimately, this is the key to defeating social anxiety, as much social anxiety is caused from you hiding your identity for fear of rejection, then getting increasingly anxious as the people you are with say or do things you don't agree with. The other approach is while first getting started, is to put on a costume and go method act in public. Pretend to be a scientist, a punk rocker, a drifter, a lawyer, and develop this character, give it a name, an identity, and go out in public pretending to be this. This is a great way to start your battle against social anxiety, as anything stupid you say or do, isn't the real you, it is just the character you portray. Eventually though, you'll want to be your True Self in public, to make real friends and get yourself heard.

(2) Take small steps to interact with the public. Set a goal that everyday for a week you will say high, wave, or smile at five people. Next week? Start a conversation with five random people with a simple question like "What time is it?", "Where is X location?", or make a comment about the weather. Next week you can kick it up a notch and go for a conversation that lasts at least two minutes (don't need a stop watch, really, haha, just guestimate), start with a smile, wave, or greeting, ask an opening question like what time is it, what the weather is like, where something is, but don't just say thanks and leave, ask more follow-up questions, along with complimenting the person in some way. Keep it going for awhile, and then go on your way. The final week, you can do all that was mentioned before, but at the end of the conversation, offer to take the person out for coffee, a beer, or a walk in the park some time, and get their phone number or e-mail address. Bam, it is that easy.

(3) Stop focusing on yourself in a social situation. Don't care about what you look like, sound like, etc, just focus entirely on the other person. Everyone in this modern society is so focused on how they are being perceived, that if you keep the attention on them, you won't even need to have any anxiety about yourself.

(4) If someone does insult you, turn around and make a joke about it. Someone is like "nice pants, faggot", respond with, "Yeah they'd look even better bunched up in a ball under your bed.", then blow them a kiss. Nothing diffuses a situation more than comedy, and you can actually make friends this way, because they probably really did like your pants, they were just too scared to compliment you properly.

(5) Make a fool out of yourself on purpose. Ask an offensive question, dress stupidly, be rude, the only way to overcome these fears you have is to become them!

Good luck.

Golden post. I especially like #3. One of the things that anxiety does is lock you in your ego. Everything in your own mind becomes about you. This faulty perception ratchets the fear up to panic. If you can try to simply shift your focus onto other people you begin to see how many of them are feeling shy or uncomfortable or downright panicked as well. Reach out and try to ease the discomfort of someone else and your own magically begins to dissolve.

Here is another thing to remember when dealing with social anxiety: this culture celebrates and seemingly rewards extroverts. But think about the people that you really value in your life and extrovert or introvert it is those that have the ability to actually listen and connect with you in an authentic way. Concentrate not on what others have to offer you but on being that kind of person. Really listen to other people. Ask them real questions that you are genuinely interested in. Even in a lively group situation where everyone seems to be talking rapidly and you can't figure out how to even enter the conversation, look around and see if anyone else seems a bit uncomfortable and start a side conversation with a question just for that person.

@Rakaposhi--your post was also golden. Showing yourself compassion is not nearly as easy as giving it to others. When you start on that path of learning a lot opens up and life becomes easier. Some people confuse compassion with rationalizing their behavior or making excuses for themselves or being in denial. But it really is none of those things. It is just allowing yourself to be human, to make mistakes and to be afforded empathy and understanding as well as forgiveness. When you couple that with brutal honesty within yourself, it is pretty empowering.

 

[BlowingClouds]

I've been in the same boat. Though o can say worse. What helped me the most is learning and changing the way you look at life, your outlook and in life and everything that comes with. Like someone mentioned above somewhere it's something about your ego. Then from there you shall learn and be able to overcome you're issue.

 

[sigmond]

I think there might be some truth in regards to my post about probiotics.

(Not recommending this but anyway)
I was less anxious on days when I would just eat yogurt in the morning and then various veggies throughout the day.

Of course a balanced diet + exercise is the best thing you can do.

 

[Rakaposhi]

@Rakaposhi--your post was also golden. Showing yourself compassion is not nearly as easy as giving it to others. When you start on that path of learning a lot opens up and life becomes easier. Some people confuse compassion with rationalizing their behavior or making excuses for themselves or being in denial. But it really is none of those things. It is just allowing yourself to be human, to make mistakes and to be afforded empathy and understanding as well as forgiveness. When you couple that with brutal honesty within yourself, it is pretty empowering.

 

[Rakaposhi]

@Herbavore Thank you very much for saying so. This really was the key to unlocking my problems with social anxiety.

It really is about accepting that you are human, just like everybody else. Whatever behaviour you are cringing about - imagine it was your friend in your situation and how would you feel about them? Show that same feeling to yourself

And wise words about the honesty angle from Herbavore. I am always extremely honest with myself and with people I care about. Its such a natural way for me to be that I didnt even think about it in this situation, but it is important. Rationalising your behaviour by lieing to yourself may work for a while but I have a hunch it may lead to problems down the line as your subconcious catches up with you. It may even lead to problems with others who know the truth and confront you about it ...

 

[Smiley91]

Golden post. I especially like #3. One of the things that anxiety does is lock you in your ego. Everything in your own mind becomes about you. This faulty perception ratchets the fear up to panic. If you can try to simply shift your focus onto other people you begin to see how many of them are feeling shy or uncomfortable or downright panicked as well. Reach out and try to ease the discomfort of someone else and your own magically begins to dissolve.

Here is another thing to remember when dealing with social anxiety: this culture celebrates and seemingly rewards extroverts. But think about the people that you really value in your life and extrovert or introvert it is those that have the ability to actually listen and connect with you in an authentic way. Concentrate not on what others have to offer you but on being that kind of person. Really listen to other people. Ask them real questions that you are genuinely interested in. Even in a lively group situation where everyone seems to be talking rapidly and you can't figure out how to even enter the conversation, look around and see if anyone else seems a bit uncomfortable and start a side conversation with a question just for that person.

