Social Phobia

[y2j]

I suffer from a condition called Social Phobia. Basically I find it very difficult to leave the house without feeling scared and sick. I have lost touch with my friends because of the condition I have and find it impossible to make friends and get a job. I feel so depressed because basically I cannot do normal things like go to work and go out for a drink with friends at the weekend. Does anybody know I way that I could cure me condition?

[:Ace:]

Perhaps get in touch with a psychologist or therapist. Maybe hypnosis could work?

[loopyc]

have you been to the doctors sweetheart or a counsellor? matbe a course of anti deppressants may help you.

[rugeleyboy]

definatly hypnosis................ i went through a stage of this when i split up with an old girlfriend, i thought the world was aginst me!

the best cure is to convince yourself that other people have got there problems also!!

good luck to you and i hope you overcome this!!!

[Will666]

I spent a long period having counciling a few years ago in a bid to rid myself of depression. It was set up by my G.P. and it has brought some success. Speak to your doctor, it's the first step.

[dancealot13]

y2j- Hi. There is a women/author in the US. Her name is Lucinda Bassett. She has a few books, and also a miracle clinic in the mid-west. You must read this book by her "From Panic to Power". She has recovery programs that are world renowned. It will change your life. She changed mine. You have my word this will help you. Look her up.

[Hermia]

My friend's brother has this and is having cognitive behaviour therapy which is apparantly the recommend treatment. He also goes to a social phobia support group. Perhaps you could see if your GP could put you in touch with a support group or you could search on the web.

[WendyS]

Right! Let today be the day things start to change for you. One step at at time.

• Open your front door, put it on the latch so you don't lock yourself out. Put ONE foot outside. Stay like that for a couple of minutes.


• Tomorrow. Repeat the process. Put BOTH FEET outside. Stay for 3 minutes. Look around you and notice that the world hasn't disintegrated.


• THURSDAY. Walk to your front gate, or take a few steps down the corridor if you live in a flat.


• FRIDAY. Do it again. Well done. The world still hasn't come to an end.


• WEEK-END. Repeat several times. Breathe deeply. Smile at anybody you see and say "Good Morning". Notice that somebody might smile back at you. The world still hasn't come to an end and you will have made the first steps back to rejoining the world.

Getting back to a normal life is through making regular small steps forward like this. Don't tell yourself you can't do it. Tell yourself you WILL do it.

[HatPin]

y2j, My husband suffers from Social Phobia and while this can also cause you to suffer agrophobia it is the social phobia you will need to address.

The first thing you must tell your yourself is that you have an illness and you should seek the help of your GP ........ If left untreated it will not go away!

I have included a link that you may find helpful .........

http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articles/socialphobia.html

The very best of luck, there is help out there for you :-)

[dancealot13]

Y2j- Hello. I see that you haven't responded. I hope you're doing well today. I just wanted to emphasize and repeat myself. Please look into Lucinda Bassett. This women is a blessing for people with social phobia, agrophobia, anxiety, OCD and more. You can live a normal healthy life without fear, and she'll show you how. Look I sound like an info-mercial. I just hate hearing about people that live years and years with these problems, and often are just unable to find the right help. Life is a blessing, you should not live in fear.

[y2j]

Thank you all for all your advice. I am partially interested in what dancealot13 suggested about Lucinda Bassett. I have visited her website and I am a little bit confused. Can you book one on one sessions or is it a course that is sent to you through the post to help Social Phobia. Please could you let me know dancealot13 what it is all about?

[dancealot13]

Im glad you are going to look into her. Im at work at the moment and the firewall does not let me search for a lot, so Im unable to look into her website. I found out about her through a friend, and read about her at a book store and in several articles. Then I started reading her books.- My suggestion to start would be to buy her book "From Panic to Power" on the internet, or rent it from a library. There are also audio tapes available. But this book is great.Then go from there. You could always call the number of her clinic, and speak to someone directly about how it works on the internet. Don't give up though. This step will change your life. Im glad to have helped. Let me know how it goes.

[dancealot13]

y2j- Hi. Im just checking in on ya. I wanna make sure your gonna read her book. Hope all is well.

[edw]

One of the most effective treatments for Social Phobia is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). It's based on the principles that our thoughts, behaviours, emotions and physical sensations are interlinked. In Social Phobia the approach is to determine what are the feared consequences of the social situation, and developing an understanding of what the behaviours you put in place to prevent these feared consequences are. Often this involves something you do or don't do; e.g. looking at the ground when you're being spoken to, standing away from the group, holding a glass tighter to make sure you aren't seen to be shaking etc. These behaviours inevitably make the condition worse, and it's only by dropping these behaviours that the condition gets better - by finding out that when you don't use your behaviours the feared consequence doesn't happen, or if it does that it's really not the big deal you thought it would be. People with social phobia often act in response to what they think other people see in them or to what they think other people are thinking about them. They jump to these conclusions because of how they feel physially, e.g. because I feel hot I must be dripping in sweat or be as red as a beetroot.

This is best dealt with by an experienced therapist because we often can't spot ourselves what the behaviours we put in place are or what our anxious thoughts are. A course of therapy usually lasts about 12 sessions.