Social Anxiety Disorder?
How to treat social anxiety attacks?
My symptoms when in public discussions with people or sitting through a public lecture or conference meeting. I lose concentration and become light headed. I feel very uncomfortable. This feeling usually will last through out the whole meeting and even about 30 min after. I have a hard time eating soon after as well because I have trouble swallowing. Can someone help me out? I have been to the doctor and she prescribed me a anti depression, anxiety medication. I don’t really want to take this because of the side effects. Please help
Tagged with: anxiety attacks • anxiety medication • concentration • depression anxiety • hard time • how to treat social anxiety • medication • public discussions • public lecture • whole meeting
Filed under: anxiety attacks causes
Good for you for not taking meds….the reason you get light headed is you are holding your breathe. You are afraid of being judged but the truth is that most the people are nice if not all of them. They are not out to get you & actually wishing you the best. I got over this by looking up, on the internet: free hynotic scripts…when I found them I looked through for public speaking. I would blush which was so embarrassing. But also from not breathing…anyway, find some good scripts & read them until the message is firm in your mind…..visualize…see yourself in your mind in a situation where you are feeling great & speaking well,,,,you are going to get over this…Now I love public speaking….there are also books & tapes you can learn from about public speaking and even look up tips on line…if you want to find a group look up toastmasters & find one in your area & they will help support you in becoming a great public speaker.
Try alcohol. It works for me.
u should prob take the meds…the doc wouldnt of gave it to u if it would hurt u.
Try immersion therapy and throw yourself into a sport.
You could try "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook".
yeah take a few shots of tequila and trust me you’ll do fine…i always get extra chatty after i’ve got a few shots in…dont drink too much though because you dont want to end up slurring and messing up your presentation…=]
It is good that you went to the doctor- you got yourself some help. However, almost all of anti-depressants/anti-anxiety medication has some side effects we do not want. We still have to take them in order to see if they can help or not. I suggest you try out your medication for a while and see if it helps if you haven’t already. If it absolutely does not work and gives you life-threatening side effects, go tell your doctor and experiment with a new kind. Another GREAT thing to treat anxiety is therapy sessions. Have you tried that? And remember that people are only people- they can’t hurt you unless they’re really threatening. Good luck and God bless you
you can also do therapy to help out with it….ask your doctor about that
Go to a therapist and talk to them.
My older brother has social anxiety too he goes to a therapist and it helps him out a lot!
He still has some probs with it but not as much as he did.
Best of luck! (;
I would suggest deep breathing whenever you feel the way you are feeling. That way, your body relaxes and once that happens, the mind automatically follows. You will be able to concentrate better and as there is a rush of oxygen to your brain, you will not feel light headed. And the advantage with this technique is you are not taking any medications and you can silently breath and no one will ever know…bear in mind, have a light lingering smile on your lips. This sends a message to the brain that you are not intimidated and in fact, enjoying whatever is happening there.
Try it…it works..
I have anxiety disorder as well. You need to see a counselor that specializes in anxiety and also somebody that is not going to shove pills down your throat. I see somebody that specializes in hypnosis. She has taught me different ways to cope with my anxiety. I had to stand up in my best friends wedding…I was sick to my stomach thinking about it, a year before it happened. I actually think I did pretty well…I wasn’t as bad as I thought I’d be, because I get your exact symptoms. Plus my stomach hurts bad too. One thing that can help you out is if you cross your arms and tap one elbow and then the other….for some reason, this method tends to help you concentrate on something else, other than your anxiety. And I do not agree with the others, I do feel better when I drink, I do not get anxiety…but, I do not do that to control the problem, that causes a dependency, and you don’t want other problems to deal with. Get professional help, surf the internet for anxiety counselors in you area. That’s what I did, I’ve been seeing her for a year. And I am not cured…but the person I am today, to the person I was a year ago is totally different. Good Luck! I know what you are going through.
Just take it, you’ll feel much better! The side effects that are listed on all medications are relatively minimal and probably wont effect you. Try them out for a few weeks and see how you feel. If you are totally against the idea of taking medicating get yourself into counseling. Find a therapist that specializes in social anxiety. They may have some techniques to help you manage the symptoms on your own. Good luck!
The brain is made up of few parts, your sensitive side of your brain is triggering you to become shy, agitated, and eager meaning you become so over excited that your body is telling your brain that you are in "fast mode" try focusing on something in the crowd weather it be a picture, or a glass of water, or even a pen, when you feel yourself "start" the anxiety state move your eyes somewhere other than the actual situation. Breath as if you need a bit more air this will "calm" your nerves down and bring you to a "normal" level.
well you could meditate or go to group therapy not everyone that sees a shrink takes pills
But just so you know not everyone that takes pills has side effects either .They are there just in case as most don’t tell there dr every lil thing they are doing .
One suggestion is if you are nervous about the meds ask you dr for a lighter prescription and go from there .
hope this helps
I suggest reading the book "Depression Is A Choice" by A.B. Curtiss. Even though it is geared towards depression, the advice is relevant to social anxiety as well. You can probably find the book at the library. If not, it is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, etc. You might also checkout her follow-up book "Brainswitching Out of Depression".
I get social anxiety as well and the techniques in these books helped me a lot.
If that doesn’t work, you could try cognitive behavioral therapy tapes, such as those offered by Dr. Thomas Richards. Dr. Richards’ tapes cost about $400. The cost is high, but it would be worth the cost if you can overcome your anxiety.
http://anxietynetwork.com/sphome.html
Also, here is a message board for people dealing with social anxiety issues: http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/
See these pages for an answer:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1792696/my_experience_with_the_drug_lexapro.html?cat=71
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1801570/the_benefits_of_glycine_on_mental_health.html?cat=71