@Rakaposhi--your post was also golden. Showing yourself compassion is not nearly as easy as giving it to others. When you start on that path of learning a lot opens up and life becomes easier. Some people confuse compassion with rationalizing their behavior or making excuses for themselves or being in denial. But it really is none of those things. It is just allowing yourself to be human, to make mistakes and to be afforded empathy and understanding as well as forgiveness. When you couple that with brutal honesty within yourself, it is pretty empowering.

My apologies if i am 'bumping' a thread or whatever. I haven't been using the site as much but i had read all replies and wanted to say thanks to everyone. Been taking all comments on board and have helped me feel like even although it has to be in baby steps that i may be getting somewhere.

 

[herbavore]

Getting comfortable with the baby steps of changing habits is part of the process--probably the most important part. We are used to thinking there is a magic pill that can make our discomforts disappear. Learning how to work for goals, how to develop patience and compassion for what may look like slow progress or even back-sliding, is invaluable. Keep going, Smiley!

 

[LSDazed]

Does anyone else get this?....

Sometimes think things are aimed at you e.g. jokes in posts or overhearing conversations etc... and even although you know its likely a misinterpretation on your behalf you cant shake the feeling that they COULD have been or probably were. Am I paranoid? Or paranoid about being paranoid? Lol I don't know anymore and am no even stoned tonight.

I can't give you much advice but would just like to say that I also struggle with this feeling, I've noticed it's after periods of smoking weed heavily, however also when I'm normally tired or stressed... I'd like to say it's paranoia but I honestly have no idea and would also be interested in what other people have to say on the matter

 

[sigmond]

The Brain-Gut connection is worth looking into imo..

 

[LearntYoung]

Does anyone else get this?....

Sometimes think things are aimed at you e.g. jokes in posts or overhearing conversations etc... and even although you know its likely a misinterpretation on your behalf you cant shake the feeling that they COULD have been or probably were. Am I paranoid? Or paranoid about being paranoid? Lol I don't know anymore and am no even stoned tonight.

I've had this for quite some time as a result of too frequent drug use and too few improviced social interactions. I did the same thing every day, always saw the same people, so I grew comfortable in that environment, but as soon as I walked on the streets and heard a people laughing, whispering or sometimes when I only saw them looking at me when I looked, I felt as if maybe I had birdshit on my back or something like that. For a while it even got worse and it was so bad that I made myself question whether or not I could've shit my pants, without noticing it myself. Luckily that didn't last too long and short after that I moved out, started a new study and joined a student association and fraternity. Since I moved out the anxiety decreased rapidly and these days I barely ever notice it. Only when I'm in an uncomfortable situation with someone I don't feel completely comfortable with in the first place.

Based on this experience, I think the best you can do is force yourself into new situations, so you'll feel more comfortable with not having a plan. You'll develop a natural and automatic response to new situations. Experiencing this more often will cause you to grow, in both confidence and social skills.

 

[Smiley91]

The Brain-Gut connection is worth looking into imo..

Interesting, will defo look in to this. Thanks.

@learnt young that sounds quite similar to my own experience, thanks for sharing, although my anxiety focuses mainly around those I know, or care for rather than strangers, although I do get anxious in public I can still push myself to go shopping for example. I am on a waiting list for my own place so perhaps thats the change and push that I need to invite some friends over who Ive been avoiding for far too long - as scary as that sounds atm. Also gonna volunteer and start off with a couple of hours a week at a charity that focuses on improving poor living conditions and the homeless, so hopefully I meet some cool people through this.

I have read of people benefiting from nootropics for social anxiety. Does anyone happen to have any experience with these drugs or reccomendations, opinions?

 

[ramblin_rose]

Does anyone else get this?....

Sometimes think things are aimed at you e.g. jokes in posts or overhearing conversations etc... and even although you know its likely a misinterpretation on your behalf you cant shake the feeling that they COULD have been or probably were. Am I paranoid? Or paranoid about being paranoid? Lol I don't know anymore and am no even stoned tonight.

I get this a lot. Sometimes even when watching stand up comedians on Netflix. I know it's stupid b/c there is no way they know me but sometimes it's like they know something I've just done or said and make fun of it and I inwardly cringe and want to hide under a rock. Thing is, I know it's a "bit" probably b/c so many people have said or done the same thing. It just stands out to me b/c I've *recently* said or done that thing.

I get social anxiety in large groups now. I hate it and always think everyone hates me.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

^I don't want to scare you, but in my non-medical opinion (yadda yadda) that sounds kind of like borderline psychotic symptoms.

 

[sam05]

^I don't want to scare you, but in my non-medical opinion (yadda yadda) that sounds kind of like borderline psychotic symptoms.

yeah true, i remember when i was first experiencing psychotic symptoms from too much marijuana it felt like people were mocking me, that things on tv were aimed at me or people hated me. felt very self conscious and like people knew everything about me. its just paranoia but when your in that mind set its very real, i felt somewhat special but also targeted, if that makes sense.

 

[LSDazed]

yeah true, i remember when i was first experiencing psychotic symptoms from too much marijuana it felt like people were mocking me, that things on tv were aimed at me or people hated me. felt very self conscious and like people knew everything about me. its just paranoia but when your in that mind set its very real, i felt somewhat special but also targeted, if that makes sense.

Have had exactly this feeling before and I totally understand what you mean by feeling somewhat special but also targeted, sometimes would feel special in the wrong way probably haha. Definitely paranoia and probably linked to smoking too much chro and chems don't seem to help it!