Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Advice needed...

Church has always been my primary social outlet. My "friends" have always been people at the church that I talk with at church related functions 2 or 3 times a week. That's primarily why I put the word "friends" in quotes. They aren't really friends, just people that I'm social with. I haven't quite managed to transition the friendship out of the events like others seam to be able to.

The dilemma. Under ordinary circumstances, my Social Anxiety Disorder causes me to really think that people are disinterested, but Sunday - I honestly believe people were actually walking in the other direction when I was approaching. To test the theory... I tried 2 or 3 times and saw the same thing occur.

I think it's because I offended someone in the group because of my uncomfortability in social settings - at times I can come across as stand-offish because it's not a comfortable situation to be in when your heart starts beating faster... palms start sweating... mouth dries.... brain starts racing... eyes look up at the ceiling when talking to people...

My question is... should I tell people that I suffer from this problem? Would they believe me? There are times when we've gone out in social situations and I've been "half-normal" - at a real great effort...

I really don't know what I should do in this situation. Help... or advice welcomed. Seriously.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi there.... as one who has been through this - yes, I would tell people and YES, I would find a good therapist. Now, it's like many things in life - the first therapist is not necessarily the right one. For me it was third time lucky. Talk to a professional and you might be pleasantly surprised at the wonderful future you face, free of SAD.

Good luck!